Introduction

As our society becomes more concerned with global warming and the the problems associated with carbon dioxide emissions, we will need effective energy alternatives. This will be no easy task and will occupy many scientific careers. For students interested in science, this is great news! Never before has it been possible to work on projects that will so greatly change the world. We will need scientists to discover new ways to turn renewable energies into forms we can use. We will need engineers to design the new distribution systems for these technologies. Most of all, we will need educated citizens who can vote for measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote alternatives. It all starts with education and inspiring students so that they understand that they can make a difference.

The following activites can introduce high school students to the fundamentals of biofuels research. They fit nicely within the existing curriculum and can be modified from the most prescribed "cookbook" labs, to very open-ended, inquiry-based labs in order to fit the needs of your students.

The greenhouse gas lab ready to go!

Partners

Currently, I am working with the Science Outreach Department at Washington University in St. Louis to bring these exercises into the high school classroom. We began with a summer workshop entitled Biofuels: Hot Topics and will continue our partnership throughout the school year.

In the past, I have worked with the Missouri Science Teaching and Education Program (MO-STEP), an NSF-funded GK-12 program at the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL). This group of teachers from area high schools and graduate students and faculty at UMSL has been working hard to engage high school students in the biological and environmental sciences. They have published many exercises related to ecology and evolution on their website.

Global Warming Activities

• Global warming experiment in an aquarium: Learn first-hand how carbon dioxide affects air temperature.
• Energy meter lab: Measure how much energy various appliances use and calculate how much carbon dioxide they are emitting in the process.
• Greenhouse effect and global warming: web resources

Hydrogen Activities

Fuel cell car labs:

• Review of fuel cell car kits
• Making hydrogen fuel and powering the car: for use with the Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kit
• Qualitative gas lab: Students will use the fuel cell to make hydrogen and oxygen and test the gases to figure out which is which. This is a nice activity to pair with the previous lab: after they have determined which gas is which, they can use it to power the car.
• Hydrogen fuel cells: web resources

Other hydrogen activities:

• Build your own fuel cell: an excellent exploration into the gas battery effect using only a battery, platinum wires, salt water, some wires, and a volt meter.
• Hydrogen-oxygen rockets: Robert Becker, a chemistry teacher at Kirkwood High School, has perfected this great activity to show the energy contained in hydrogen gas. (Coming soon!)

Biodiesel Activities

• Make and test your own biodiesel: Classroom activities to explore the properties of biodiesel.

Microbial Fuel Cell Activities

• How can we use microorganisms to convert biomass into electricity? A simplified introductory demo illustrates this amazing process.
• Microbial Fuel Cell Activities: Classroom activities using small microbial fuel cells.

Bioenergy: Processes and Prospects

• Link to a description of a graduate seminar course I have developed on the molecular biology and biochemistry of biofuels and bioenergy.