Whitehouse Employee Builds Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Volkswagen Passat Now Runs on Corn Oil
Mark Seltzer, application services associate, IS, was an avid environmentalist looking for an immediate alternative to conventional fuel. The solution – converting his Volkswagen Passat to run on a corn-oil system.
Mr. Seltzer began the conversion by purchasing a used diesel-run Passat. Because of the way diesel vehicles are designed, they are more appropriate for using a corn-oil fuel system. After acquiring the necessary parts, and spending a few weeks time retrofitting the car, he had a vehicle that would run on the waste oil he obtains from community restaurants.
“The conversion was not as easy I had imagined,†explains Mr. Seltzer. “A normal diesel car can run on straight vegetable oil, but there are some problems. The conditions have to be optimal: clean oil, and warm operating temperatures.†In colder temperatures, oil can become more viscous, and won’t operate as well. To get around this, Mr. Seltzer installed a system to preheat the oil for his car.
“My commute to work is 30 minutes, so approximately five minutes of my commute are on standard diesel,†he adds. “Once the corn oil is at a sufficient temperature, I switch over and run full time on it.â€
Mr. Selzter’s car, which was recently featured at Earth Week activities in Whitehouse Station, only produces carbon dioxide emissions. And because the corn oil powering his car originally came from a plant that consumed carbon dioxide to live, it amounts to a zero-emission vehicle.
His car achieves 45 to 48 miles per gallon, and the fuel is free from a Chinese restaurant near his home. They gladly provide him with their waste oil, which they’d otherwise need to pay to have removed.
Mr. Seltzer identifies his car with a sign that reads “Green Car: Powered by Vegetable Oil†attached to his bike rack, but otherwise he says few people notice a difference, including his co-workers who carpool to work with him. That is, except for the faint smell of fried food.
To learn more about Mr. Seltzer’s experience with an alternative fuel vehicle, read an interview with him on the Safety & the Environment Web site at usryap0051.merck.com/S&E/EarthWeek/EWLibrary.html.
