Biodiesel

Needed materials

- Laboratory equipment: Berzelius glasses, watch glass, filter paper.
- Heating Reflux installation.
- NaOH (97%), hexane, ethylic alcohol (100%).


           Biodiesel

Work method:

    The biodiesel is made out of vegetable oils. The oils are vegetable fat, liquid, insoluble in water, but soluble in organic solvents, they emulsion with water. Due to their viscous structure you have to esterase it with ethanol or methanol, a process that brings the structure at the same viscosity like diesels.

    We obtained biodiesel from 3 types of oil:
1. Sun flower biodiesel
2. Aromatic oils biodiesel
3. Algae biodiesel




       Biodiesel

    The proportions are about 90% oil and 10 % methanol or ethanol, and the NaOH around a few grams for 1 L of mixture:

- We introduce 50 ml of oil in a Berzelius glass
- We add 5 ml of ethanol
- Centrifuges it to 500-1000 rpm
- After that we add a few drops of NaOH
- It’s left to decantation for a couple of hours
- We obtain the biodiesel


           Biodiesel