Efficiency of Biodiesel Compared to Regular Diesel
Elliot Isenberg, David Etz, Joshua Jacques
ABSTRACT:
This lab was performed in order to test the efficiency of synthesized biodiesel against that of regular diesel. A subject that can be important in this day and age as many things are run with diesel. Fortunately we were able to formulate a group made up of extreme diesel enthusiasts who are very passionate about the subject. Therefore we were eager to test the efficiency of biodiesel and diesel. This was done by setting up two calorimeters over oil lamps burning both diesel and biodiesel. We tested how much fuel was left after heating each calorimeter to 35 degrees Celsius. Overall it was determined that the biodiesel was more efficient than regular diesel. According to other experiments conducted on the same topic biodiesel has been found to be more efficient for city driving while slightly less efficient for highway driving. In the lab it was observed that the biodiesel burned both cleaner and hotter than the typical diesel. This experiment is important in today's world because diesel is a fuel that is usually fairly efficient but produces a large amount of off-gassing and isn’t nearly as natural as biodiesel.
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this lab was to test the efficiency of biodiesel to regular diesel fuel. When given the opportunity to perform a lab of our choice regarding energy we thought of biofuels. When the term biofuel came to mind we instantly thought of biodiesel. A biodiesel is a fuel made from chemically reacting lipids reacting with an alcohol producing fatty acid esters. To simplify this, a biodiesel is made when vegetable oil and methanol react, which gets rid of the oxygen molecules. When the oxygen molecules are gone the glycerin from the vegetable oil settles at the bottom of the mixture. A tool called a separatory funnel is used to let the biodiesel to separate into. A separatory funnel is a piece of laboratory glassware used in liquid-liquid extractions to separate the components of a mixture into two immiscible solvent phases of different densities.
The way we were measuring this was observing how much fuel was used to heat water to 35oC. In order to see how much fuel was used we constructed a calorimeter. A calorimeter is a device used in the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Testing the efficiency of biodiesel to regular diesel is important because regular diesel burns inefficiently and produces CO2. With the urge to find cleaner fuel sources this data is very useful for the search of cleaner energy.
METHODS:
Materials List:
Biodiesel
1. 100mL of methanol
2. 1.75g of potassium hydroxide
3. 500mL of vegetable oil
4. 1000mL and 500mL beaker
5. 250mL graduated cylinder
6. Hot plate
7. Stir rod
8. Separatory funnel
First, start off by measuring out 100 mL of methanol into a graduated cylinder. Add this to your 1000 mL beaker. Next weigh out 1.75g of potassium hydroxide and add this to the beaker of methanol. Put your mixture onto a hot plate and add a stir rod to the beaker. Set the hot plate to a medium-high stir setting(no heat). Wait until the potassium hydroxide is completely dissolved. While waiting, measure out 500 mL of vegetable oil. Once ALL potassium hydroxide is dissolved add your vegetable oil to the beaker on the hot plate. Set your hot plate to a high stir setting and wait 20-30 min for mixture to complete its reaction. While being mixed the mixture will turn a yellow-orange color. The color change lets you know a chemical reaction has occurred. Once the mixture is done mixing pour half of the mixture into a separatory funnel and wait for it to separate. Allow 15 min for separation. Once complete your mixture will separate into two liquids. The top layer being your biodiesel and the bottom layer being your glycerin. Suspend the separatory funnel over a waster container and turn the knob to the left to drain the glycerin. Once glycerin is no longer present pour the biodiesel into a beaker. Repeat this process for the remainder of the original mixture. Finished product is shown in Figure 1.
Calorimeter:
1. 250 mL of water
2. 60 mL of regular diesel
3. 60 mL of biodiesel
4. 500 mL beaker
5. Graduated cylinder
6. Thermometer
7. Two oil lamps
8. Scale
First, measure out 250 mL of water into a graduated cylinder. Add this to the 500 mL beaker. Next add the thermometer to the beaker. If a second calorimeter is needed repeat process. Finished product is shown in Figure 1. Weigh out both of the oil lamps BEFORE you add the fuel sources. Once weighed out pour 60 mL of biodiesel into one of the oil lamps and pour 60 mL of regular diesel into the other oil lamp. Make sure the distance from the oil lamps to the calorimeter are equal distance apart. As shown in Figure 2. Make sure BEFORE you light the wick you have titled the oil lamp upside down to make sure wick soaks up the fuel. Once complete light the wicks. Finished product is shown in Figure 2. Continue to observe until a thermometer reads 35oC. Next put out the flame and a record the mass. Repeat process for the following oil lamp.
Figure 1: Diagram of Calorimeter
Figure 2: Diagram of the determination of biodiesel to diesel efficiency.
