MVironment Club’s phragmite project

Hi, everyone!

I am excited to share with you that the MVironment Club‘s current project has been selected as one of five state finalists in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. The competition asks student groups to address the challenge, “Show how STEAM can be applied to help your local community.”

Our project involves working with waste phragmite to make biomass pellets that can be burned in a pellet stove. Emma Green-Beach from the Shellfish group currently has a grant to study the removal of phragmite from local ponds as a method of reducing nitrogen levels in the ponds. The waste phragmite is thus available, and Thimble Farm in interested in trying to figure out how to make pellets from it that could be burned to help heat the greenhouse.

We have been working with Emma to learn about this technique for reducing nitrogen, and we have gotten samples of phragmite from her to shred and test the pellet making process. We worked with her at Thimble Farm to shred phragmite and cardboard, and then we have been developing recipes to create the pellets. It is hard to bind 100% phragmite together, so we are trying out combining it with different amounts of shredded cardboard. We have other recipes in mind as well. We made molds from wood to shape the pellets, and we intend also to 3D print molds to try out different shaped pellets and pellet pressing techniques. We are hoping to gain use of a pellet mill as well.

So far, the group has made and begun testing by calorimetry one round of pellets. As State Finalists, and our next step is to pitch a more detailed action plan for the project. That is due next Friday, and we’ll know by the end of the month if we are the state winners. Either way, whatever the outcome, we are excited about working with both the Shellfish group and Thimble Farm, and we are enjoying working with pellet fabrication!

Louis Hall and I are advising the club for this year, and as always, Dana Munn is a consultant for all things technical! Hope you enjoy the photos below.

Thanks,
Natalie Munn