Getting Greasey and Full of Power

What a day we had for our first day of "Biotech II the Sequel". We travelled to Pittsboro and New Hill to visit things we had never seen before. Before we talk about today perhaps we should tell you about our Biotech day camps. This week long day camp started last year after three very creative 4-H Agents (if we do say so ourselves) met and came up with the idea of a travelling 4-H Camp. So Cathy Brown with Hoke County 4-H, Angela Shaver with Bladen County 4-H, and Shea Ann DeJarnette with Robeson County 4-H came together to create the Biotech experience. Last year each day had a theme; there was Under the Sea, CSI, Experimenting with Experiments, Agri-Science, and Alternative Energy. It was such a success that we decided to create an entirely new event this year. Our themes this year include; Power, More Power, Science Exploration and Explosions, Agri-Science and much more. The themes may peak your interest but it is the hands on approach that has the youth so excited.

Today our theme was Power as we explored some really cool power sources. We started our day in Pittsboro, NC at the Piedmont Bio Fuels Center. There we started with a tour of the farm, which is part of a nonprofit organization called the Abundance Foundation. The farm has multiple purposes and is self sustaining. Not only is it an experimental garden in that it is organic and the farmers are using various methods to increase yield, heartiness, and sustainability, but it is a working farm where what is harvested is sold at the local farmers market. The bio fuel center also uses various vegetables to test the seeds to determine if oils from the fruits or vegetables can be used in the bio fuel process. The farmers use seeds from the plants they grow, save them, and plant them the following year. They even have their own bee hives to help pollinate the plants they grow and there were some really neat plants in there. Our youth saw organic pest control methods, saw squash, sweet potatoes and peanuts right off the plants. They also got to test cherry tomatoes from plants that were taller than they were. Our three county team also saw (and smelled) basil lettuce, it is a milder form of basil (not lettuce) that is grown in the form of really big leaves. The entire farm visit was a great introduction to the bio fuel center.

As we stepped off the farm and into the bio fuel plants we were first introduced to the basis of this fuel...old, used, nasty looking cooking oil. The oil is collected from approximately 200 local restaurants and is put into big tanks where chemicals are mixed in to separate the fuel and the glycerin. The glycerin is sold off for other purposes, and the fuel is filtered and turned into bio diesel. Our tour guide explained that at the plants peak they were making up to 130,000 gallons of bio diesel in a month. However at that time they had to by their base or the cooking oil they were using and it was costing a great deal of money. The plant now works with local restaurants to pick up their used oil for free. By collecting their own oil and working with the local restaurants the center has been able to find a way to make a profit while only producing about 30,000 gallons of bio diesel a month. The product sells for about $3.50 a gallon and has been at that same price for about five years.

After enjoying lunch on the grounds, with a really cool chess set, butterflies, flowers, and the coolest recycling center ever it was time to load up and travel. We spent a half hour on the road to reach New Hill, North Carolina home to Harris Nuclear Plant.

The Progressive Energy Center has a great visitors center down the road from the plant, and its most noticeable element, the gigantic cooling tower. We headed straight to a classroom where we watched a fun video on how nuclear energy works. It is really a fairly simple process and we learned that the uranium that is used is not enriched enough to make a bomb or explode like most people think. The uranium is a fuel that is used to help created steam that powers turbines, that generates electricity. It is really a neat process. After learning all about it we had the chance to travel to the hands on learning center where we could climb inside a model of a cooling tower, generate power to light up lights, and run our own security checkpoint. We learned a lot about a different kind of energy and dispelled a bunch of myths. For example did you know the stuff that comes out of the cooling tower is steam from the water cooling, not smoke? We learned that and many other things today.

Tomorrow the Bladen county teens will be coming in to do science experiments with us. Can't wait to see what is in store for us. Don't forget to check out all the details on the blog tomorrow.