Hazards:
Biodiesel
Results:
Table 1: This Table shows the increase in temperature and how much fuel was used to heat the water that much
Diesel
Temperature(oC)
20
25
30
35
milliliters lost
7.21g
Biodiesel
Temperature(oC)
20
25
30
35
Milliliters lost
4.12g
Some observations that were made include; the diesel released a very large amount of soot meanwhile the biodiesel released almost no soot, The biodiesel flame burned a lot smaller, although both flames had different heights they both absorbed into the wick and had similar times taken to set ablaze. Each fuel burned at a consistent rate.
Discussion:
The purpose of this lab was to test the efficiency of biodiesel to regular diesel fuel. The expected result was that the diesel was going to be more efficient than the biodiesel. As you can see by the data in Table 1, the biodiesel is more efficient. After heating each calorimeter to the same temperature it was recorded that less biodiesel was lost than regular diesel.
In observing the lab we noticed that biodiesel did not produce as large of a flame as the diesel. We also observed that the biodiesel produced a much cleaner byproduct (smoke) than the regular diesel as shown in Figure 2 above. Although we did not record the amount of time each experiment took, we did notice that the diesel seemed to heat the water in the calorimeter quicker than the biodiesel. Other experiments have shown similar results, showing diesel to be slightly more efficient on the highway, but in the city biodiesel has been shown to be both cleaner and more efficient than regular diesel.
If we were to do this again I would have changed many parts of the lab where we determined the efficiency. I would have liked to keep time during the heating process. Keeping time would have allowed us to see which fuel heated the water the quickest. I would also set aside more time. We ended up running out of time during the lab so we were not able to heat the biodiesel to 350C. The data we ended up collecting was not exact like we wanted it to be.
These results cannot be considered 100% accurate until several more tests have been run. As with anything there can be errors and inaccuracy with measuring equipment. However this lab process was fairly precise in an effort to minimize these errors. Another problem that could arise in further experimentation would be that different quality of biodiesel could be made, there is no way to help this other than sticking to the same formula to make it.
Elliot Isenberg, David Etz, Joshua Jacques
ABSTRACT:
This lab was performed in order to test the efficiency of synthesized biodiesel against that of regular diesel. A subject that can be important in this day and age as many things are run with diesel. Fortunately we were able to formulate a group made up of extreme diesel enthusiasts who are very passionate about the subject. Therefore we were eager to test the efficiency of biodiesel and diesel. This was done by setting up two calorimeters over oil lamps burning both diesel and biodiesel. We tested how much fuel was left after heating each calorimeter to 35 degrees Celsius. Overall it was determined that the biodiesel was more efficient than regular diesel. According to other experiments conducted on the same topic biodiesel has been found to be more efficient for city driving while slightly less efficient for highway driving. In the lab it was observed that the biodiesel burned both cleaner and hotter than the typical diesel. This experiment is important in today's world because diesel is a fuel that is usually fairly efficient but produces a large amount of off-gassing and isn’t nearly as natural as biodiesel.
INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this lab was to test the efficiency of biodiesel to regular diesel fuel. When given the opportunity to perform a lab of our choice regarding energy we thought of biofuels. When the term biofuel came to mind we instantly thought of biodiesel. A biodiesel is a fuel made from chemically reacting lipids reacting with an alcohol producing fatty acid esters. To simplify this, a biodiesel is made when vegetable oil and methanol react, which gets rid of the oxygen molecules. When the oxygen molecules are gone the glycerin from the vegetable oil settles at the bottom of the mixture. A tool called a separatory funnel is used to let the biodiesel to separate into. A separatory funnel is a piece of laboratory glassware used in liquid-liquid extractions to separate the components of a mixture into two immiscible solvent phases of different densities.
The way we were measuring this was observing how much fuel was used to heat water to 35oC. In order to see how much fuel was used we constructed a calorimeter. A calorimeter is a device used in the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Testing the efficiency of biodiesel to regular diesel is important because regular diesel burns inefficiently and produces CO2. With the urge to find cleaner fuel sources this data is very useful for the search of cleaner energy.
