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Projects Updates for Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

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  1. Our Budding Biomass Boiler

    Developing and implementing new alternative energy sources is essential to ending the era of fossil fuels and extreme carbon emissions. The more alternative energy sources available, the more potential there is for eradicating fossil fuels as the main energy source. Numerous different innovations have developed within the last few decades because of the massive increase in technology efficiency, and the U of I has taken the initiative to implement many of them. These strides toward alternatives increased after the university committed to cease using coal at Abbott by 2017. The replacement of this power will require as many alternatives available as possible in order to meet the growing need.

    Biomass energy is a great example of how the University of Illinois is converting to more renewable energy sources. Biomass can be used to create energy because it contains stored energy from plants that have absorbed energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. When biomass is burned, this stored energy is released as heat.

    In the Spring of 2014 the SSC funded, Field to Fuel: Biomass Heating on Campus. This project involved purchasing and installing a biomass boiler at the Energy Farm, in order to heat a research greenhouse using Miscanthus that is grown on the Energy Farm. The new biomass boiler arrived in early December, and installation is nearing completion!

    This project is exciting because it is the first biomass energy initiative on campus, and it will work to meet the carbon emission caps that are outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. Additionally, with this project, they hope to demonstrate the feasibility of biomass on campus, engage and familiarize faculty and staff personnel with the design, installation, and operation of such systems with a view to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy production on campus, support the education and training of students, and create awareness in the larger community about alternative energy sources. The ultimate hope for the project is that a successful pilot will pave the way toward expanded use of biomass heating on our campus and greatly reduce our campus greenhouse gas emissions.

  2. Gadget ADA Funding Agreement

    The Illini Gadget Garage is an initiative to provide University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff a place to bring their personal electronic devices for assistance with assessment and repair. Using the same “collaborative repair” model employed at the campus bike shop and MakerSpace Urbana, clients with devices in need of repair or troubleshooting can work together with Gadget Garage student staff and volunteers to perform the necessary device assessment and maintenance activities.

    SSC initially funded this project in Fiscal Year 2015, contingent on a permanent site being established. A permanent location has been selected and partially renovated; however, in order to meet the accessibility requirements for final occupancy, additional construction is required.

    This proposal directly funds the construction cost from skilled trades to add ramp access and other code requirements to the Gadget Garage’s permanent location to allow for general occupancy.

  3. Geothermal Profiling Funding Agreement

    Given the University of Illinois’ existing reliance on coal-fired steam heating for many buildings, significant changes to campus infrastructure will be required in order to move to being truly carbon neutral. One possible option is geothermal heating, but there is somewhat of a lack of information about the feasibility of geothermal systems on campus.

    This project will conduct a series of high-detail observations of the geothermal profile of campus and analyze the data. The results of the study will help identify the costs and possible challenges associated with adding a significant amount of geothermal heating systems to campus.

  4. Fume Hood Energy Conservation Pilot Project - Funding Letter

    Fume hoods are one of the largest sources of wasted energy in laboratories because of inefficiencies in fume hood use. This proposal specifically funds a Fume Hood Energy Conservation Pilot Project in the National Soybean Research Center (NSRC), in which ways to reduce fume hood energy waste through behavioral interventions will be explored.

    Small changes in behavior such as keeping hoods closed when not in use can have large impacts on energy conservation, but behavioral changes can be difficult to achieve. This project adapts Harvard University’s highly successful “Shut the Sash” program to the particular needs of Labs in NSRC, first by working closely with “early adopters” — labs that are actively interested in reducing fume hood energy use — to develop protocols, reminders, and reinforcement/tracking systems that help reduce fume hood-associated energy waste, and then by reaching out to other labs in NSRC. The long-term project goals are to make NSRC a model for the campus in fume hood energy conservation, and to develop an approach to fume hood energy conservation which can be readily applied to other labs and buildings on campus.

  5. SAFS Fermentation - Spring 1 2015 Agreement

    The Sustainable Student Farm currently grows numerous varieties of hot chilies, but demand is often lacking in the dining halls over the summer and excess crops are simply composted. One option to help reduce this waste is adding fermentation capabilities to the current Sustainable Agriculture Food Systems to create hot sauce for the dining halls. One especially exciting aspect of this project is that the student body itself will have the opportunity to create different blends of sauces, with the winner of the taste test becoming the official hot sauce for the semester.

