Biofuel as a teaching tool
Lauryn Burkhalter, French and Environmental Studies major, explains the process of making biofuel at an open forum this spring at the Lake Shore Campus.
Thanks to a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, Loyola students in the Solutions to Environmental Problems (STEP) course will soon be bringing their knowledge of biodiesel production to Chicago-area high schools.
Three members of the STEP project, Daniel Larkin, Shane Lishawa, and Luke Beasley, recently traveled to Washington, DC, to participate in the National Sustainable Design Expo and present their grant proposal. Finishing in the top six out of 38 schools, the team took home a $75,000 two-year grant.
Using the EPA grant, STEP participants will outfit vehicles with portable biodiesel reactors. Student interns will drive vehicles to Chicago high schools to teach students about sustainability and hopefully spark the development of independent biodiesel labs at each school. “Our goal in working with high schools is not just to produce the biodiesel; it is to get students engaged in energy issues,” says Larkin, a post-doctoral fellow in biology.
It was this emphasis on community engagement, Larkin believes, that put the team over the top. “We were competing with engineering schools and big state universities. Their projects were more technologically advanced, but our strength was our focus on civic engagement, community service, and being on an urban campus.”
This program expands on the success of the prior STEP course. Students in the course have already developed relationships with Highland Park High School and the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School in Chicago. After training and guidance from members of Loyola’s STEP course, both schools are now producing their own biodiesel from used cooking oil. Plans are underway to use the fuel in school vehicles.
Beasley, a senior majoring in accounting, was involved in the STEP course through all of last year. “It was really exciting, the first semester, to set up the lab and make the biodiesel,” he says. “Then, second semester, it was a great opportunity to work on this grant proposal that will continue the program for years and bring it into high schools in the surrounding community.” The plan is for the course to change topics in the spring of next year, during which students will investigate ways to make University food service more sustainable.
For more information on STEP, including studentmade videos, visit LUC.edu/biodiesel.
A cause in common
Uncommon Ground, a restaurant that recently opened on Devon Avenue near the Lake Shore Campus, has started an unusual collaboration with Loyola’s Solutions to Environment Problems (STEP) course. The owners of the restaurant have given Loyola over 100 gallons of used grease, which members of the STEP course have converted into biodiesel fuel. The restaurant owners, who are interested in sustainability, are looking into using the fuel in their personal vehicle. The eatery has also helped spread the word about the STEP course through their Green Room Sessions, a monthly event for green networking that includes food, music, and the neighboring community.