http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/91918303/nelson-teen-converts-van-to-run-on-used-vegetable-oil-from-school-kitchen
[images and video in on-line article]
Nelson teen converts van to run on used vegetable oil from school
kitchen video
JONATHAN CARSON
Last updated 06:47, April 28 2017
Before Neil MacMillan was old enough to drive he was learning about how
to run a vehicle using vegetable oil.
Brought up walking through the bush with his mum and learning about the
flora and fauna, he became aware of the environmental impacts of his
actions at a young age.
MacMillan said he was 10 when he first started researching ways to
reduce his carbon footprint, including plans for a plant-powered vehicle.
"I looked into it and have old sketches of different ways I could filter
the vegetable oil."
The 17-year-old Nelson College deputy head boy made his dream a reality
last year, buying a 1993 Toyota Hiace with a diesel engine.
He worked cleaning cars during the school holidays to save for the van.
He asked the kitchen staff at Nelson College, where he boards, if he
could start collecting their leftover vegetable oil.
And he started collecting old jeans from op-shops to filter the oil.
MacMillan said diesel engines were designed to run on rapeseed oil so he
was confident that he could use filtered vegetable oil in his van
without making any modifications.
"Everyone was a bit skeptical that it wouldn't work, but I jumped
straight in to see if it would. I was fairly certain that it would work.
"There was a little bit of a puff of smoke at first, but it was running
fine.
"Instead of the normal, typical diesel exhaust smell, it's sort of sweet
like you've just walked into a fish and chip shop."
The only modification he had to make was adding heating coils along the
fuel line to warm up the oil during the winter as it's more viscous than
diesel.
'ANYONE COULD DO IT'
MacMillan said he was motivated by his passion for the environment and
showing others that it was easy to make simple changes.
"I started thinking about the future and how ... I wanted to do my best
in little ways that I could to help things out.
"Back when I was 10 I was thinking about what I'd say to my
grandchildren and children, and I wanted to tell them I tried my best."
He said bio-fuels were a "segue" into electric vehicles.
"We need to stop using fossil fuels as soon as we can."
MacMillan said using vegetable oil as fuel might seem like a drastic
step, but "anyone could do it".
"I want to do it to show other people just how easy it is."
He said in the first three months of the year he would have saved about
$300 while reducing carbon emissions.
The van didn't have as much "grunt" on vegetable oil, but MacMillan said
the difference was barely noticeable.
MacMillan helped to set up the Nelson College environmental committee
last year, helping with tree planting, waste management and pest and
weed control on the school grounds and surrounds.
He said he was planning to study environmental science at Victoria
University next year.
"I've got a pretty optimistic view of what humanity's going to do. I'm
pretty certain we're going to start making some serious changes," he said.
"We can't keep doing what we're doing, it won't last forever. I see a
world where the environmentally conscious people we have nowadays is
just the normal."
