Hawaiian students are going nuts over a new biofuel.

At Seabury Hall school in Makawao, on the island of Maui, teachers Kathleen Ireland and Martin Emde have enlisted the entire freshman and sophomore classes and 35 seniors in a uniquely Hawaiian energy solution using kukui nuts.

The kukui, Hawaii’s state tree and a traditional symbol of peace, enlightenment, and protection, has long provided essential parts for canoes. Its nuts have made their way into everything from hair oil and medicine to sauces for food.

With their high oil content, the nuts have also been burned to provide light and to keep time – it takes around 15 minutes for a nut to burn completely – so their value as a fuel source is clear.

But, producing biofuel is a complicated process, nonetheless. Launching their schoolwide project, Ireland and Emde put freshmen to work locating kukui nut trees, taking microclimate and GPS information on their tree, and harvesting at least 120 nuts. They will press the oil from the nuts with the help and guidance of a senior engineering class.

Along with the biological data on each tree, the oil will be passed to the sophomore chemistry class. Those students will analyze the amount of energy each oil is capable of producing, looking to see if there is any difference among the samples. The two classes plan to work together to analyze the data and determine what conditions produce the highest grade oil.

All the samples will then be given to the senior AP Engineering class, which will use it to power a student-designed motor. The seniors will analyze emissions from the motor in order to determine the environmental impact, effectively bringing the project full circle.

Ireland and Emde hope this endeavor will continue on for many years, first using the kukui nuts, and, within five years, switching to oils produced in a field of jatropha bushes that freshmen have been tending. The jatropha plant, which produces an oil similar to that of kukui nuts, may prove to be a better biofuel source for a large population. Although not native to Hawaii, jatropha grows well there and is not invasive. It has a much greater yield per unit effort, and the process of turning jatropha oil into commercial grade fuel is already understood.

“This is an amazing project in that it teaches the students problem solving, team work, data collection and interpretation, follow-through and consequences of shoddy work, research techniques, and presentation skills,” Ireland says. The project benefited from a $10,000 Toyota TAPESTRY grant, provided through a partnership between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and the National Science Teachers Association.

The two Hawaii teachers bring the same basic approach to teaching. “Keep it fun,” Ireland says, “and do not be afraid to demonstrate your passion. You love this topic — let them know that!” Their classroom styles diverge, however. Ireland draws from multiple disciplines. Her classes have employed Claymation (stop-action animation using clay figures), podcasting, video production, acting, and scientific drawing. She also regularly brings in experts to speak on topics ranging from Maui marine organisms to water quality, and sustainability to genetically modified organisms, as well as the physiology of drug abuse.

Emde, a 15-year teaching veteran, leans toward daring demonstrations. Smoke and explosions, he says, are “huge” in gaining the interest of “on the fence” students. As students watched, he has cooked a hot dog by passing current through it, used electricity to ignite lead from a pencil, and even fired a gun into a block of wood to demonstrate the physics behind collisions. The latter stunt required safety precautions and hard work to win permission from the school’s administration. But, like producing biofuel from Kukui nuts, it’s the kind of lesson students won’t soon forget.

Photos courtesy of Kathleen Ireland and Martin Emde, Photo of Kukui Nuts by W. L. Cutler

Filed under: Special Features

Tags: Biofuel, Environmental Engineering, Green, Green Technology, Science Teachers