Biomimicry final document

Towards Green Emission: From Used Cooking Oil to Local Vehicles Presented by

We are a group of graduate students in the Department of Design & Environmental Analysis at Cornell University.

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Serena Seohyon Lee

Elena Misailedes

Dan Moon

M.S. Human Factors & Ergonomics B. S. Interior Design

M.S. Environmental Psychology B. A. Psychology

M.S. Human Factors & Ergonomics B. A. Neuroscience

Our individually unique subset of skills and perspectives offer diverse contributions to providing viable solutions to addressing climate change.

Concept Overview The problem of climate change is in no small part due to the enormous amount of carbon dioxide released into the environment through the burning of fossil fuels. Replacing even a small portion of these fossil fuels with cleaner-burning biodiesel can significantly cut down on the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the environment and hopefully slow the process of climate change. Vast quantities of biodiesel can be relatively easily produced using the massive amounts of food oil waste generated by universities and other institutions. Symbiofuel is a system inspired by the natural process of mycoremediation designed to collect this waste oil and convert it to clean-burning biodiesel that can be used to fuel on-site vehicles. Symbiofuel is inspired by the natural process of mycoremediation, in which fungi are able to collect waste oil from their environment and metabolize it into usable fuel with no waste or adverse effects.

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One of the big challenges of our current society is climate change.

Fact 1.

72 % of climate change is caused by CO2 emissions Fact 2.

19.2% of CO2 emissions are generated by transportation fuels

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July 22, 2012

Footer text here

It is an undeniable fact that there have been efforts from individual households, institutions, industries, and even nations to reduce harmful contributors to climate change. However, as mentioned in the previous page, 72% of climate change is caused by carbon emissions. Since reducing carbon emission requires more than individual effort, we decided to target the institutional level to make a greater impact on climate change.

Particularly, in regards to biodiesel, institutions such as universities and hospitals produce the quantities of waste cooking oil that are necessary to sustain a long-term biodiesel conversion practice, which could be difficult for individuals.

Q How might we use the resources of a large

institution to help reduce the CO2 emissions created from burning motor oil?

individual

institutions Industry

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How Does Nature Repurpose Wasted Resources into Clean, Reusable Energy?

The oyster mushroom consumes waste motor oil through mycoremediation

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Mammalian Circulatory System

• The circulatory system is a streamlined and efficient way to move liquid between one central processing center (the heart) and external locations (the extremities) using piping (arteries and veins)

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Symbiotic Relationship of Termite & Gut Bacteria

• In order to connect diverse departments within a large institution, we looked to symbiotic relationships for inspiration. These relationships involve very different organisms and work to their mutual benefit.

• Specifically, we looked at the relationships of: • Termite & Gut Bacteria (local to Eastern United States biome)

• Shark & Remora fish

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Final Biological Inspiration: Mycoremediation Among the list of organisms we considered, a fungal process called “mycoremediation� was most suitable to our biologized question.

Mycoremediation is the use of fungi to break down and eliminate toxins in the environment. The mycelium of oyster mushrooms colonizes and consumes waste motor oil (such as that lost in oil spills) and converts it to food for the growing mushrooms.

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Biological Process: Mycoremediation Mycoremediation is the process by which fungi break down and digest oil from their environment.

Step 1. Waste petroleum from oil spills or runoff enters the environment and contaminates the soil and water systems.

Step 2. Mycelium, the web-like fungal component structure that typically grows beneath the soil, collects waste oil from the surrounding environment.

Step 3. The mycelium breaks down environmentally toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the oil into digestible components.

Step 4. Oyster mushrooms grow from the nutrient-rich mycelium layer without any observable negative effects from the digestion of PAHs.

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How Mycoremediation was Incorporated into Design

4-step processes of Mycoremediation 4-step processes of our proposed system

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Nature’s Unifying Patterns 1. Nature Recycles All Materials Like nature, we sought to recycle material that is currently wasted in the institutional system. By creating a use for waste cooking oil, we can close the loop and utilize more recycled materials to produce fuel for the system.

2. Nature Rewards Cooperation The dining and transportation departments of our test university are currently completely separate. Our proposal links these distinct entities in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship.

Wasted cooking oil and food scraps at Cornell Dining Hall (photos by Dan Moon).

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Business Case for • There is an initial startup cost to purchase biodiesel conversion machines • However, in addition to being cleaner-burning, biodiesel is far less expensive than traditional diesel fuel.

• In the case of our test institution, we estimate a complete return on investment within 18 months

Wasted oil (gal) Cost of diesel fuel for Cornell fleet Savings

• Startup cost: approx. $36,000 • 2 biodiesel converters ($14,995 each) • Chemical catalysts (approx. $2000) • Volunteer training/supervision by staff member (approx. $4000) • Savings per month using biofuel: approx. $2,000

Biodiesel converter from Springboard Biofuel 12

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Current

Proposed

~ 3,000

-

per month

~$2,000 per month

-

75~80 % reduction

~$2,000 per month

The Process of

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Institutional Dining Services

Biodiesel Processing Center

• Used cooking oil is collected by volunteers from institutional dining halls

• Biodiesel conversion machines are housed on-site and staffed by trained volunteers and existing staff members

Institutional Fleet

• Instead of filling up at a traditional gas station, institutional vehicles with diesel engines are brought to the processing center and fueled up on site

Limitations • The proposed system assumes a test institution in a temperate climate. However, in freezing temperatures, biodiesel requires additives in order to prevent freezing within the engine. This would increase cost and delay return on investment.

• In order to maximize use of the system, institutions should produce a significant quantity of waste cooking oil. The test institution produces 100 industrial barrels/month.

Next Steps • Discuss Symbiofuel’s potential with institutional dining and transportation staff to address suitability for individual sites.

• Develop customized, strategic implementation strategy for individual sites that are catered to the local climate and culture.

• Propose phasing plan for implementation at individual sites.

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References Blog Post #69. (2013). Transport in humans – the circulatory system. http://igbiologyy.blogspot.com/2013/05/68-transport-in-humanscirculatory.html Cornell University Office of Infrastructure, Properties, and Planning. (2017). Ithaca Campus Waste Metrics. https://ipp.cornell.edu/content/ithacacampus-waste-metrics McHugh, A. (2017). A spore-to-shroom view of fungal biology: The life and times of mushroom mycelium. Crazy About Mushrooms. http://blog.crazyaboutmushrooms.com/mushrooms-sexy-part-spore-shroom-view-fungal-bio/ Peterson, B. (2017). Research Profile. https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/pulse/profiles/peterson.html Posel, S. (2015). National security threat: DoD’s costly plan for climate change. https://www.occupycorporatism.com/national-security-threatdods-costly-plans-for-climate-change/

Schipper, M. (2016). How Loyola converts used cooking oil into biodiesel that fuels their buses. DNAInfo. https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160824/rogers-park/how-loyola-converts-used-cooking-oil-into-biodiesel-that-fuels-their-buses Springboard Biodiesel. (2017). Home page. http://www.springboardbiodiesel.com/ Stamets, P. (1993). Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Ten Speed Press.

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