RADFORD -- RU chemistry majors Sabrina Hash, Chris Estes, Brittany Christian, Hannah Helms, and Sam Bowlin, under the direction of chemistry professors Tim Fuhrer and Francis Webster, received a grant of $10,000 to prepare for the People, Prosperity and Planet competition sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The students will present their research on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in April.

The students’ project involves the production of biodiesel fuel from waste vegetable oil by using a novel carbon catalyst to remove the fatty acid contaminants from the oil.  The catalyst is non-toxic, inexpensive and easy to produce using “green” methods. 

Using a novel one-pot reactor, functionalized carbon is synthesized in minutes using only sucrose and sulfuric acid.  The students’ project uses standard surface chemical techniques to characterize the catalyst which is then used to convert oleic acid, a major fatty acid in soybean oil, to its corresponding methyl and ethyl ester – biodiesel fuel.

This conversion process allows interested businesses and individuals an opportunity to more easily adopt biodiesel technology both in developed and developing countries.

The Radford students will be competing against almost 60 colleges and universities from across the country, including Carnegie Mellon University, University of Florida, Auburn University and University of California – Berkeley.