Fall 2014
MES 311/611 Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
(MES 291 -03/MES 512-02/UNV 290-H8)
Professor: Dr. Benjamin Cuker, Rm. 132, Marine Sci. Ph727 - 5884 , Office Hours: Hours: M, W, 9:30-1:30, F, 9:30 – 4:30.
Course Description: This course will explore a variety of sustainable technologies with emphasis on understanding the fundamental scientific properties underlying each. Students will also examine appropriate applications of the technologies and evaluate their use with environmental and economic considerations.
The goal of this course is to teach basic geosciences principles through an exploration of environmentally sustainable technologies. The course will consist ofeleven modules, each of which can be used independently of the others. The course will be open to all under graduate students and will be designed to take advantage of a diverse enrollment. Students will explore how each technology works, its importance in addressing one or more grand challenges in the geosciences, and the social and economic implications associated with that technology and competing approaches.
Readings: Modules posted at: You MUST read the module for the day prior to attending the class and bring with you the required six questions explained below. Other material will be posted on BlackBoard
Course Goals:
- Students will apply the geoscience principles underlying, and social implications of, implementing new technologies to address issues of energy and resource scarcity and environmental sustainability.
- Students will use both data they collect themselves and that collected and published by others to test the efficacy of various green technologies.
- Students will apply their knowledge to develop sustainable energy and resource conservation strategies as individuals and as a society.
- Students will use learner-centered techniques to organize geoscience and social science data, to analyze and present case-studies relevant to the adoption of green technologies.
- Students will learn how to develop meaningful questions about energy, resources, society and sustainability that address higher levels of cognition
InTeGraTe Goals as part of the course:
This course was developed under the InTeGrate program which seeks to provide innovative geoscience education for college students. Below are the InTeGrate goals and brief comments on how each is addressed in this course. A more detailed treatment of goals and alignment with evaluation is provided in a matrix at:Alignment of Learning Outcomes and Course Goals(Excel 60kB Jun23 14)
1. Use geoscience-related grand challenges facing society - The students will explore the grand challenge how society can use clean energy technologies as part of the response to global climate change.
2. Develop students' ability to address interdisciplinary problems - The course examines the various technologies from a broad, interdisciplinary approach. Modules include history, social science, physics, and geoscience.
3. Improve student understanding of the nature and methods of geoscience and developing geoscientific habits of mind - The modules are designed for the students to understand the various technologies in the light of geoscience concepts. The hands-on exercises encourages investigation of geoscience principles related to each technology.
4. Make use of authentic and credible geoscience data - All of the modules provide opportunities for students to work with geoscience or related data. This includes data they generate themselves in experiments as well as published geoscience data.
5. Incorporate systems thinking - The modules are designed so the students understand the technologies as part of large and dynamic world, which requires systems thinking.
Objectives:
1. Students will apply the geoscience principles underlying, and social implications of, implementing new technologies to address issues of energy and resource scarcity and environmental sustainability (Assessed by quizzes, student presentations and laboratory reports).
2. Students will use both data they collect themselves and that collected and published by others to test the efficacy of various green technologies (Assessed by lab reports).
3. Students will apply their knowledge to develop sustainable energy and resource conservation strategies as individuals and as a society (Assessed by lab reports and capstone activity).
4. Students will use learner-centered techniques to organize geoscience and social science data, to analyze and present case-studies relevant to the adoption of green technologies (Assessed by lab reports and student presentations).
5. Students will learn how to develop meaningful questions about energy, resources, society and sustainability that address higher levels of cognition (Assessed by required question formation for discussion and quizzes).
Attendance and promptness: Participation is key to success in this course and students must make it a priority to attend all the class meetings. Five percent of the course grade will be deducted for each unexcused absence. Students are also expected to arrive to class on time and prepared to participate. No food or single use water bottles are allowed in the classroom.
Grading: Grades will be awarded using the University scale; A+ 98-100, A 94-97, A- 90-93, B+ 88-89, B 84-87, B- 80-83, C+ 78-79, C 74-77, C- 70-73, D+ 68-69, D 64-67, D- 60-63, F<60
Expectations for students in MES 311/611 (MES 291 & MES 512):
Students are to complete all assignments.
Expectations for students in UNV 209-H8:
Students must; take pre and post-tests, create the daily quiz questions, and take the quizzes, do one oral report, do4 of the laboratory reports, do the capstone report.
