Loyola University Chicago
IN-2: Innovation 2

The Biodiesel Program was student built and continues to be run by students with the help of one staff member, the Biodiesel Lab Manager, to bring expertise and continuity to our efforts. Students have produced a financially self-sustaining education program that serves to demonstrate and enact sustainable solutions to real world problems. Student participation in the Biodiesel Program occurs in three ways: 1. Lab Fellowships, the taking the Waste-to Energy Lab course, and becoming a member in the Biodiesel Club. 2. Fellows get the chance to propose their own exploratory projects and work on them throughout the year while helping with the operations and outreach aspects of the Biodiesel Program. These paid positions have become the heart of successful day-to day operations and energetic outreach efforts. 3. The Waste-to Energy Lab course is a spinoff of STEP: Biodiesel, which allows students to learn about biodiesel while exploring other waste streams at Loyola that might be utilized for energy or saleable products. This one-credit lab course consists of student projects, hands-on lab experiments, and field trips to see waste systems in action. What is unique about Loyola's Biodiesel program is that it is the only student run biofuel enterprise licensed by Local, State and Federal Authority to sell their product as a retail operation.

Hands-on experience comes while in the lab, where students learn the process of making biodiesel. From collecting the waste vegetable oil from the university's cafeterias to titrating the free fatty acid content, students are expected to learn and experience how to physically convert a waste product into a renewable fuel. The Biodiesel Lab is primarily run by student fellows and students in our Biofuels Lab Course. These students oversee the production and sale of: • Biodiesel • BioSoap • Tiki Torch Fuel • Biodiesel Processors New facility has capacity to produce 100,000 gallons of fuel per year and generate over $300,000 in sales.