Co-Products Lesson Plan

Overview: This lesson explores the importance of co-products for the production of biofuels. Keywords:Activated Carbon - Charcoal that has been heated to increase its adsorptive power. It has many uses

but often times it is used as a filter to purify gases or liquids.

Adsorb - to hold molecules of a liquid or gas as a thin film on the surface of a material.

Co-product - A product manufactured along with another product. In the context of fuel, common co-products include plastic water bottles, Gore-Tex, and activated carbon.

Nanoscopic - Extremely small. For instance, a nanometer is one billionth the size of a meter.

Porous - Having minute spaces through which liquid or air may pass.

Age/ Grade Range: 9th - 12th

Background: In the energy industry, secondary products are manufactured along with fuel in the

conversion process. Although these co-products are not the desired fuel end products, they can be highly valuable and sold for other purposes (Chen & Dixon, 2007). High value co-products could help offset the price of the biofuel refining process and replace the co-products that are used from petroleum manufacturing. Some examples of co-products that humans use in their daily lives are plastics, animal feed, activated carbon and food flavoring (Gibbons & Hughes, 2010).

Over the past thirty years, demand for plastic and other synthetics has dramatically risen. As technology improves, new uses for these materials develop (Laist, 2006). A major producer of these non-renewable products derives from petroleum-based manufacturers (Karana, 2012). Past examinations of this industry have highlighted arguments that link to global warming and fossil fuel depletion. In addition there is correlation with large-scale environmental impact (Harding et al 2007). A major area where this impact can be observed is in our marine world. Plastics discarded in the ocean often suspend on the surface or sink to the sea floor and remain for decades (Laist, 2006). The presence of this pollution has a strong negative effect on marine wildlife and also diminishes water quality (2006). With this carbon footprint affecting large scale ecosystems, addressing these impacts can lead to a more sustainable society and help the global environment and waste management problems (lwata, 2015).

As demand for plastics continues to increase, other industries such medical, food and packaging have investigated the idea of bio-plastics as an alternative to the plastics made from petroleum (Keshavarz, 2010). Studies have shown that bio-plastics meet the same quality standards as traditional (oil) based ones (Karana, 2012). In contrast, past studies have shown bio-plastics to have occupational health and safety hazards during production (Alvarez-Chavex, et al 2012). Overall, bio-plastics can meet the need for plastics in many industries while helping to ease large-scale environmental issues. The major benefit of using bio-plastics is the element of where the carbon originates. This carbon is not ‘new carbon’ added to the environment, but ‘recycled carbon,’

addressing the issue of depleting fossil fuels and the emission of additional carbon into the atmosphere (Narayan, 2011).

In NARA’s primary production of Iso-paraffinic Kerosene (IPK- jet fuel), a byproduct is created in the form of Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA). The combination of PTA and another bio-substance (corn based ethylene glycol (EG)) makes bio-Polyethylene Terephthalate (bio-PET). This bio-PET is a substance that creates common water bottles (Chen, 2015).

This byproduct of bio-PET water bottles shows lower greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to petroleum-based bottles. In production as well, it also creates a three percent carbon credit (Chen, Pelton, & Smith, 2015). This accomplishment of utilizing byproducts for a more sustainable future shows NARA initiative to address multiple areas of new green economy.

Another important co-product that has been created from the NARA biofuel process is activated carbon. This porous carbon material is used in purification, gas separation, and environmental remediation. One application of activated carbon in industry is the sequestration of mercury from coal-fired power plant flue gas (Cline & Smith, 2015). The reason activated carbon can be used this way is because it has an extremely large surface area that allows for specific molecules to adsorb to the extremely small (nanoscopic) pores (shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2). The NARA team has successfully produced activated carbon from the remaining lignin from the wood that is left over from the enzymatic hydrolysis method used to create biofuel (Dallmeyer & Garcia-Perez, 2015). Activated carbon has been identified by NARA as a viable option for a value added co-product because it can be used in hundreds of different industry applications and also because mass quantities of activated carbon can be produced from the refining process.

Figure 1: Magnified image of activated carbon particles using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Note: 1) particles range from a few micrometers to ~30 micrometers and 2) the porous spaces on the particles increase the surface area for adsorption of materials.

Figure 2: This image shows a particle of activated carbon taken with a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Note: 1) size of particle is ~ 300-400 nanometers and 2) rough morphology of particle creates much greater surface area.

