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Educational Materials

The materials below were developed by teachers and professional educators associated with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center with input from our scientists. Many of the techniques described are the same, or closely mimic those conducted by researchers within the Center, with adaptations made as necessary to work within the constraints of the K-16 classroom.

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Educational Materials - Fermentation

Fermentation in a Bag
This is one of our most popular and adaptable activities for use in outreach events and classrooms. It is a basic experiment that allows students to observe the process of fermentation and the challenge of producing ethanol from cellulosic sources.

Audience Elementary through High School (K-12)
Related Subject Areas Environmental Science, Physical Science, Agriculture
Prior Knowledge None
Time Required 30-60 minutes prep time, depending on event/group size. 10 minute set-up, observe for 15 minutes or up to 1.5 hours.
Tags/Keywords elementary school, middle school, high school, fermentation, microbe, ethanol, carbon dioxide, interactive
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CB2E: Converting Cellulosic Biomass to Ethanol
In this flexible lab sequence, students convert cellulosic biomass sources, such as sawdust, straw, or cardboard into sugars and then ethanol. As biomass samples are pretreated, enzymatically digested, and fermented, students use glucose meters and ethanol probes to measure the key products of this chemical conversion. In the process, students can test predictions about which biomass sources and treatment methods will be most effective for producing ethanol.

Audience High school through Undergraduate (9-16)
Related Subject Areas Chemistry, Environmental Science, Biology Agriculture, Engineering
Prior Knowledge Energy and matter transformations, fermentation, enzyme action, relationship between monomers and polymers
Time Required Five to seven 50-minute class periods over 5-14 days (can be adapted to short times)
Tags/Keywords high school, undergraduate, cellulose, microbe, enzyme, cellulase, biomass, ethanol, interactive, fermentation, inquiry, engineering
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Fermentation Challenge:
Making Ethanol from Cellulose
This high school-level lab demonstration and inquiry activity introduces students to the process of fermenting cellulosic biomass into ethanol, along with the challenges researchers face in this area.

Audience High school through Undergraduate (9-16)
Related Subject Areas Environmental Science, Physical Science, Agriculture, Engineering
Prior Knowledge Basic carbohydrate structures, brief introduction to photosynthesis, cellular respiration, fermentation, and enzyme structure and function
Time Required Variable: Three to Five 50-minute class periods
Tags/Keywords high school, undergraduate, feedstock, biomass, fermentation, microbe, ethanol, carbohydrate, interactive, experiment, pretreatment, enzyme, inquiry, cellulose
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Mini-fermenter
This Minifermenter can be used to demonstrate small-scale fermentation activities similar to research done by scientists at GLBRC.

Audience High School through Undergraduate (Grades 9-16)
Related Subject Areas Environmental Science, Agriculture, Engineering
Materials Cost $50.00
Time Required Approximately 2 hours to construct.
Tags/Keywords undergraduate, fermentation, interactive, experiment
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