2008 Winner Profiles
Design Challenge
Third Place
Diesel Secret Energy: Bus Biodiesel
Camas High School, Camas
Christina Ge, Jacob Freedman, Kathleen Guy, Evan Klein
Advisor: Gary Moller
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Aiming to reduce the amount of pollutants emitted by vehicles, students on this Camas High School team explored alternative fuels for school buses. Using a vegetable oil additive they called “Diesel Secret Energy,” plus a few other ingredients, they created an alternative fuel that significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
The students performed a first test run on a school bus running on diesel fuel, which produced average carbon dioxide emissions of 26.4 parts per million. When the students’ pumped their alternative fuel into the empty gas tank of a bus, carbon dioxide emissions dropped to an average of 4.1 parts per million.
The students propose using their fuel with Diesel Secret Energy to run all school buses.