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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: David Carter, 785-532-4998, dcarter@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

K-STATE POLLUTION PREVENTION PROGRAM PAIRS ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES STUDENTS WITH KANSAS BUSINESSES WANTING TO CONSERVE RESOURCES, REDUCE WASTE

MANHATTAN -- If a business followed the recommendations of some students in a Kansas State University program, the 30.4 million gallons of water saved through pollution prevention projects would equate to approximately 30.4 football fields filled to a depth of one yard.

And based on based on the energy reduced through the students' recommendations, electricity could be provided to approximately 350 homes for an entire year.

The students who generated these recommendations were part of the K-State Pollution Prevention Institute's pollution prevention/energy efficiency intern program. It pairs top-level engineering and environmental sciences students from Kansas with a Kansas business that wants to research and implement a pollution prevention project. These projects can result in reductions in energy or water consumption, or reductions in hazardous or solid waste. This is the third year for the program.

The students work with a technical adviser from K-State's Pollution Prevention Institute as well as personnel from their host company to identify appropriate projects.

Students from K-State who are working as interns this summer include:

Craig Ronnebaum, sophomore in biological and agricultural engineering, Axtell, eliminating or reducing the volume of nonhazardous waste streams and finding recycling markets for solid waste for Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, Burlington.

Alicia Warren, junior in civil engineering, Manhattan, updating a database of facility's energy consumption and list of energy-savings measures to reduce overall energy/resource consumption for Via Christi, Wichita.

Chelsea Renda, senior in mechanical engineering, Rose Hill, identifying environmental improvement and waste reduction opportunities while pursuing ISO 14001 certification for Florence Manufacturing, Manhattan.

Catharine Brennan, junior in chemical engineering, Topeka, developing a recycling process to eliminate the disposal of hazardous furnace slag from glass-melting equipment for CertainTeed, Kansas City, Kan.

Connor Whitney, senior in chemical engineering, Wichita, studying the feasibility of meeting a corporate goal of a 25 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions through alternative energies, such as wind or solar power for Unilever Foodsolutions, Wichita.

Dawn Larson, senior in mechanical engineering, Yates Center, investigating alternative energy sources like wind or solar to heat three 300-gallon tanks to 140 degrees for Haldex Brake, Iola.

More information about green projects and research at K-State is available at:
http://www.k-state.edu/media/webzine/green/intro.html