Participation in Pre/Post Testing 5
Quiz Question Preparation 10
Quiz results 10
Oral Reports 10
Laboratory Project Reports 55
Capstone Project Report 10
Total Points 100
Quiz Questions and Quiz Results: Each day you must come to class having read the assignment and having written 6 questions. The first two questions are to be from the previous class material, and will be used in the daily quiz. The next four questions are based upon the readings for that day and will be used for discussion.
Oral Reports: Students will sign-up to give 15-minute Power-Point presentations on the daily topic. One student will present each day.
Laboratory Project Reports: Each class will include a hands-on laboratory component. Students are responsible for writing a lab report for each activity.
Learning approach: This course is based on the discovery approach to learning. With each technology examined we will address the following questions.
1. What is its purpose?
2. How does it work?
3. What are the basic underlying scientific principles?
4. What are the environmental consequences (good and bad) of its adoption?
5. What are the social and economic consequences of its adoption?
6. What factors inhibit its adoption?
7. How does this technology compare with traditional technologies and other alternative green technologies?
Course Schedule
Date Activity Readings
09/02 Introduction to the course & pre-tests
09/09Energy, Work, and Electricity - An introduction to the basic concepts that inform the technologies to be discussed in the class.
09/16Using Wind to Do Work Part. – Sailboats, windmills and wind turbines.
09/23 Thermal Energy from Light – solar collectors to heat water, food and buildings.
09/28 Creating Electricity from Light - Photovoltaic and solar-thermal generation.
10/07Passive Designs for Optimizing with Nature – Smart building designs to conserve energy.
10/14Energy from and to the Earth – Geothermal energy and ground exchange HVAC.
10/21Better Ways to Illuminate - From incandescent to fluorescent and LEDs
10/28Efficiency and Conservation are the Cheapest Fuels – Figuring out waste and how to control it.
11/04Hybrid and Electric Cars –Conversion and storage of electrical energy for transport.
11/11The Energy Producing and saving home - Field Trip to Solar House.
11/18Energy from biofuels - Wood, manure, bio-lipids, alcohol and methane for heat and light.
11/25 Composting Toilets Align Human Biogeochemistry with Nature - Alternative to flush toilets
12/02 Capstone reports and post tests
Exercise to teach higher level question development
It is important that you learn to ask meaningful questions about the material in this course. Science is as much about asking a useful question as it is about finding a good answer. Good questions probe the material for such things as; cause and effect, relationships, evaluations and applications. Facts and definitions are certainly important as they form the base of the knowledge tree. But if one only learns facts and definitions they will develop no context for understanding the material and applying their knowledge in a useful way. This course will require you to come to class each day with written questions for quizzes and discussion. Your questions should include those that require higher levels of understanding, and you will be graded on this. To help you develop the skill of question development you will read the following passage and then write three questions per the instructions below the reading. This passage is taken from Module #4 on bio-fuels.
Currently E10 blend (10% alcohol) is the main form of gasoline on the US market and has been in use since the early 1980’s. Ethanol is added to gasoline for two reasons. First, it replaces MTBE (Methyl Ethyl Tertiary Either) as an additive to give a cleaner burn. Without MTBE or ethanol car engines produce smog forming pollutants (organic and nitrogen compounds). In addition, the ethanol is a fuel, and thus replaces a portion of the gasoline that comes from petroleum.
In 2010 the USEPA authorized the use of E15 blend. The idea is that ethanol from biomass is more sustainable than gasoline from petroleum. But there are important objections to using ethanol for energy. The massive use of corn for fuel and animal feed has reduced the supply of corn for people to eat. And that has driven up the price of corn. This is having a devastating effect on poor people in developing nations such as Mexico that had come to rely upon imported corn.
The kind of corn agriculture practiced in the US is not sustainable. Huge monocultures (single crop of the same variety) of corn require pesticides to kill insects, herbicides to kill weeds, water for irrigation, and vast quantities of nitrogen fertilizers. Those nitrogen fertilizers are made by a process that uses large quantities of fossil fuels. Much of the fertilizer applied to the corn washes away and into the Mississippi River. The river carries it to the Gulf of Mexico, where the fertilizer promotes the growth of algae. When the algae die, they sink to the bottom waters and the decomposition processes uses-up the available oxygen. This produces a “dead zone” where higher animals like fish cannot live. The herbicides and pesticides are pollutants that degrade soil, air and water. Most of the corn is also genetically modified. This controversial process may also damage the environment.
