HOW MUCH ENERGY IS
RELEASED FROM
DIFFERENT TYPES OF
BIOFUELS?
By: Lauren Yeagley
QUESTION
How much energy is released from
the following types of biofuels:
safflower oil, canola oil, corn oil,
and ethanol?
BACKROUND
RESEARCH
-
Biofuels are non-fossil fuels that store energy from
organic materials which are known as biomass
-
-
Safflower oil, canola oil, corn oil and ethanol were the
biofuels tested in this experiment.
Each biofuel was tested using calorimetry.
-
The science of measuring heat.
Calorimeter
-
A device that measures the amount of heat transferred
to or from an object and the heat of a reaction.
HYPOTHESIS
If the wick is soaked in ethanol, then
it will give off the most energy
compared to safflower oil, canola oil,
and corn oil. This is because ethanol
is alcohol which is extremely
flammable, whereas the oils
(safflower, corn, and canola) have
higher flashpoints.
MATERIALS
- Safflower oil
- Canola oil
- Corn oil
- Ethanol
- Calorimeter
- Cork (to “impale” wick)
- Water
- Matches/lighter
- Thermometer
- Logger Lite Pro Computer Application (to monitor temperature or
water)
- Balance
- Candle Wicks (25)
PROCEDURE
1. The masses of 25 wicks (3 cm long) were measured and
recorded.
2. Five of each wick were dipped and soaked into four different
types of biofuels (safflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, and ethanol).
The remaining five were left undipped to be used as a control.
3. The masses of the wicks were measured again and recorded.
4. 100 ml of water was placed into the can inside the calorimeter.
5. Each wick was then “impaled” on a cork, lit on fire, and
placed under a calorimeter.
6. A temperature probe monitored the temperature of the water
from the time the wick was lit on fire, until it burnt out
completely.
7. The mass of the remaining wick was measured and recorded.
8. This was repeated for each of the 25 wicks and the data was
compared to find which biofuel produced the most energy.
PROCEDURE
• To discover the number of joules the biofuel released the
formula q
= m C∆T was used.
• q would represent the heat gained or lost by the
solution
• m would represent the mass of the solution
• C would be the specific heat of the solution
• ∆T would represent the change in temperature of the
solution.
Calorimeter
VARIABLES
•
Independent variable: different biofuels
•
Dependent variable: change in temperature
•
Constants: amount of water, calorimeter, size
of wick
•
Control: dry, undipped wicks
DATA
Joules
Type of Biofuel
DATA
DATA
DATA
The ANOVA test shows that the there is a large difference
among all groups however not a large difference among the
oils.
The results of the TTEST show that the only
significant difference is between corn and safflower
oil. There is no clear distinction between canola and
safflower or corn and canola oil.
CONCLUSION
•
Canola oil, corn oil, and safflower oil all release more energy
than ethanol.
•
•
Canola oil and corn oil were shown to produce more energy
than safflower oil however there is not a clear enough
difference to distinguish which out of the two (corn and
canola), produced the most energy.
This would suggest that people should use canola oil, corn
oil, or even safflower oil when trying to produce maximum
energy. Testing which type of biofuel produces the most
energy could help show people and scientists what type of
biofuel should be used for maximum use.
•
The hypothesis was rejected due to the fact that ethanol released
the least amount of energy.
•
This experiment could lead to the investigation of a broader type
of biofuel and which of those produces the most energy as well
as to why the different types produce such different amounts of
energy. This could lead to the research of what component of the
vegetable as well as which vegetable is most crucial in
producing energy. This research could help find alternatives to
fossil fuels.
SOURCES OF ERROR
OR CHANGES
•
Ensuring that no liquid was lost in the transfer from finding
the mass to the cork
•
Distilled water rather than tap
•
Not using a homemade calorimeter
•
Experimenting with different types of biofuels
•
Allowing the wick to only burn for a certain amount of time to
test how much energy was burned in a specific time frame
WORKS CITED
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