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  1. Update from John Marlin to potential volunteers

    Associated Project(s): 
    LAR Native Plants

    Hello,

    Most of you have had some direct involvement with the LAR LLC planting that is in progress.  It started last spring and now has a ~$5000 grant from the Student Sustainability Committee. The past two weeks have seen a lot of progress as plants were removed from propagation beds and transplanted to the front and N side of LAR. 

    Here are a few shots with some of you featured.  I will make more available later to individuals.  

    The recent planting contains mostly woodland wildflowers that are currently dormant.   the straws mark the locations so we do not plant over them during the next couple weeks.   Hopefully they will survive the winter since there are other plants that go in early in the spring.

    The LLC has some weeding tools and watering cans in the building that LAR students can access.   We will need to water plants and do some weeding this week.  If you have a break or get done before dark you might be able to do some weeding on the S side of the building.  Gwenna or I may have to show you what to take out. 

    We are likely to have some more planting next weekend.   Probably Saturday (and maybe Sunday) morning around 10.  Sunday afternoon some of us will be with Red Bison at the South Arboretum Woods near the pollinatarium by Lincoln and Windsor.   Any of you are welcome there. 

    Attached are also a couple posters showing the kinds of woodland plants that are going in.

    John C. Marlin

    -----------

    The files are on the main project page.

  3. IBI Funding Agreement

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    The Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI) is a registered student organization whose primary mission is to produce biodiesel and soap from waste vegetable oil (WVO) collected from campus dining halls. The Student Sustainability Committee initially voted to fund the Illinois Biodiesel Initiative during its 2012-13 funding cycle; however, due IBI being forced out of their old site at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, SSC funding was put on hold. While they wait for their permanent site in the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, IBI is currently running scaled-down production in a space in Roger Adams Laboratory.

    This project helps IBI to rebuild production up to previous levels at the ISTC, where they were self-funding. An infusion of funding over the next year is critical to allow the IBI to grow and develop into a self-funding organization.

    Agreements are already in place with Campus Fleet and Campus Dining for the sale of biodiesel and soap, respectively.

    Attached Files: 

  5. PWR007 Dump and Run recommendation - Submittal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary

    The PWR SWATeam submitted a recommendation stating, "We recommend a campus stakeholder lead an effort to expand and improve the effort to capture items during Move Out – collaborating with the YMCA on the Dump & Run. This action includes filling gaps in staff & volunteer coordination, campus space coordination, and facilitating vehicles and staff time to run them."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation PWR007 Dump and Run complete with comments from all the PWR SWATeam members.

    Attached Files: 

  7. YMCA leaders meet with sustainability staff

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    Emily Cross and Mike Doyle from the University YMCA met with Ben McCall from iSEE, Nancy Holm from ISTC, and Morgan Johnston from F&S to describe the history and process of the YMCA Dump and Run.  The program has been around for approximately 15 years, and a couple years ago they expanded collections to include the campus residence halls.  There are many opportunities to grow the program, and thereby reduce the waste going to landfills, but the YMCA staff are currently at capacity for managing the program.

  8. IBI student leaders meet with iSEE representatives

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    Adam Dornford, Rahul Gogia, and Tarsis Sousa met with Professor Ben McCall, Professor Madhu Khanna, and Morgan Johnston at iSEE.  The discussion revolved around the faculty advisor needs for the group.  Madhu Khanna will be the faculty advisor of record, and Ben McCall will continue to participate with the program.  There may be a graduate student in analytical chemistry who could assist with the chemical aspects of the program.

    Issues reviewed at this meeting included:

    • numbers of students anticipated to participate once IBI is running again - at the height of the IBI program in the past, there were nearly 100 students involved - need to recruit some new students - partnering with I-energy - would be good to have hands-on work for getting students interested
    • equipment selection for the new program - they will start with using the existing 50 gallon plug-n-play items BioPro 190 have two of them in the basement of ABL
    • soap program - for Dining Services pre-wash of dishes
    • consider tracking utility costs for the overall program - with a Life-cycle Cost Accounting (LCA), and associated GHG emission reductions
    • potential bench space options AESB, RAL?
    • what information does IBRL need in order to fully support IBI being included in their facility? feasibility analysis.  

    Emails from each group - Dining, Car Pool, Energy Farm, SSC - to document what you will do...  prepare a mini proposal (with short term and long term plans) and send to this group - include:

    • organizational structure - who is doing what, including faculty advisors and all students, management plan - how many students are going to be in and out of the facility
    • phases for process - over a 3 year plan, to show continuity
    • business plan for operations - how will you do it
    • financial program - costs to operate and anticipated revenue

  9. IBI key student leaders gearing up for the fall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    IBI representatives, Adam Dornford and Rahul Gogia, are meeting with campus stakeholders to get ready for the fall semester.  Discussion topics include:

    • temporary storage space (move from ISTC)
    • long term lab space
    • funding for new equipment (some funding is allocated already by the SSC)
    • faculty advisor options
    • end users on campus for the biodiesel that will be produced
    • supply of waste food oil from Housing
    • benefits to students, and ways to reach out to get new student members across disciplinary lines
    • business case to IBRL for a continuous operation at their new facility

  11. project started

    Associated Project(s): 
    Recycling Bins Pilot at Ikenberry

    Bart (ISTC) talked to Ron (Grounds) about reversing the bins on the Ikenberry project after one week.  The project actually started the morning of April 1 so  it would be great to have the bin placement reversed on the morning of April 8th. This means moving the traditional bins to the current location of Housing’s recycling station and vice versa.  On the morning of April 15th everything can be returned to normal.