METHODS:
Materials List:
Biodiesel
1. 100mL of methanol
2. 1.75g of potassium hydroxide
3. 500mL of vegetable oil
4. 1000mL and 500mL beaker
5. 250mL graduated cylinder
6. Hot plate
7. Stir rod
8. Separatory funnel
First, start off by measuring out 100 mL of methanol into a graduated cylinder. Add this to your 1000 mL beaker. Next weigh out 1.75g of potassium hydroxide and add this to the beaker of methanol. Put your mixture onto a hot plate and add a stir rod to the beaker. Set the hot plate to a medium-high stir setting(no heat). Wait until the potassium hydroxide is completely dissolved. While waiting, measure out 500 mL of vegetable oil. Once ALL potassium hydroxide is dissolved add your vegetable oil to the beaker on the hot plate. Set your hot plate to a high stir setting and wait 20-30 min for mixture to complete its reaction. While being mixed the mixture will turn a yellow-orange color. The color change lets you know a chemical reaction has occurred. Once the mixture is done mixing pour half of the mixture into a separatory funnel and wait for it to separate. Allow 15 min for separation. Once complete your mixture will separate into two liquids. The top layer being your biodiesel and the bottom layer being your glycerin. Suspend the separatory funnel over a waster container and turn the knob to the left to drain the glycerin. Once glycerin is no longer present pour the biodiesel into a beaker. Repeat this process for the remainder of the original mixture. Finished product is shown in Figure 1.
Calorimeter:
1. 250 mL of water
2. 60 mL of regular diesel
3. 60 mL of biodiesel
4. 500 mL beaker
5. Graduated cylinder
6. Thermometer
7. Two oil lamps
8. Scale
First, measure out 250 mL of water into a graduated cylinder. Add this to the 500 mL beaker. Next add the thermometer to the beaker. If a second calorimeter is needed repeat process. Finished product is shown in Figure 1. Weigh out both of the oil lamps BEFORE you add the fuel sources. Once weighed out pour 60 mL of biodiesel into one of the oil lamps and pour 60 mL of regular diesel into the other oil lamp. Make sure the distance from the oil lamps to the calorimeter are equal distance apart. As shown in Figure 2. Make sure BEFORE you light the wick you have titled the oil lamp upside down to make sure wick soaks up the fuel. Once complete light the wicks. Finished product is shown in Figure 2. Continue to observe until a thermometer reads 35oC. Next put out the flame and a record the mass. Repeat process for the following oil lamp.
Figure 1: Diagram of Calorimeter
Figure 2: Diagram of the determination of biodiesel to diesel efficiency.
Hazards:
Biodiesel
- Potassium hydroxide can be a hazardous irritant when exposed at high levels
- Biodiesel is flammable and should be handled with care at all times especially around an open flame
- Methanol can cause blindness if it gets into your eyes
- Sodium hydroxide can be fatal if ingested
- Short exposure to diesel exhaust can cause headaches, and irritation of the eyes,nose and throat
- Long term exposure to the exhaust can cause a wide array of lung diseases and it can cause lung cancer
- Exposure to diesel in liquid form can also be an eye, skin and respiratory irritant
- labeled as a class three carcinogen
- vapors may react poorly in the air
Results:
Table 1: This Table shows the increase in temperature and how much fuel was used to heat the water that much
Diesel
Temperature(oC)
20
25
30
35
milliliters lost
7.21g
Biodiesel
Temperature(oC)
20
25
30
35
Milliliters lost
4.12g
Some observations that were made include; the diesel released a very large amount of soot meanwhile the biodiesel released almost no soot, The biodiesel flame burned a lot smaller, although both flames had different heights they both absorbed into the wick and had similar times taken to set ablaze. Each fuel burned at a consistent rate.
Discussion:
The purpose of this lab was to test the efficiency of biodiesel to regular diesel fuel. The expected result was that the diesel was going to be more efficient than the biodiesel. As you can see by the data in Table 1, the biodiesel is more efficient. After heating each calorimeter to the same temperature it was recorded that less biodiesel was lost than regular diesel.
In observing the lab we noticed that biodiesel did not produce as large of a flame as the diesel. We also observed that the biodiesel produced a much cleaner byproduct (smoke) than the regular diesel as shown in Figure 2 above. Although we did not record the amount of time each experiment took, we did notice that the diesel seemed to heat the water in the calorimeter quicker than the biodiesel. Other experiments have shown similar results, showing diesel to be slightly more efficient on the highway, but in the city biodiesel has been shown to be both cleaner and more efficient than regular diesel.
If we were to do this again I would have changed many parts of the lab where we determined the efficiency. I would have liked to keep time during the heating process. Keeping time would have allowed us to see which fuel heated the water the quickest. I would also set aside more time. We ended up running out of time during the lab so we were not able to heat the biodiesel to 350C. The data we ended up collecting was not exact like we wanted it to be.
These results cannot be considered 100% accurate until several more tests have been run. As with anything there can be errors and inaccuracy with measuring equipment. However this lab process was fairly precise in an effort to minimize these errors. Another problem that could arise in further experimentation would be that different quality of biodiesel could be made, there is no way to help this other than sticking to the same formula to make it.