Next Generation Science Standards & Common Core:HS-PS1-B Chemical ReactionsHS-LS2: ETS1.B Developing Possible SolutionsHS-ESS3.A Natural ResourcesHS-ESS3.C Human Impacts on Earth Systems HS-ESS3.D Global Climate Change HS-ESS3. ETS1.B Developing Possible Solutions

Objectives: Students will understand:· what a biofuel co-product is and be able to identify some examples.· why high value co-products are so important for the biofuel supply chain.· the ethics of renewable energy use. Materials:

● Bowl (or any container to mix ingredients), paper plates and mixing spoon● Trail mix ingredients

○ ½ cup oats○ ½ cup chocolate chips○ ½ cup peanuts○ ½ cup dried fruit○ ½ cup nuts, pretzels, or any other desired ingredients)

● Cookie ingredients ○ ½ cup peanut butter○ ½ cup powdered sugar○ 2 Tbs. milk○ ½ tsp. vanilla extract○ 1 cup oats○ ½ cup chocolate chips

● Gloves and safety glasses● Tape● Balance● 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks (3)● Spoons (2)● 1.2 g Methylene blue dye (0.5 g, 0.4 g, 0.3 g)● 0.3 Activated carbon (0.1 g x 3 )● 300 ml Water (100 ml x 3)● Filter funnel● Coffee filters (3)● 250 or 500 ml beakers (3)● Pipette● Cuvettes (3)● Spectrometer and LabQuest or computer

Setup: Methylene blue dye and activated carbon will be mailed to school prior to lesson

Classroom time: 1 hour

Outline:BEFORE CLASS: Read background information and complete the worksheet.

IN CLASS:Part 1 No bake cookies!1.) Mix trail mix ingredients together in a bowl

● ½ cup oats● ½ cup chocolate chips● ½ cup peanuts● ½ cup dried fruit● ½ cup nuts, pretzels, or any other desired ingredients

Explain that the oats represent the carbon from the wood chips that is converted into biofuel by adding other ingredients; oats = carbon, trail mix = biofuel

2.) Use leftover oats to make no bake cookies. Combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl.

○ ½ cup peanut butter○ ½ cup powdered sugar○ 2 Tbs. milk○ ½ tsp. vanilla extract

Mix in oats and chocolate chips.○ 1 cup oats○ ½ cup chocolate chips

Roll into cookie sized balls and flatten on paper plates. Refrigerate cookies until end of lesson. Explain that the oats represent the leftover carbon that is used to create the co-product, activated carbon; oats = carbon, no bake cookies = activated carbon Part 2 Using activated carbon to filter waterWear safety glasses and gloves!1) Label the Erlenmeyer flasks using pieces of tape with 0.05 g methylene blue, 0.04 g methylene blue, and 0.03 g methylene blue. (photos will be re-taken with the corrected measurements)

2) Measure out 0.05 grams, 0.04 grams and 0.03 grams of the methylene blue dye powder using the scale and pour into the respectively labeled Erlenmeyer flask.

3) Add 10 ml water to each flask and swirl.

4) Measure out 0.1 grams of activated carbon three times and pour into each Erlenmeyer flask..

5) Swirl for a few seconds and wait 20 minutes while the activated carbon adsorbs the dye. While waiting move onto part 3

.6) Wet a coffee filter and place over a funnel resting in a labeled 250 or 500 ml beaker. Slowly pour the 0.05 g solution through the filter to remove all of the activated carbon from the solution. Dispose of the activated carbon and the filter in trash. Repeat with a new secondary filter to remove any remaining activated carbon. Repeat this step with 0.04 g and 0.03 g solutions.

7) Pipette enough filtered solution from each beaker to fill the spectrogram cuvette ¾ full. If not using a spectrometer, visually observe the different shades of blue dye in the solutions.

8) Place each cuvette in spectrometer and record the absorption value at the wavelength peaks. Compare results and pour the remaining solution down the drain.

Part 3 (Assessment):Divide the class into two teams and debate the ethics of utilizing fuel co-products. Each team will use the background information from the worksheet as well as online research to develop a strong argument for both the economic and environmentally sustainable benefit of producing high value co-products.

Team 1 is a petroleum based company. They produce co-products that consist of plastic water bottles, outdoor apparel, and plastic automobile parts.

Team 2 is a renewable biofuel energy based company. They produce co-products that consist of bio-PET water bottles and activated carbon.

Facilitation- Allow 20 minutes for both teams to read background information and find other sources of information online. Ask one team to start the debate by stating their main points with the

lens of both sustainability and economics. Team 1 will have higher profit margins due to more demand for such co-products (better economically). Team 2 will have a better argument for sustainability due to what their co-product is used for.

Driving point- There is no particular team that can necessarily win the debate. The idea is to highlight how much co-products drive a company in the lens of economics and sustainability. In addition, students will understand how co-products are one of the main economic drivers for the NARA project.

WORKSHEET:Question PromptsDirections- Please write one to two sentences for each question

1). What is the leading energy industry in your hometown/ region?

2.) Think critically about this industry and come up with a few possible arguments that support and oppose this industry in the lens of:

a.) environmental impact in your region.

b.) economic impact in your region.

To complete this worksheet please find online websites/ resources that have additional information about the energy industry.

NARA website

Wikipedia

Google Scholar

.gov website

Oil company site

Your choice

This work was supported by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-68005-30416 from the USDA National

Institute of Food and Agriculture.