Turning Brown Grease Into Biofuel

In the movement to turn wastewater treatment plants from cost centers to profit centers, grease could play a significant role.RPM Sustainable Technologies of Storrs, Conn., is introducing a new process to convert brown grease into biodiesel fuel. A co-byproduct, glycerol, could have even more lucrative applications as a building block for high-end chemicals and other products.“Wastewater treatment plants collect a lot of brown grease, either from haulers or through the sewer system,” says Richard Parnas, co-founder of RPM and professor of chemical engineering at the University of Connecticut.“Here in Connecticut, most of it is either taken to landfills or incinerated,”