Integrating Freshmen into Exploring the Multi-Faceted World of Engineering and Sustainability through Biofuels Synthesis from Waste Cooking Oil

Solid first year courses are building blocks in helping a freshman navigate through and discover a new major. It is imperative for a freshman to be exposed to different engineering disciplines to experience first-hand the expectations and variations among them. Villanova University’s College of Engineering has strategized this teaching opportunity through a series of 7-week-long freshman mini projects, designed to introduce different engineering majors in the first two-semesters of mandatory freshman engineering courses. This paper focuses on the Biofuels Process and Sustainability mini project, which started in the Fall 2011 semester. This project was developed with the idea of exposing these young engineers to the latest advancements and technological developments in our society. In response to the need for decreased dependence on fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources, the concept of bioeconomy is introduced and emphasized. Through bioeconomy, vital sources of carbon and energy are obtained from biorenewable materials such as biomass. The need to embrace this transformation from non-renewables to an era of bioeconomy should be more important than ever if a significant change is to happen. Through this Biofuels Process and Sustainability mini project, freshmen are exposed to two fundamentals evolving around bioeconomy: the production process of liquid transportation fuels from biorenewables and the sustainability issues surrounding biofuel production and utilization. Specifically, the goals of this mini-project are to challenge freshmen to utilize basic engineering and chemistry principles in synthesizing and characterizing biodiesel made from a renewable resource such as waste cooking oil, to interpret and analyze experimental data in scaling up to a biodiesel processing facility and finally to assess the overall sustainability of the biodiesel production process. Overall, the freshman mini projects come together to better prepare young engineering students to have an appreciation for engineering design and development in the world around us. This course not only introduces the fundamentals of basic engineering principles, but also proactively engages students to perform design experiments while challenging them to come up with a conclusion of their own. Through this multi-disciplinary introductory course, these mini projects will seek to provide a platform for a successful undergraduate engineering career.