  12. Recycling bins pilot project planned for March

    Associated Project(s): 
    Recycling Bins Pilot at Ikenberry

    A project is planned for March to evaluate a new outdoor recycling station in comparison to existing bins with revised signage.  Housing has the station located inside the entrance of Ikenberry Commons.  For the project, that station will be placed outside along the North entrance, directly across from the existing bins.  After one week, waste audits will be conducted on both stations, the stations will then reversed, and the experiment will run for another week.  The project looks to compare the recycling and contamination rates of the two station types.  Results will aid in the decision making of future bin purchases.  

  13. Status of F&S truck availability

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    F&S Garage and Car Pool had provided IBI with a truck that could be used for moving waste vegetable oil as well as biodiesel.

    Unfortunately the truck that was used has been transferred to another department. At this time I am not aware of any other suitable truck becoming available. The University's fiscal situation is such that it is highly unlikely that another truck will be available in the near term.

    Collection and transportation of the biodiesel requires tanks and pumps. The size can vary depending on scale, but the equipment is needed regardless for efficiency. 

  15. Project proposal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Recycling Bins Pilot at Ikenberry

    During the fall ’14 semester, University Housing was able to acquire a recycling bin from MaxR through their Free Bin Friday promotional event. The bin was specifically designed for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using our colors and logo, and currently resides at the entrance of 57 North inside the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building (SDRP).   A suggestion was made to use this bin, along with the recycling bins recently purchased for the main quad, to conduct a test to determine if the branding of a bin would impact recycling participation among our student population.   The test would be conducted at the north entrance of SDRP, and would take place during the spring ’15 semester once weather is more favorable for outdoor foot traffic. All existing trash receptacles would be removed and replaced with the MaxR bin and the appropriately signed bins for the main quad. The test would be conducted for a two week period with the containers switching places after the first week to eliminate positioning as a possible cause for false results. Data would be collected and analyzed by ISCT to determine participation and contamination rates for each style of container. The results would be available made available to various sustainability groups across campus including ISTC and ISEE.

     

  17. Meeting with iSEE, IBI, and F&S

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    Ben McCall, Adam Dornford, and Craig Grant met today to discuss the IBI needs.  Ben wrote this summary, after the meeting:

    1. It would be really nice if we could get IBI back into the ISTC space, at least in the short term.  I will engage them in discussions.
    2. As a "lean" short-to-medium-term option, we could divide the project into three pieces: first, a covered, caged area with secondary containment for the storage of 55-gallon drums of methanol; second, a double-wall above-ground storage tank for the biodiesel; and third, some sort of trailer/truck that would contain the reactor and ancillary equipment.  Each of these would need to be 30 feet away from each other for fire code compliance.  The code requirements for the "trailer" are TBD, but the smaller the quantities of methanol and biodiesel in there at any given time, the easier the compliance would be.  If the trailer is within 1000 feet of a bathroom that can be accessed by people in the trailer, it would not need to have its own bathroom.  We discussed the possibility of trying to go water-less and electrically self-contained.
    3. In the medium-to-long term, it might be preferable to build a dedicated building along the lines of the Variety Crop Trials building, although smaller.  The cost might be a couple hundred thousand or so.

    I think the students will probably investigate the options in more detail now, and we may come back to you with some more detailed questions as we converge on things.
     

     

  18. discussion about trailer needs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    Craig Grant had an initial meeting with Kevin He from the student biodiesel group yesterday to hear his initial thoughts about building a biodiesel processing facility in a trailer. They have been unable to find another suitable facility for their program since they had to leave the ISTC facility on Hazelwood. They were looking at purchasing a mobile pre-manufactured set-up, but the company has since dropped the trailer systems. They want to construct their own system in a trailer using newer processing technologies, but many of the previous raised issues remain problems for them.

    Attached is a copy of their written “Initial Plan” for this endeavor. After listening to the presentation of the plan, Craig identified a number of significant issues that would need to be addressed to even consider the “trailer option” further. Obvious concerns included the approval of possible sites to park the trailer and operate the plant (including off-loading of WVO and storage of processed Biodiesel as well as glycerin processing for liquid soap). The need to take into consideration the approvals needed to be able to available electrical power supplies and connection methods, environmental precautions, etc. will also be significant criteria to be resolved.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Request for status update from fleet manager

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    From: "Varney, Peter W" 

    Date: October 4, 2013 at 7:49:39 AM CDT

    To: "Lietz, Amanda M" 

    Subject: Biodiesel project - truck

     

    I was wondering if you could provide an update to the biodiesel project. We haven’t received a delivery in about a year although there has been some intermittent discussion since the last delivery.

     

    My specific interest revolves around the truck that was used for the deliveries and collections. This vehicle has been sitting idle for a year and if it is no longer needed, I would like to transfer it to another department that would find the truck to be useful. We would remove your equipment and put it into storage for a short time.

     

    Please let me know.

     

    Pete Varney, CAFM

    Associate Director for Facilities & Services

    Director of Transportation & Automotive Services 

     

  20. request for more details about trailer

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    From: Johnston, Morgan B
    Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 4:19 PM
    To: Dornford, Adam Rey; Lietz, Amanda M; Ali, Zeynep; Branham, Bruce E
    Cc: Grant, Craig P; Halverson, Robert
    Subject: IBI trailer

    Hello IBI representatives,

    In order for F&S specialists to adequately review the IBI biodiesel trailer installation requirements, we will need additional details from the manufacturer.  Craig Grant is the Associate Director of Campus Code Compliance and Fire Safety, and he told me that the website for Verde Biofuel does not specify the codes that company used when creating their trailer systems. 

    Please confirm the specific trailer you intend to purchase, and seek the detailed specifications for the equipment used in that trailer.  We need to know, for example, if they followed the National Electric Code (NEC) requirements. 

    You are welcome to call me at 217-344-0044 if you would like to talk about this.

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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