Students in two programs join efforts to produce wood pellets
<p>Flathead High School Woods I student Avery Knoll runs the school's pelletizer while student Tucker Nadeau watches for quality control. Flathead woods and International Baccalaureate students are entering a new business and curriculum venture this year making, marketing and selling wood pellets using recycled materials.</p>
Flathead High School is trying a new business venture in wood pellets.
The venture is a collaboration between the wood shop and International Baccalaureate students.
In the manufacturing process, wood-shop teachers and students are recycling sawdust from the shop floor and used fryer oil from Frugals restaurant as a binding agent. The two ingredients are put into a pellet mill purchased through a Perkins grant in the fall.
Each batch produces approximately 40 pounds of pellets in a few minutes.
Flathead wood shop teacher Brock Anderson came up with the idea after realizing how much raw sawdust was swept off the floor and into trash bins as waste.
“I guess it was bothering me because we were throwing so much sawdust away,” Anderson said. “I know a lot of people have pellet stoves and it was killing me just sending it to the landfill.”
Just how much sawdust ends up in the trash? Anderson pointed out a window of the wood shop Thursday to a shed.
“That was full of sawdust after one semester,” Anderson said.
A shed full of sawdust was converted into approximately 1,800 pounds of wood pellets.
While the woods students manufacture the product, International Baccalaureate business and art students are in charge of marketing and designing brand logos.
International Baccalaureate students in business teacher Jesse Rumsey’s class will market the pellets as part of their class curriculum.
“We’re really after learning how to take a product from its raw material stage through production and marketing before final delivery,” student Bailey Lawrence said.
International Baccalaureate science students are in the lab testing the quality of Flathead’s pellets versus other brands and a 50-50 mixture.
“They have helped develop a test to collect data to find BTUs, amount of ash and burn time,” International Baccalaureate science teacher Lori Jo Ortley said.
Welding teacher Hugh Naldrett is one of the first customers to use a mixture of the wood pellets in his home.
“Right now I’m mixing [Flathead’s] wood pellets with another brand and it’s working pretty well,” Naldrett said. “I like helping out the kids.”
Anderson said he would like to find out if the pellet mill could be used in other programs such as agriculture to make animal feed. He also is researching a way to donate wood pellets to help low-income families keep warm during the winter.
Flathead-produced pellets are available for purchase for $4 to $5. Anderson has also been filling empty bags that people bring in such as sturdy grain feed or dog food bags. Proceeds benefit school programs.
For more information, call Flathead High School at 751-3500.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.