Biodiesel – using waste agricultural products to power school buses Part 1 - Synthesis Presented to CONASTA by the Primary Industry Centre for Science Education (PICSE) Dr Robert Elliott (Dr) David Schaller – Macquarie Oils Ms Anna Paice - UTAS

What is PICSE? Primary Industry Centre for Science Education based at UTAS National program 8 Activity Centres Attracting talented students to study science, suffering from major skills shortages Teacher PDs, class visits, Industry Placement Scholarship for yr 11/12, Science Camps yr 10, classroom resources, Science Investigation Awards yr 5-12

Industry Placement Scholarship

Learning Outcomes Make climate debate concrete Understand carbon neutral fuel Understand why BD (not straight veg oil) Chemistry: fats, soap and biodiesel Poor BD synthesis - leads to investigation, experimentation, development

Connections to curriculum Renewable fuels Titration – acid/base Saponification reaction Organic compounds – naming Esterification reaction Factors effecting reaction rates, completion/equilibrium Experimental design and process

Driving around the world on straight vegetable oil (SVO) (Biodiesel education project: Oil+Water -> )

Ignition by compression: no spark plug in diesels d

High viscosity of straight vegetable oil (SVO) l

Biodiesel vs vegetable oil (SVO) Viscosity --> fine spray Demo

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direct_injection_landcruiser_factory_turbo_diesel_engine_insp_after_running_wvo.html Engine damage from using straight vegetable oil (SVO)

Biodiesel vs vegetable oil (SVO) Flammability (flash point) Whoosh!

Converting fats to biodiesel TG (Fat) DGMG glycerol ++ +

Safety Flammable – alcohol Toxic- methanol Corrosive – caustic soda Heat/sparks... Image from Biodiesel is non-toxic, but... making biodiesel...

Ethanol-based biodiesel demos? The original Dr Pepper methanol protocol Existing small scale ethanol-based lesson Our adaptation of the Dr. Pepper protocol to ethanol Or Small scale ethanol ref

+ H 2 O Soap (FFAs) + alcohol Biodiesel (FAMEs) + H 2 Margarine + H 2 Alkanes

Dry alcohol, dry NaOH, dry/fresh oil: <1% FFAs, dry glassware, dry air Soap + H 2 O + oil + shaking = ??? Have you ever tried to burn soap? Bonus: why doesn't soap burn?

Making the catalyst with drain cleaner shU1.JPG +

Progress of the transesterification reaction

Burning glycerol makes a gummy mess you don't want in your engine! cancer/ fluffy.html

'Pre-wash' helps glycerol separate + 1 Tbs H 2 O 100 ml + 20ml = approximately 150 ml

Washing with salt water † to remove contaminates: NaOH, ethanol, soap

Modifications to the Dr Pepper demo protocol Use less toxic ethanol Dry ethanol using polenta (or rock salt)(Optional?) Longer reaction times (heat?) Trigger glycerol separation with H 2 O prewash Prevent emulsions with salt washes Or Small scale ethanol ref

Bob Elliott’s Biodiesel Protocol 1.Add 30g NaOH to 200mL dry ethanol >95% in a conical flask, mix well. Use a hotplate to dissolve catalyst in the alcohol if required. 2.Use an empty, completely dry 1.25L soft drink bottle or 1L separating funnel. Add 300mL of new vegetable oil (canola, soy bean, olive, poppy, almond etc) then add the dissolved catalyst+alcohol mix. 3.Gently shake by inverting bottle or funnel several times and leave to settle overnight, or compare different reaction times eg 5 mins, 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins. 4.Wash the biodiesel