MEC 3040, Bioenergy, is a modularized course designed for juniors in Vermont Tech's Renewable Energy BS degree program. This fall semester course showcases Vermont Tech's campus renewable energy facilities that include a sophisticated 370 kW anaerobic digester, a historic house heated with biodiesel and a historic rural schoolhouse heated with wood pellets. The anaerobic digestion modules of the course are also used in our Anaerobic Digester Operator Apprentice training program. MEC 3040 meets four hours per week for 2 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab. I plan to make all course materials (other than exams) available here, along with some video-captured lecture.
MEC 3040 is modularized and focuses on three types of bioenergy: (1) woody biomass; (2) biodiesel (and a bit about bioethanol); and (3) anaerobic digestion. Each module includes lecture material, homework set(s), a take-home quiz, and a lab exercise and/or speaker or field trip. Use the dropdown menu to access each topic covered in the course. No textbook is assigned, but several references are recommended and available in Hartness library, or are linked in course materials. Required work includes readings from these sources, homework, lab assignments that may include computational projects, take-home quizzes and in-class exams. The lowest quiz grade is dropped. The final exam is comprehensive and allows students to replace earlier exam grades with higher grades from corresponding sections of the final exam. The Cornell note-taking system is a powerful method of taking and reviewing lecture notes that aims to help you review notes and prepare for exams.You'll find some useful videos on YouTube. Here's a good detailed explanation of the Cornell method. And this video compares five common note-taking methods. |
On reserve in Hartness:
Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels (2015) Dahiya (ed) Academic Press, Elsevier, Amsterdam ISBN: 978-0-12-407909-0 Boyle, G., Everett, B., Ramage, J. (2003) Energy systems and sustainability: power for a sustainable future, The Open Univesity, UK ISBN: 978-0-19-926179-6 Boyle, G. (ed)(2004) Renewable energy: power for a sustainable future, Oxford University Press, UK ISBN: 0-19-926178-4 Online resources:
ANDIG: Introduction to Anaerobic Digestion, online curriculum BIOEN: Introduction to Bioenergy, online curriculum BIOMASS Magazine (in Hartness) Biocycle Magazine (via Hartness database) Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) VT Bioenergy Initiative Renewable Energy Atlas of VT SEIA Bioenergy |