High School Biodiesel Program Needs Oil

Love deep-fried turkey but don't know what to do with all that leftover cooking oil? Students at Bloom High School are looking for you.

In a testament to how technology is changing education, students in Bloom's AP chemistry class have the equipment and the know-how to turn regular kitchen grease into juice that can power a diesel engine.

All they lack is the oil. That's where all those back-yard turkey fryers come in. Teacher Barry Latham is asking anyone with leftover cooking oil to bring it to the Chicago Heights school on Nov. 30 to donate. Latham, who's won a grant from BP American to fund the program, is the lead on the school's alternative energy educational project.

The students will use their equipment to turn all those vats of used oil into vats of clean biofuel, which will then be used to power several diesel vehicles, according to Latham. You can drop off your used cooking oil at the Chicago Heights school the Monday after Thanksgiving, from 8 to 9 a.m. and from 3 to 4 p.m.

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