Students from Whitney Young High School built a biodiesel system at the University of IL at Chicago last fall.  They have been making biodiesel and donating the fuel they make to farms, businesses, and other schools.  They tested the emissions they produced at an IDOT test facility and they showed an 80% reduction in overall emissions.

However, they have taken their project to another level with their recent activities. They started working with a non-profit group called Food Desert Action (FDA) that has an old CTA bus.  The plan is rehab the bus into a grocery store on wheels so that the that FDA can drive to food deserts around the city and offer residents fresh and organic produce to buy.  The students have been donating a lot of labor in removing unnecessary equipment.  They have also been making about 300 gallons of biodiesel to donate to the group to reduce emissions and offset fuel costs.  Lastly, they had a fund raiser in which they raised $525 to donate towards the purchase of solar panels for the bus.  Mr Sievers, the WYHS sponsor of the biodiesel club, plans on helping FDA design the solar panel system and the students will help install it.

If that is not enough, the students also raised equipment donations to build an second, fully functional system. Last weekend the students drove the system components out to Mendota High School in Mendota IL, about 2 hours from Chicago, and donated the system to the FFA club at Mendota.  The students at Whitney Young did this to help Mendota start their own biodiesel program and to spread the word about the benefits of biodiesel.  With rising pollution levels and fuel costs, biodiesel is a smart and green alternative fuel.

Lastly, the students have been making a PowerPoint on how to make biodiesel and a biodiesel system. The students have made contacts with a company in Honduras, INALMA.  This company makes fried plantins for export. They produce a lot of waste vegetable oil, WVO, the main feed stock for biodiesel.  The students are helping INALMA design a biodiesel system to utilize the WVO and convert it into an inexpensive green fuel. Energy in Honduras is expensive and this not only would create jobs producing biodiesel, but offer a clean inexpensive fuel. Honduras and other small countries do not have many "green" programs.  Thus, the students are reaching out internationally to help other countries to start thinking green. INALMA plans on presenting their design to over 200 small businesses and companies throughout Honduras to share the technology.  When INALMA has equipment and are ready to assemble their biodiesel system, Mr Sievers has plans to visit and help them on setup and startup. 

The students of the Whitney Young Biodiesel Club, as their motto suggests, are truly H.E.R.O.E.S.  (Helping to Engender Renewable Organic Energy Sources).

If you have questions please contact Mr Sievers at bssivers@cps.edu