    While this equipment will initially be used to create campus’s hot sauce, it can also be used in the future to create products ranging from sauerkraut and pickles to soy sauce and kombucha.

  6. Arboretum Site Clearing and Native Plantings (2016) Agreement

    The former forest research area south of the main Arboretum grounds (near Lincoln Avenue and Windsor Road) has been neglected for over 20 years and has largely been overtaken by invasive plantings that have forced out the native flowering forbs and bushes that normally occur in healthy woodlands – leaving instead honeysuckle, which is unpalatable to almost all native insects and mammals.

    This project clears out the invasive species and begins the replanting efforts to restore native species to the area. Not only does this improve biodiversity around campus, but it also serves as an important educational opportunity for current students to witness the restoration process firsthand.

  7. Circular Economy Fall 2015 Agreement

    The Sustainable Student Farm (SSF), has been growing sustainably produced vegetables for the U of I campus community since 2009. Since 2012, Fresh Press (FP) has been producing paper from agricultural waste like soybean stalks and prairie grass, including much of the waste from SSF.

    This project deepens the connection between SSF and Fresh Press while expanding their offerings to the community. In addition to expanding the current paper production, this project will also allow for the creation of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at the Sustainable Student Farm, increasing the farm’s ability to sustain itself financially. Through employing students while selling their products to the campus and the community, this proposal ultimately truly creates a circular and sustainable economy on campus while furthering campus sustainability goals.

  8. 2016 Game Day Recycling Challenge Funding Agreement

    Implemented in October 2014 at the Homecoming football game, the Game Day Recycling Challenge at UIUC brought together hundreds of volunteers from all over the Urbana-Champaign community to assist the thousands of spectators at the game in reducing waste – from the money spent sending materials to landfill to the volume of materials that impact our water, air, and soil. This event was part of a national competition divided up by conference and division, and at the end of the day a waste diversion rate of 60% was achieved.

    After a hiatus in 2015, the Game Day Recycling Challenge hopes to return to even greater success. In addition to reducing the waste products from a single football game, this project will work to change fans’ habits and permanently alter the waste stream of Division of Intercollegiate Athletics events from landfilling all waste to a more sustainable multi-stream system

  9. Solar Car Small and Full project Funding Agreement

    Illini Solar Car was established last year with aims to design, build, and race a commercially-viable, solar-electric vehicle to compete in the 2019 World Solar Challenge. To meet this long term goal, the organization has the interim goals of building a lighter, single-seat vehicle to allow for competition in the 2016 American Solar Challenge, 2017 World Solar Challenge, and 2018 American Solar Challenge.

    Illinois Solar Car has already received two small grants of under $5,000 each to work on prototyping aspects of their system. Though they have received significant donations of equipment such as solar panels and motors from outside companies, basic supplies to manufacture the car itself still must be purchased.

    The full project funds the remaining costs associated with completing Solar Car’s first full-sized vehicle, with the expectation that having one completed vehicle opens the door for expanded funding opportunities from other sponsors.

  10. Arboretum Native Plantings Award Letter

    The University of Illinois Arboretum has historically showcased formal displays of annual ornamental plants and selected trees. There is increased interest in developing plots and displays of native plants, especially those that are beneficial to pollinators. This project will introduce a variety of such native plants into several settings at the Arboretum. The Arboretum intends to use the plantings as an outdoor laboratory that will be used for formal and informal education about the role of native plants in provision of ecosystem services such as pollination adn improving soil quality. The experience gained will lay the ground work for future expansion of the concept including large plantings within selected locations and patches of clearly labeled plants that will allow visitors to learn their names and characteristics.
    The plantings will also provide physical examples of how small plantings can be used in personal and commercial landscapes. The use of perennial native plants will help the Arboretum assess the potential to save money and other resources by using more plants that do not have to be repurchased and replanted annually. The native plants along with improved habitat conditions will support a large number of local pollinators and other insect and bird species that are increasingly threatened by loss of habitat, and provide an instructional resource for university classes and local schools.

