Dalton, GA, January 29, 2007--C&A Floorcoverings has flushed the regular diesel fuel from its commercial boilers and switched to 99 percent biodiesel for the plant's yarn-dyeing process, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The move by the Dalton, Ga., company will result in a cleaner plant and healthier local economy, officials said.
The company, a branch of Tandus Inc., plans on getting the bulk of its fuel from vegetable oil and grease that otherwise would be thrown out by local restaurants.
The oil is refined in Dalton by Peach State Labs subsidiary Soymet.
After examining a handful of environmentally friendly options like planting trees and buying green power blocks from the Tennessee Valley Authority, the company decided to go with something that hit a little closer to home, said Dobbin Callahan, Tandus' general manager for government markets.
The company already is known for its pioneering role in carpet recycling, and Mr. Callahan said positive feedback to that program led officials to consider additional environmentally sound plant updates. New thermal oxidizers and general efficiency upgrades helped the company along that course, officials said.
But the biodiesel, with its price tied to that of regular diesel, can make a big difference in the plant's emissions, Mr. Callahan said.
Following President Bush's plea for increased alternative fuel usage during this week's State of the Union address, Mr. Callahan said, the company's policies are more about doing the right thing than following any particular mandate.
The production process for C&A's biodiesel supply will have a twofold effect, he said.
"It's significant in that it's biodiesel, but also because it's biodiesel that, if it wasn't used this way, it would be going to a landfill," Mr. Callahan said.
Recycling restaurant waste is a unique way to fuel boilers, said Amber Tharlo Pearson, communication specialist for the National Biodiesel Board.
"Most U.S. biodiesel is made from virgin soy oil," Ms. Pearson said. Blends of biodiesel and petroleum diesel, she said, are far more common than the nearly pure biodiesel product used by C&A.
The new fuel has posed a few challenges, but nothing major, said Kent Benson, an environmental engineer for Tandus.
The fuel has to be preheated to higher temperatures than traditional diesel, he said, but the plant was already equipped to handle that. A couple of initial modifications to the 25,000 gallon main tank and a 6,000 gallon reserve tank have left things running smoothly.
The biggest benefit, Mr. Benson said, is knowing the boilers will not emit sulfur -- the chemical that causes acid rain.
"We just see a cleaner-burning fuel, and it's a fuel that's made locally and helps the local economy," he said.
Mr. Benson said the company burns biodiesel whenever it is cost competitive with natural gas, consuming about 65,000 gallons a year.
