Starting with corn flour, teachers from around the state created ethanol at the one-day Feed the World Focus on Energy and Ethanol workshop. 24 teachers, representing a variety of schools, had hands-on experience in each part of the Feed the World ethanol curriculum.
- Corn fermentation in a bag is one of the most popular Feed the World lessons. Using the Engineering Design process, participants investigate various feedstocks to determination fermentation rates and measure results.
- Biomass to sugars lab tests feedstocks to determine which will produce the most sugar.
- Nutrient testing measures the nutrient values of corn before and after ethanol production.
- Distillation lab distills ethanol from corn mash and measures burn time through an alcohol flame test.
Blaire Volbers teaches chemistry at Shaker Heights High School. She heard about the workshop from other people who recommended it. “I didn’t know you could do so much with corn,” she said. “We do an energy unit with our students, and this would be a great way to incorporate that: where do we get our energy from? how can we be more sustainable?”
Volbers said being at the workshop, being able to do the lessons herself, and talk with the teachers who have developed them, is really helpful to her. This summer’s two-day workshop will cover the ethanol curriculum as well as all the other Feed the World lessons. Register now!