Called the Denham Springs High School Sharks, the student STEM group has spent the past few months monitoring Lake Maurepas using sensors and relaying the information to a mobile app. The idea is to keep area residents in the know about what is going on with the body of water.
Air Products and Chemicals has proposed building a $4.5 billion "blue" hydrogen production plant in Ascension Parish. Hydrogen is widely used for industrial processes, but is seen as a potential manufacturing fuel with zero carbon emissions.
The company expects to capture 95 percent of the carbon-dioxide emissions from the production process, send the gas 35 miles north by pipeline and then inject it permanently underground beneath Lake Maurepas.
Residents, crabbers and others have opposed the plans over concerns about carbon-dioxide leaks and aquifer damage.
Khadija Henni, president of the Sharks group of science, technology, mathematics and engineering students, said they wanted to do a project to help their community. The students are using different technologies and computer coding platforms, like JavaScript and Python, to meet their goal.
"We might not be able to do anything to affect the progress of the (Air Products) project, but we might at least be able to help the community around and help them be a little more aware about what's happening to their lake," Henni said.
Mark Zweig, teacher and adviser for the group, said the students have been able to get guidance and data from other organizations like Southeastern Louisiana University, which has been independently monitoring the lake for the same reasons.
Zweig said the group already has made a lot of progress and plans to have the app functional for demonstration by March and fully ready by April. He said the students are also looking at the "sustainability" of the app and how to keep it running for years to come.
Adalyn Farrell, Sharks secretary, said the students want to help people potentially feel less concerned about the carbon capture process.
"There's not a lot of information on carbon capture to this extent," Farrell said. "We wanted to give the people living on the lake a sense of ownership and security."
In December, the students reached out to Dr. Katherine Romanak, a researcher at University of Texas and its Gulf Coast Carbon Center, after reading one of her papers. The state geologist has since been providing support and information to the students.
"I think it's an amazing cutting-edge project," Romanak said. "It has the potential to be used as a real thing worldwide."
The Sharks were the state winner for the national Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition. The school won a $12,000 technology prize package and advanced to the next national round of the competition for the group's work on the carbon capture project.
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