This week's lab was about Biodiesel Fuel, which is a growing alternative for traditional gasoline! We toured Dr. Rood's science lab over at the Law School. Interesting place to house a LAB, but he explained the sorded past of it all. :)....There's alot of top of the line equipment, and it certainly is being used! After the tour, he talked to us a little while about Biodiesel fuel.
100% vegetable oil + Sodium Methoxide = Biodiesel + Glycerine
What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
Is Biodiesel the same thing as raw vegetable oil?
No! Biodiesel is produced from any fat or oil such as soybean oil, through a refinery process called transesterification. This process is a reaction of the oil with an alcohol to remove the glycerin, which is a by-product of biodiesel production.
Here is a link to learn how to make Biodiesel Fuel. Good luck!!
http://www.biodieselfuelonline.com/index2.html
Biodiesel is safe, biodegradable, and considerably reduces serious air pollutants. Blends of 20% biodiesel with 80% petroleum diesel (B20) can generally be used in unmodified diesel engines; however, users should consult their OEM and engine warranty statement. Biodiesel can also be used in its pure form (B100), but it may require certain rubber components of the engine to be modified to avoid maintenance and performance problems and may not be suitable for wintertime use.
Maybe this will catch on globally - and I mean everyone on board! Will it help - does it help the environment? It seems so. It would be great! Perhaps one day all of us will be driving a biodiesel car:
A greater hope is that all of us can do everything we can to keep our world beautiful and clean! :)
Information retrieved from:
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs/; and,
http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_biodiesel.htm
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