Polk Co. teachers and students set to share a biodiesel meal with Appalachian State and grad students

biodiesel on top, glycerin and soaps on bottom You could drink biodiesel and spoon up some glycerin--both are non-toxic. However, there is tastier food out there...


As you know, it's often difficult to get together with family and friends. The holidays are coming and you may have started thinking, "Do we really want to see these people?" Maybe the schedules can't jive, or the desire to fraternize wanes as we get busier. Often, sometimes when the "date" is never set, you start to wonder if others really want to sit down at the table and share a meal.

Either way, if you really want a sit down, keep at it. Dr. Houser is a busy man; he is the head of the biofuels program at Appalachian State and is currently working with his graduate students on biodiesel. Thankfully, he has carved out some time, and we plan to share a late October meal--a plate full of biodiesel with helpings of student participation, glycerin distillation, processors, and whatever else they want to share with us.

Visit their site for an overview of their program. I, along with AP Chem teacher Sergei Zalevsky; seniors Jacob Hroback and Matthew Walker; and a representative from the Agriculture Dept, will be seeing this project up close and personal. Thanks to Elizabeth Russell's interest in biodiesel, other PCHS students and staff are learning about biodiesel chemistry and sustainability.

As a senior a Polk Co. High 4 years ago, Elizabeth Russell first introduced me and our school to biodiesel. Her graduation project internship, research paper, and presentation was our first green fuel "healthy snack." Now, we've progressed to a pretty good sized dinner plate of PCHS biodiesel and my new company--Be Kind Solutions. Liz is still heavily involved with biodiesel and now with Be Kind--she is my experienced sounding board, uses and sells Be Kind at her family's Mountain View Barbeque in Columbus, NC. Hopefully, Liz will be partnering with me and Be Kind in the future.

We have made some single portion 1 liter biodiesel batches in AP Chem last semester, and hope to turn this appetizer into a full blown buffet. Here's a video clip of our first school experiment with biodiesel and chemistry class.


Be Kind and some PCHS staff's ultimate goal is to establish a processor on our Polk County High School campus, and use it for production, applied chemistry, agriculture science, and sustainable, local projects.

Looking forward to sitting down to our first collaborative biodiesel meal.