At right, Joe Stearns, Erin Hamann & Elizabeth Enenga blend ingredients for ethanol productions.
By Lori Ehde
It all boiled down to a winning score of 12.2 percent - ethanol that is.
More than 100 sophomore biology students have just wrapped up a five-day segment learning about ethanol production.
Students studied the process of ethanol production by doing everything in their lab as technicians do at the plant.
Throughout the week, students grind corn with mortar and pestle, add yeast and filter and distill the alcohol. They also study ethanol plants, flex fuel and Minnesota environmental laws.
The students make regular visits to the Agri-Energy lab, and Luverne High School biology teacher Jerry Jensen said he's been pleased with the willingness of the ethanol plant staff to work with his students.
Ethanol plant biologists provide students with enzymes, yeast and technical support for the class and then analyze their samples in the end for efficiency of their fermentation process.
The week ends with a formal tour of Luverne's Agri-Energy ethanol plant.
On that day, they bring their own samples of ethanol to be tested for purity. The brew submitted Friday by Justin Arndt, Katie Sandager, Chris Thacker and Jamie White Mountain turned out to be the best in the class, 12.2 percent.
According to lab technicians at Agri-Energy, that's good content coming from a high school lab, but it's not close to industrial quality.
Agri-Energy's ethanol content is considered confidential trade information, and the plant couldn't release those numbers.
Jensen has been partnering with the local plant on the learning series since 1999.
What began as a field trip has blossomed into a full week of fuel grade ethanol-based activities. "The plant does so much to make this activity work," Jensen said. "The kids like it. It's real world."
He added that his ethanol curriculum with Agri-Energy is commonly used as a model for other districts setting up similar studies.
Jensen works the ethanol study into the energetics portion of the curriculum that focuses on photosynthesis and respiration. It is now part of the biology profile of learning for Minnesota graduation standards.
Jensen also uses the ethanol segment to introduce students to technical and professional careers in agriculture.