  11. Award Letter - Anaerobic Digester Pilot

    Food waste is the second largest category of municipal solid waste (MSW) sent to landfills in the United States, accounting for approximately 18% of the waste stream. Agricultural and garden wastes comprising of wood and yard trimmings come next in the list, accounting for approximately 15% of the waste stream. At the U of I campus as well, about 100-120 gallons of food waste is generated from one dining hall unit per week. That is roughly 0.5 cubic yards/week currently.
    Anaerobic digestion occurs naturally, in the absence of oxygen, as bacteria break down organic materials and produce biogas. The process reduces the amount of material and produces biogas, which can be used as an energy source. This technology is commonly used throughout the United States to break down sewage sludge at wastewater treatment facilities. In the past few years, there has been a movement to start adding food waste to anaerobic digesters already in place at wastewater treatment facilities.
    This proposal provides setup costs for a pilot test of an anaerobic digestion process to determine if a full-scale digester prototype is feasible.

  12. Award Letter - Union Water Fountains

    Currently, the Illini Union has a variety of water fountains in the facility, totaling 16 units. Select fountains were retrofitted in 2009 with “goose-neck” style bottle filler fixtures, however these are susceptible to damage and not filtered. Ten units in public areas are funded for replacement in this project with Elkay fountains that have built in bottle refill stations. These water fountains will make it much easier to fill water bottles than the current water fountains and provide filtered, cool water to students and guests. These fill stations will also track the number of bottles saved from the land fill and will provide this information on an LED screen at the top of the refill station. The LED screens on each water fountain can be used as an educational resource for all users. These new Elkay water fountains will encourage everyone to refill their water bottles because each unit provides a real time digital display of the number of bottles saved from the landfill.

  13. Award Letter - Biomass for Vermicomposting

    The SSC awarded the Sustainable Student Farm a grant in 2013 to build a transplant greenhouse that also housed a vermicomposting pilot porject with Dining Services. This was meant to test the feasability of collecting pre-consumer food waste from the Dining hall facilities and converting it into worm compost for use on the student farm. In its first year of operation the greenhouse has been heated soley from propane, which is the most common and simplest heating system for these types of greenhouses. The nature of the worms used in this type of composting require an ideal temperature range of 40-80F. In order to attain this, the greenhouse needs to be heated during the winter months.

    In 2014 the greenhouse consumed approximately 1600 gallons of propane for heating. At an average price of $2 this equals $3200/year in heating costs. By comparison if the biomass furnace is used and can replace 80% of the heating requirements that would only cost $1664/year in heating costs. The main reaplacement fuel would be #2 Shell Corn @ 15% moisture. This is readily available in the midwest and costs on average about $3.5/bushel. It would take about 366 bushels of corn to replace the BTU’s provided by the propane. The nature of managing the biomass furnace would allow us to replace only 80% of the heating requirements for the greenhouse. Future development of these furnaces could one day replace the requirement completely. However, the propane system will be kept as a back up.

  14. Award Letter - Baseline Waste Characterization

    The primary deliverable of this proposed project is to provide a detailed waste characterization assessment for three facilities located throughout the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois. Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls (LAR), Business Instructional Facility (BIF), Roger Adams Laboratory(RAL) are facilities that will be characterized.
    This proposal builds upon the initial waste characterizations conducted in the Spring of 2013 for four buildings: Henry Administration Building, Alice Campbell Alumni Center, Swanlund Administration Building, and Illini Union Bookstore.
    The objective of the assessments is to characterize the waste generated from a Lab building, a classroom building and a housing building. The primary goal of the waste stream characterization study is to provide UIUC with an accurate and precise baseline measurement of the solid waste generated at each facility type. ISTC will assist F&S in identifying and implementing practices and technologies that will reduce waste, increase landfill diversion, increase recycling revenues, and decrease waste disposal costs. These efforts will help UIUC to become an example of a sustainable campus, and will provide new learning and teaching opportunities for the university and community at large. The ancillary deliverables are various direct educational programing opportunities both structured as well as passive.

