Biodiesel: An Alternative
Fuel Source
Kathyrn Spates, Biology teacher
Barbara Jordan High School for Careers
Dr. Timothy Jacobs
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Texas A&M University
DAY ONE
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Students will take pretest
Journal writing: To engage students
and check for prior knowledge
Class Discussion: To involve them in
problem solving and planning
Share my E3 experience
Discuss group project and class
symposium
AN
ALTERNATIVE
FUEL SOURCE
Objectives: The learner will
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Gain an understanding of terminology
associated with the lesson
Identify and apply techniques that
engineers use to solve problems
Compare and contrast physical and/or
chemical properties of 3 – 5 different
biodiesel fuels
Evaluate biodiesel as compared to
petroleum diesel and other alternative
fuels
TAKS and TEKS Objectives
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Biology
• 1.1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3B, 3C and
3D
• 3.12A
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Chemistry
• 4.8B
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IPC
• 4.8E
How do the two
fuels differ
petroleum diesel
vs biodiesel?
PETROLEUM DIESEL
What is different about the two
carbon cycles? Explain
WHAT DO YOU THINK
THIS SLIDE IS TRYING
TO SHOW?
What are some viable ways to
address the depletion of the fossil
fuel(petroleum) and minimize its
environmental effects in the
transportation sector?
1.
2.
3.
Decrease its usage
Improve vehicle performance
Use alternative fuels
Why Alternative Fuels
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Two pieces of legislation: The Clean Air
Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) and the
Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) led the
way towards alternative fuels
CLASS DISCUSSION
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What specifications would an alternative fuel need
to have in relation to the environment? In relation
to the vehicle?
How do we determine whether the alternative fuels
meet these specifications (testing)?
Given the constraints in this classroom, what do
you propose we do to address what we discussed?
How do we go about getting the information we
need to address those issues?
ENGINEERS DOING RESEARCH
Dr. Sergio Capareda
Dr. Ding Zhu
Dr. Timothy Jacobs
Dr. Mark Holtzapple
YOU
My RET Experience
Research Experiences for Teachers

I learned about the fundamentals of
an internal combustion (IC) engine
and the combustion process
Mechanical
Engineering
at its finest
Combustion Cycle
inside a cylinder
ADVANCED ENGINE
RESEARCH LABORATORY

Purpose is advancing
energy conversion of
internal combustion
engines by investigating
in-cylinder combustion
processes, use of
alternative fuels,
emission formation
processes and after
treatment systems
Bridging To The Classroom
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The usage of
alternative fuels,
emphasis on
biodiesel
Exhaust emissions
of biodiesel as
compared to
petroleum diesel
The influence
biodiesel would
have on the carbon
cycle
GROUP PROJECT AND
CLASS SYMPOSIUM
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Work in teams to investigate petroleum fuel and other
alternative fuels in depth and become the class experts on
one of them.
Analyze the impact of using the fuel in three major areas:
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its long-term availability and the ease of distribution
its impact on emissions, human health, and the environment
its ease of operation, maintenance, and refueling
Each team will be assigned a stakeholder or interest group
to represent. They will listen to the presentations and
compare and evaluate the fuels from that perspective.
Presentations may take one or more forms: a poster or
series of posters, a display board, a video, a PowerPoint
presentation, a booklet, or a pamphlet.
DAY 2
WEBQUEST
BIODIESEL
Let’s Explore and Learn More
Biodiesel WebQuest
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Working in groups of 3, students will
complete the webquest
Control right-click with the mouse to
activate the websites
Fill in the answers as they navigate
through the websites
Make notes of any links they may
want to explore for their project
DAY 3
LAB ACTIVITY
COMPARING
BIODIESELS
Design a Lab
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Design procedures to find the density
of the different biodiesels and the
viscosity of the biodiesels if given the
materials below
Materials provided:
• Balance
• Timer
• Thermometer
• Graph paper
• Safety gear: gloves,
beakers
graduated cylinder
graduated pipette
apron, goggles
Evaluations and Assessment
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Students will take post-test
Group projects and presentations will
be evaluated using a rubric
Student groups will also self-evaluate
themselves
Acknowledgements
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College of Engineering
at Texas A&M University
and the E3 advisors/staff
National Science
Foundation
The Texas Engineering
Experiment
Dr. Timothy Jacobs and
his students
Bjorn Santos
E3 participants