Biofuels Technician Certificate

Indian Hills Community College currently offers an online biofuels technician certificate.  

The Indian Hills program was developed by a grant from the US Deparment of Education (FIPSE).  The program is self-paced and consists of approximately 30 contact hours of instuction complete with audio and animations.  This program is intended for the student who wants to increase their knowledge about the biofuels industry in an attempt to jumpstart a new career, or for those already employed in the industry, but are looking for ways to improve their knowledge of the science and processes behind biofuels production.  There are 3 tracks to the program.  The General track instructs the student on issues relevent to the production of both ethanol and biodiesel, including safety, math, and process control.  The Ethanol track goes into the science and processes behind the production of ethanol as a transportation fuel.  This track includes units on feedstocks, grain preparation, fermentation, distillation, molecular sieves, and laboratory basics.  The Biodiesel track goes into the science and processes behind the production of biodiesel as a transportation fuel.  It includes units on feedstocks, oil chemistry, pretreatment, esterification and transesterification, separation, washing, and laboratory basics.

Learning checks and exams are built into the program automatically, allowing the student to work at their own pace from the comfort of their own home.  Upon completion, the student will receive a certification of completion from the Customized Learning Department at Indian Hills Community College.

A short youtube video describing the Indian Hills program can be found at the following link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Tt4M3ksac&list=PLF9C4C84903B5E7A8&index=3&feature=plpp_video

The PDF describing the program is can be accessed with the following link

www.indianhills.edu/biofuelcertification

MiraCosta Community College is also in the process of developing a biofuels certificate, however their program is centered on algae-based biofuels.  Both programs cover conversion of oil to diesel and analysis of the biodiesel fuel.