  15. Award Letter - Illini Algae Club Abbott CO2

    The goal of this project is to further develop the relationship between the university, the Illini Algae Club and its students, the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department as well as other departments, and the Abbott Power Plant. Using a pre-established waste to algae remediation system used in experimental design, we will apply this system to a real-world use. We will do this through the use of a semester project focused on remediation of university wastewater that can be scaled up into a larger scale project in the future that the club can build off of. Our goal is to provide the foundation of active student involvement for which our organization can grow.

    We will do this by first analyzing how well our small-scale systems can work with the local Abbot Power Plant waste. This further enhances our cooperative relationship with the Abbott Power Plant. Once we determine feasibility of the system, then the students can design and build a larger scale system at the local power plant that can reduce their waste as well as produce some renewable energy for the university. This will provide the ability of students to make their own choices with our small-scale experiment as well as allow them to create a vision of their own for the club’s future larger scale activities.

     

  16. Award Letter - VDL Recycling

    The Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (VDL) at the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) functions similar to a human medical institution, in that it generates waste that is not recyclable due to biosafety considerations. This is an unfortunate waste. This project seeks to begin recycling some of VDL’s plastics. This project’s goal is to capture the waste from their work that involves single use sterile pipette tip boxes, which are safe to be recycled. The VDL typically disposes of 12lbs a week of clean plastics in the form of pipette tip boxes; VDL operates 52 weeks a year, generating over 600lbs a year of recyclable plastics. With funding from the SSC, VDL can take 600lbs of plastic out of the waste stream using a clean pipette tip recycling program.

  17. Award Letter and Report - Styrofoam Densifier

    This project is intended to permanently set up styrofoam (expanded polystyrene, or EPS) recycling on the UIUC campus for the first time. This project aims to emulate a very successful program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison; some funding has already been secured for student support and supplies from UW as part of an EPA grant that students and postdocs there have received. The key difference between UIUC and UW is that UW had the benefit of a local styrofoam recycler, and UIUC does not have that benefit: the closest recycler is in Indianapolis and the cost of transporting undensified EPS is too high for this to be viable. This project will establish a partnership with Community Resource, Inc. in Urbana, who have agreed to handle all of the logistics of picking up styrofoam from large containers (“gaylords”) in campus buildings, transporting it to their site, feeding it into a machine called a “densifier”, and selling the densified material to a company in Chicago. Community Resource, Inc. will in return pay back a portion of the proceeds from the sales in order to support student interns on campus who will promote and support the program. The goal of this project is to establish a self-supporting program that will ultimately capture most of the styrofoam waste from our campus and recycle it, while supporting student interns to oversee and continually improve the program.

  18. Award Letter - Sonified Sustainability Festival

    Global Arts Performance Initiatives is pleased to present a final proposal for a series of sustainability-themed arts programs in the 2015-16 academic year that serve the educational mission of the Student Sustainability Committee. The principal event of the proposal is Sonified Sustainability Fest – a celebration of ecological music and arts, presented in the lobby, Stage 5 and amphitheater of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

    This all ages event, offered admission free to campus and community audiences, will feature live music and interactive art making focused on sustainable practices in the arts, accompanied by an information fair that will provide greater visibility of local projects, programs and organizations working towards a sustainable future. National and local musicians performing on original instruments made from recycled and repurposed materials will be showcased at the fest, as well as in two preceding concerts of the Sudden Sound Concert Series at Krannert Art Museum, all scheduled as part, or promotion of Sustainability Week 2015 and EarthWeek 2016.

  19. Award Letter - Operation Enduring Frigidity - FA2014

    The School of Chemical Sciences houses a data center in Noyes Laboratory which is the home to more than 30 racks of computers. These machines are used by the Chemistry Learning Center, which serves all undergraduate students in General Chemistry courses, the departments of Chemistry and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and are used constantly by faculty and graduate students. The goal of this project is to make the server room more energy efficient so as to reduce both the financial and environmental impact on the university.

    This is a multi-phase project with the plan being each phase will take steps towards energy reduction. (1) Install power monitors in the panels so we can collect data on how much electricity is consumed by the machine room, (2) Contain the cold aisle so that hot and cold air do not mix, (3) install new hardware into the HVAC units so that they can communicate with each other so they will not fight, and (4) install a heat exchanger for use during winter. Steps 3 and 4 are planned for a future date.

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