Car and boat owners are also less than thrilled about ethanol in gasoline. The alcohol damages rubber hoses and engine seals. This is a larger problem in older vehicles not designed to withstand the ethanol. The problem is more acute for boat owners as the ethanol attracts water from the moist marine air. The water-gas-ethanol mix produces a gooey mass in fuel tanks and lines, requiring expensive repairs.
1. Write a question that addresses only a simple fact or definition.
2. Write a question that requires synthesis of information.
3. Write a question that requires evaluation and application of knowledge.
Instructions for producing laboratory reports
Each course module includes a laboratory component where you will perform experiments and do activities to explore the concepts being studied. The laboratory report you write must be organized according to the form presented below. Note that each section must be labeled as indicated and include the requested information. The assignment must be turned in as an Excel document, with inserts of MS Word text blocks. All calculations and graphs must be done in Excel.
Title: Provide a useful title that describes the work.
Introduction: This section must state the purpose of the work and provide some background to show why it is important. There should also be a statement of which module and course learning objectives are addressed in the exercise. Two paragraphs is sufficient for this section.
Methods and Material: Write this in paragraph form, not as list. Say what materials were used, how they were used and when and where the work was done.
Results: This section contains two things. Displays of the data collected in tables or graphs. Paragraphs explain in words what was found. In the paragraphs refer to tables or figures by their number. In this section just say what you discovered, not the why of it. That comes later. Be sure to label each graph axis and to use units with all numbers for calculations. Units must also be labeled in tables and graphs. Every figure (graph) or table must be numbered and have a title. Do all calculations using Excel formulas. These can be formulas that you create, or those that reside in Excel. For help in making graphs in Excel, see these two videos: basics of graphing in Excel 2013,making line graphs with Excel 2010.
Discussion: In this section explain the “why” of your findings. Explain how what you discovered relates to the green technology of interest. To do this, address each of the following questions:
1. What is its purpose of the technology?
2. How does it work?
3. What are the basic underlying scientific principles?
4. What are the environmental consequences (good and bad) of its adoption?
5. What are the social and economic consequences of its adoption?
6. What factors inhibit its adoption?
7. How does this technology compare with traditional technologies and other alternative green technologies?
9. What InTeGrate grand challenge(s) were addressed in this module and how?
One or two sentences for each of the above questions should be sufficient.
References: Provide the source for information you cited that you found on line, in books, etc.
Questions for Student Presentations – these begin with week #3. Each student will give one presentation during the course.
1. Explain the workings of a modern large scale wind turbine such as those that are used in commercial wind farms. How much electricity can they produce (give a range)? How much do they cost to install? Which nation is the leader in installing this kind of wind energy?
2. Proper design minimizes the energy demand for a building. What are the most important considerations in building a house that takes advantage of natural lighting, heating and cooling? What materials can be used to reduce the energy requirements of the house?
3a. There are two types of solar cookers; closed box green-house and focused light (parabolic dish). Explain how each functions and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. Also explain the benefits and limitations of using solar devices as compared to conventional ways of cooking.
3b. Explain the different types of solar hot water systems work, and note the advantages and disadvantages of each. Do a cost analysis to compare conventional gas, electric and instant electric units to an active solar based system. How much does each cost to install and operate over the course of a year? Calculate the time it will take for a solar based system to pay for itself compared to a conventional electric unit.
3c.Explain the workings of using molten salts to extend the effectiveness of solar thermal devices. Be sure to explain the roles of sensible and latent heat. Give examples of systems that use these devices.
4. Compare the use of corn in the US and sugar cane in Brazil for the production of ethanol fuel. Which system is better for the environment and explain why.
5. Explain how geothermal heating and cooling systems work. Provide a case study of an installation.
6. Explain the fundamental principles behind incandescent, fluorescent and LED lighting and discuss the disadvantages or advantages or each.
7. Explain the basic principle behind photovoltaic cells. Discuss the different kinds of PV cells currently available and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
8. Pick an energy using device and discuss how it has been made more efficient since it was first introduced to the market.
9. Contrast and compare all-electric and hybrid gasoline/electric cars. Be sure to explain how each works and the role of regenerative braking.
10. Discuss a case study where human waste (feces and urine) are used as a resource in energy production and or agriculture.
Learning Objectives for Each Module
Module #1 - Energy, Work and Electricity
Learning Objectives - Students will:
1. Be able to distinguish the differences between energy and work, and provide examples of each using appropriate units.
2. Be able to match the following terms with appropriate meanings: Electron, Volt, Conductor, Semi-Conductor, Insulator, Resistance, Current, Amps, Watts, Ohms, Watt hours.