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It’s believed that the world’s next economic revolution will come as society moves from carbon-based fuels like gasoline to other sources, such as hydrogen, solar and biofuels.
Southeastern Community College is looking to play a role in the development of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Biodiesel has been the focus of attention at SCC the last two weeks.
Biodiesel is important because:
• It reduces emissions by an average of 75 percent, which is important as the world’s climate warms from burning carbon fuels, and for health reasons.
• Its increased use will enable us to lower our dependence on foreign fuel, which in turn would stem the money flow to Arab autocracies and theocracies.
• It doesn’t require (diesel) engine modification. Its use could be immediate for school buses (another benefit: biodiesel would expose children to fewer cancer-causing emissions), farm equipment and trucking fleets.
• The Columbus County economy. Columbus County’s climate and fertile soil are ideal for growing the raw material, such as soybeans and canola, and the county is close to metropolitan areas that will demand the finished product. Biodiesel can be produced on small or large farms.
• Canola is grown from November to June, the “off-season” for other cash crops.
Congressman Mike McIntyre is interested in trying to fund biodiesel processing plants in southeastern North Carolina.
With SCC’s commitment to biotechnology and the continued development of the program by faculty members Gary Nealy and Becky Westbrooks, Columbus County would be the ideal location to put one or more processing plants.