CSULB
to study re-refined oil
By
Nicole Jeanne Lavaud
Daily Forty-Niner
The
oilrigs near campus may have some competition
soon. A grant recently awarded to the university
is exploring ways to reduce the amount of
waste created by tires and the reuse of
motor oil.
The
California Integrated Waste Management Board
awarded the Bureau of Government Research
and Services at Cal State Long Beach a grant
for $200,000 for two projects. Michelle
Saint-Germain, Martha Dede and Edward Martin,
all faculty members in the Graduate Center
for Public Policy and Administration, are
the project’s investigators.
The
projects are to study the use of re-refined
motor oil and tire operations among fleet
managers. Fleet managers are in charge of
the maintenance and operations of business’
trucks. The project’s goals are to
educate fleet managers of the quality and
successful use of using re-refined motor
oil and identifying the best practices to
acquire, maintain and dispose of truck tires.
“The
grant shows the university as a research
entity,” said John McQueen, a staff
member for the tire project. He also said
grants provide students with the opportunity
to do research.
McQueen
said the tire study’s goal is to create
a manual of “best management practices”
or the ideal way to handle tires. Fleet
managers are dealing with a number of trucks,
anywhere from five to 1,000. Some of these
trucks have up to 14 tires underneath them.
The importance is to reduce the number of
tires thrown into dumps or waste plants
each year.
Recycled
tires are currently burned in power plants
for electricity instead of coal or oil;
and they are also ground up and added to
concrete and asphalt for roads in Los Angeles
County.
Along
with recycling tires, many are trying to
recycle motor oil. The project is trying
to spread the word of the benefits of using
recycled motor oil. Luis Urgiles, a staff
member for the re-refined oil study, said
they are trying to combat the myths about
re-refined oil. One of those myths is that
reused motor oil is not of good quality.
Re-refined
motor oil goes through a process similar
to crude oil according to Urgiles. Pollutants
are taken out and new additives are put
in to create new oil. Re-refined oil helps
to reduce waste and protect the environment
because it has already been found and dug
up from the ground. Machinery is used to
create new oil from old oil, instead of
searching and fighting to dig up oil from
places such as Alaska.
According
to Urgiles, use of re-refined oil could
cut down the amount of oil imported from
other countries and have a more beneficial
effect on the environment.
Urgiles
said they are in phase one of the project
and they have been compiling a database
of fleet managers in Southern California
since mid-August. He said they plan to begin
phase two sometime this month. Phase two
will consist of a telephone survey with
fleet managers. The study will give their
research to California Waste Management
Board next fall.
The
mission of the board is to reduce waste
and to promote the management of all materials
to their highest and best use. These studies
will help it to reach a one-target audience.
“I
think the grant is a good thing for the
university,” said Emily Provansal,
a senior public relations major. “It
is showing that we have a significant part
in the academic world as being somebody.”
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