Princeton Herald

Courtesy photo
The X-Teem, Princeton High School students Allyson Rogers, Francisco Beltran, Addison Jaynes, Clark Junior High students Tricia Thomas, James Lo, Cesar Tovar and sponsors Nichole Powell and Rachel Davis show off the E.C.F.O.W. t-shirts they designed.

By Jennifer Fike
Staff Writer

Over the summer, six students from PISD were selected to take part in Texas A&M University - Commerce’s Project STEEM, a program that inspires students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, education and math.

Nov. 23 those students, who called themselves the X-Teem, used what they learned to teach the school board a thing or two about waste – namely, how to transform it into energy.

During the board’s meeting, the team presented their concept, “Energy Converted from Organic Waste.”

“The team wanted to do a project that was eco-friendly,” said sponsor Rachel Davis, a science teacher at Clark Junior High.

“They ultimately decided to build an anaerobic digester they named E.C.F.O.W.”

The E.C.F.O.W. machine converts cow dung into methane gas, through a series of decomposition and filtering.

Cow dung, combined with fresh pond water, is placed in tank one. As it decomposes it produces a methane gas with high carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, and hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S).

In order to eliminate the H2S, the gas must be filtered, then deposited in a second tank, which is filled with lime water to reduce the CO2 levels.

The E.C.F.O.W.’s gas was tested by Atmos Energy, which verified that Princeton’s X-Teem accomplished their goal of creating an alternative energy source with reduced CO2 levels.

The Greater Texas Foundation funded PISD’s project by contributing $2,000 for field trips and supplies for constructing the E.C.F.O.W.

The ideas behind the team’s project began when six students from Clark Junior High and Princeton High School, along with two sponsors, attended the two-week long STEEM Academy at Texas A&M University - Commerce.

They used the knowledge they had gained and a desire to help the environment to create their waste-converting machine.

In the last three years, 10 rural school districts have been selected to participate in the STEEM Academy. The groups develop projects and participate in collaborative learning, alongside professors from Texas A&M University - Commerce.

“There are tremendous benefits for the teachers, students, the school district and our communities through the participation in this grant,” said Davis.

The STEEM students’ projects were showcased at state and national math and science conferences, and the X-Teem from Princeton will present again at A &M University - Commerce Dec. 3.

“Through this project, area teachers were able to discover the positive effects of project-based learning,” said Davis.

Princeton’s team members were Allyson Rogers, 11th grade; Addison Jaynes, 10th grade; Francisco Beltran, ninth grade; James Lo, eighth grade; Cesar Tovar, seventh grade; Tricia Thomas, seventh grade; and sponsors Nichole Powell and Davis.

Courtesy photo

The students’ design illustrates how their E.C.F.O.W. machine works to convert organic waste into an energy source. The machine is an anaerobic digester that uses two barrels to decompose cow dung, then filter it in order to create a cleaner-burning methane gas.

Courtesy photo
The E.C.F.O.W. machine produces a cleaner alternative than typical methane gas.

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Princeton students form STEEM team

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