19 Ohio STEM teachers met at the Summit County ESC building to learn more about energy and biofuels in a unique co-sponsored workshop. Presenters included Ohio Soybean Council’s GrowNextGen, Ohio Corn & Wheat’s Feed the World, and the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program.
As part of the Exploring Energy workshop, participants made biodiesel, then tested it by racing pop-pop boats. This lesson is available free on our website: Make biodiesel from soybeans.
Biodiesel is a diesel fuel replacement made from excess renewable fats and oils. Renewable diesel utilizes the same feedstocks through a production process more like diesel fuel production. This yields compounds that are chemically indistinguishable from petroleum diesel fuel. Both biodiesel and renewable diesel offer performance improvements over the use of petroleum (i.e. reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%). In addition, biodiesel provides benefits to the economy, the environment, and human health.
Check out this related resource, the e-learning course Making bioenergy from biomass, to accompany this lesson.
