Experiential Learning Activities for K-12 Outreach and Undergraduate Students involving Production and Utilization of Biodiesel

A multidisciplinary team of students and faculty at University of Maryland Eastern Shore have been involved with making biodiesel from virgin and used cooking oils on campus. Biodiesel made with used cooking oil from campus dining services has been used for running farm equipment and a diesel generator to power a campus green-house and ongoing projects related to development of an Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system. The multidisciplinary team at UMES also partnered with Cornell and member universities of the National Bioenergy and Bioproducts Education Program (NBBEP) with support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As part of the NBBEP, the UMES team developed a kit that could be used in K-12 settings without access to elaborate chemistry laboratories to make biodiesel from virgin cooking oil. The school teachers who have used the biodiesel kits in the K-12 settings have indicated that integrating the biodiesel production activity with its utilization in a transportation related activity will make the activity even more appealing to the students and provide richer learning outcomes. This paper outlines the biodiesel kit development efforts, its utilization in K-16 outreach activities integrated with NBBEP and other ongoing K-12 outreach efforts at UMES. The recent efforts in utilizing a biodiesel blend (with heptane and castor oil) that have been reported to work with glow engines, to fly on a model remote controlled fixed wing airplane is also highlighted. The assessment framework and lesson plan for the biodiesel kit were suitably adapted based on the success of the trials, and incorporated in the K-12 outreach efforts at UMES in 2016 summer.