Waste Oil Into Power: Vegawatt

Filed Under: Green Technology on June 17, 2009

By now, most people are familiar with the concept of greasel: grease trap oils burned as diesel fuel. It’s a popular type of biodiesel that’s free (or very cheap), renewable, and available all over the place. The Vegawatt is the same basic concept, except instead of powering a vehicle, it powers a building.

Restaurants have waste oils from vegetable friers, deep friers, and other cooking methods. Typically, these oils are sent to a grease trap to be removed by a (paid) disposer. The disposal is usually either in a landfill (the oils are biodegradable) or are burned (usually wasted).

The Vegawatt is a small power plant that can burn those oils efficiently without them ever leaving the restaurant. The resulting energy is converted to electricity and sent back into the building.

The units are about the size of a refrigerator, plug right into the electrical system of the restaurant’s building, and have a hot water feed/return system. A small industrial compression engine burns the waste oils/grease and heats water while producing electricity, thus saving the restaurant’s energy costs over time in both water heating and power.

The goal of the Vegawatt is to capture as much energy as possible and recycle it. Typically, the company claims, the units produce between 10% and 25% of a restaurant’s electricity needs.

Pretty cool!

For more info on the Vegawatt, visit their website at this link.