In September 2021 the B&O team began writing lesson plans on the topics Climate Change and Ocean Health, Biofuels, and Renewable Energy and the Ocean, which all involved activities [...]
R&D is pursuing a new project on the impregnation of biochar with ammonium phosphate. At a lab scale, R&D will seek to demonstrate the technical feasibility of forming ammonium phosphate [...]
B&O is continuing their partnership with the Shinnecock Indian Nation Environmental Department and the NYS Water Resources Institute on a podcast project. In the podcast, they will discuss [...]
BioImp is designing a process to continuously produce biodiesel from waste fats and oils, which they hope in the future will be sourced from Cornell Dining. The continuous process [...]
The Biofuels Research and Development sub-team investigated the formation of struvite, a slow release fertilizer, from acid-whey waste streams. Struvite formation requires nitrogen and [...]
In the Fall 2019 semester, ESW Biofuels added a new subteam, Biodiesel Engine Project (BEP). The goal of the project is to install a Vector System (VS) onto a diesel tractor so it can also run on biodiesel [...]
Beginning in fall of 2020, the BioImp subteam performed a techno economic analysis of rare earth element bioextraction (REE TEA). The project focused on the process [...]
In the spring of 2021, B&O set out to compile all the necessary information to design and build a solar bike shed for our partner at Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Tompkins in their Green [...]
Using waste vegetable oil procured from on-campus fraternities, R&D performed batch scale production of biodiesel. From online resources, they learned the various steps necessary for biodiesel production [...]
The Business and Outreach sub-team conducts outreach in sustainability education throughout the Ithaca community. In past semesters, they have carried out activities at Belle Sherman [...]
The Business and Outreach sub-team has collaborated with Cornell Cooperative Extension in the Energy Warriors Program, which helps prepare incarcerated students at the Finger Lakes [...]
Since the spring of 2020, the BioImp subteam has been working with CIRENAS (Center for Investigation of Social and Natural Resources), a sustainability education organization based in Costa Rica [...]
The BioImp subteam worked with Hollenbeck, a cider mill located in Cortland, NY. One byproduct of cider production is leftover apple pulp called pomace, which Hollenbeck sells [...]
Every year, the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF) processes over 2.5 billion gallons of wastewater from Ithaca and its surrounding areas. This volume of flow carries not only water, but also [...]
In September 2016, the engineers at the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility (IAWWTF) asked the ESW Biofuels team to examine the feasibility of converting biogas into compressed bio-natural gas [...]
Algae is one of the most versatile photosynthetic organisms, being used for feedstock, fuel and nutrition. Putting them in homes and on roofs can help ease our carbon footprint and reduce circulation of harmful [...]
The advantages of collecting unwanted fats, oils, and grease (F.O.G.) produced from cooking are two-fold: diverted F.O.G. can reduce pipe blockage in sewer and septic systems [...]
In October 2015, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced the Energy to Lead Competition. This competition challenged [...]
Microbial fuel cells, or MFCs, are fuel cells that use biochemical reactions to generate electricity. Anaerobic bacteria grow at the anode, electrons are deposited at the anode. Electrons are [...]
The project started with an interest in diverting fats, oils, and greases (F.O.G.) from the sewer system and converting that waste stream into a source of energy. When F.O.G. [...]
University officials originally wrote CURBI, the Cornell University Renewable Bioenergy Initiative, in the late 2000s. CURBI outlined how biofuels could be used to help Cornell reach its [...]