Biodiesel Fuel for School Bus

Fifteen students in the green school committee and more than 30 other students at City Academy in Salt Lake City made over 250 gallons of fuel from used vegetable oil collected from a local restaurant.  The school bus shuttled students to the nearby mountain, a green demonstration house, a local recycling facility, on dozens of field trips for various classes, and even to an environmental youth conference in Los Angeles.

Students started discussing alternative fuels while we were studying global warming and pollution.  That’s when they came up with the idea of making their own biodiesel fuel from used vegetable oil for  school bus to reduce our school’s CO2 emissions.

Students are in charge of soliciting used vegetable oil donations, working with the Health Department to adhere to qualifications for oil collection, collecting the oil, making the fuel, filling the bus, and doing outreach and presentations to other groups about biodiesel.  They get real, hands-on applications of chemistry and biology concepts.  They learn mechanical skills as they maintain the bus and the biodiesel processor; hone their math skills as they calculate recipes for biodiesel; and get reading, writing, and editing practice from making and distributing promotional materials.