BioD+(Students)

=k for specific information: here=

As much as we love bio diesel, it is time to move on into a different realm of sustainable energy. Our biodiesel room will now be turned into a bike shop! =** Welcome to our lab! **= Hi, we're the 2014-2015 C-Block biodiesel team here at North! Laughter, Ryan, Angelo, and I (Katie) have been working on making a batch of biodiesel for the local farms to use in their tractors. We have been making small batches before we go on to make a large batch to get the hang of it.

** Making the Small Batch: **
Process: 1) Filter the oil to get all the excess dirt and clump grease 2) Heat the oil to 130-160 degrees F 3) Check titration levels (explain this later) 4) mix alcohol and titration solution in separate container 5) test titration by slowly dropping Phenolphthalein to see how many drops it takes to turn the mixture pink 6) mix 200mL of methanol with (amount of titration+7) grams of KOH 7) once dissolved, add 1L of oil 8) stir for 20 minutes, let it sit 9) suck up glycerin (see below for photo) 10) 27/3 test (stir for 5 minutes) -- 27 mL of methanol, 3 mL of oil

** Fixing the Processor: **
After making several small batches, we were ready to use the large processor. Just for fun, we named the processors. The small is named Maria and the larger one is named Sam.

As part of the learning process, Mr. C had us take apart and fix the processor of our choice in order to learn how it worked. We decided to take apart Maria (the processor on the left). It took us about a month to take it apart, clean it, and put it back together. While we were testing (with water) to see if it worked, we heard a hissing noise coming from Maria, we turned to see what it was and we witnessed Maria shoot water up at the ceiling. The entire room was drenched in water. Maria exploded due to the pressure in one the the hoses, causing the hose to detach from the pipe, and shooting water up at the ceiling. After this we decided to try to fix Sam because it wouldn't be safe if the biodiesel were to shoot out of Maria.