University Student Receives National Environmental Award
for Biodiesel Work
Helps lead University of Colorado and City of Boulder to Biodiesel

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. –The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) today applauded Andrew Azman, an engineering student at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) who was one of the select winners of the Earth Island Institute’s (Earth Island) 2003 Brower Youth Award. At a ceremony today in San Francisco, Earth Island honored Azman for his vision and leadership in replacing petrochemical diesel fuel with vegetable oil-based biodiesel in buses and trucks at the University and the City of Boulder.

Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel that can be made from vegetable oils such as soybean oil and works in any diesel engine. Biodiesel can be blended with petroleum diesel at any level or used in its pure form.

“Biodiesel is a solution that’s available now, not next year, not tomorrow,” said Azman, founder of CU Biodiesel at CU-Boulder. “Every major university can make the switch within the year.”

“Andrew Azman is an exciting young leader in the vanguard of the campaign to clean up the nation’s air through increased use of clean-burning biodiesel from soybeans and other domestic, renewable sources,” declared NBB Executive Director Joe Jobe. “Andrew is turning the knowledge he is gaining through his university education into action and is making a real difference.”

“Fueling existing diesel vehicle fleets with plant-based biodiesel is an important transitional step in weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels and reducing our unsustainable drain on the Earth's resources,” added Dave Phillips, executive director of the Earth Island Institute, a San Francisco-based environmental group that works for solutions to environmental problems by promoting citizen action and incubating a diverse network of projects and sponsors the Brower Youth Award.

Azman began his studies at CU-Boulder as a biochemistry and environmental studies major, but switched to environmental engineering to try to get beyond studying the problems and into creating solutions. His chance came after an engineering class in which he helped design a processor that could create biodiesel fuel. Azman recognized the opportunity to turn this design into a real solution and secured funding to a build the processor, then run one of the university’s transit buses on fuel made by processing the cafeteria’s fryer grease. Students dubbed the demonstration bus 'The Fried Ride' and voted to allocate a portion of student fees projected to total $30,000 annually toward switching the rest of the university’s buses to biodiesel. The subsequent increased use of biodiesel by the university and the city helped lead to the September 12 opening of a biodiesel retail pump in Boulder, the first in Colorado. Blue Sun Biodiesel is providing soy-based biodiesel to the outlet.

“Andrew Azman was instrumental in the partnership between the City of Boulder, the University of Colorado, and the private sector to bring biodiesel to Boulder,” said Boulder Mayor Will Toor. “This will have real benefits – helping to improve local air quality and to reduce our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.”

Growing up in suburban Maryland, Andrew enjoyed his time outdoors in local parks and the woods near his house but did not exactly grow up in a family of tree-huggers. “I haven’t even been able to convince my dad to recycle,” he says, “But now he’s says he’s going to buy a car that he can fuel with biodiesel.”

Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have completed the rigorous Health Effects testing required by the Clean Air Act. Results show biodiesel poses less of a risk to human health than petroleum diesel. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a comprehensive technical report of biodiesel emissions data that shows the exhaust emissions of particulate matter from pure biodiesel are about 47 percent lower than overall particulate matter emissions from diesel. Breathing particulate has been shown to be a human health hazard. Biodiesel emissions also reduce by 80 to 90 percent cancer causing compounds called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated PAH. Biodiesel also reduces emissions of total unburned hydrocarbons, a contributing factor to smog and ozone, by about 68 percent. Carbon monoxide is reduced by about 48 percent.

Biodiesel can be made from any fat or vegetable oil, such as soybean oil. The United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs funded much of the development of the biodiesel industry in the US. Biodiesel has similar horsepower, torque and BTU content compared to petroleum diesel. It offers excellent lubricity and higher cetane than diesel fuel. Biodiesel is registered with the EPA as a fuel and fuel additive. About 350 major fleets currently use biodiesel nationwide.

# # #