O.M.G...we moved the bus...say what?!?!

    Yes, us rivertrail middle school of the united states of america CRANKED THAT BUS. Not only did we crank the bus, we got it to drive all the way back to alpharetta USING THE BIODIESEL MADE BY US!! Whoot Whoot. Arent we amazing? Yes we are, and all of our hard work paid off. Im so proud of everyone who made an effort to get this to work, and we couldnt have done it without out teacher who came up the whole thing! A friend and I got to pour the bio-diesel in the bus tank and it smelled the french fries, but atleast it work Im so happy, and proud! :) We got ice-cream to celebrate all the hard work we did. Now theres a final to go study for....:)

Yesterday, and today in class....(:

   Yesterday in class we had a day to get ourselves caught up on these blog post and comments!! We didn't do anything with the oil so it was just a normal day. Today we Started making another batch of fuel. There was also a lot of cleaning up involved today. Three of us measured out 1 L of oil into each of 8th periods 2 L bottles. That was pretty much it. I think were getting close...but we only have a week left and we still need to test if the fuel will work! We might need a small diesel engine just to see if it runs on the fuel we have been making, if it doesn't we are going to have to make adjustments on the fuel, but if it does...i guess we're all good!!! Some of the fuel we have is clean, it been filtered, and all that stuff, but some of the oil is still not fuel yet! We need to get going on that!

What happened in class on thursday and friday....(:

    In class on thursday we took the glyserin out of the fuel. The bottle was already turned upside down and all the glyserin was in a blob at the tip of the bottle so we had to unscrew the cap. After we unscrewed the cap we carefully removed it and squeezed the glyserin into a dirty bucket. Quickly after all the glycerin was out, we covered the bottle with the cap and cleaned up. We couldnt let loose of the bottle because air bubbles would get into the fuel and we would have to let it sit for another night.
     Then on friday after we let it sit one more night we were able to make batches of clean fuel by pouring the fuel in our bottles into 500 mL beakers. After we poured the fuel into the beakers we had to clean out our bottles so we could put the clean ready to use fuel back into them!!! We are getting close to the day we move that bus!!

One step closer....(:

WE ARE SO CLOSE TO RUNNING THAT BUS!!!!
     So, today in class we separated our selves into 3 groups. One group was in charge of measuring out precisely 12 grams of lye (sodium hydroxide) each into 13 petchre dishes.  The second group was in charge of measuring 1 liter of used cooking oil into a 2 liter bottle, and the third group was in charge of measuring 250 mL of methanol into jars.
     After everything was measured we all went over to the big lab table in the middle of the room. Thats where we carefully put the 12 grams of lye into the 250mL of methanol, and shook the jar containing the lye and methanol until all the lye dissolved. It took awhile because the lye was like little pebbles, and it actually took an effort to shake them. Then when the lye and methanol were completely mixed together and fully a liquid we grabbed our bottles with oil in them and took them over to the fume hood. At the fume hood, with Miss, Riouxs help, we carefully used a funnel to pour our mixed lye and methanol together into the oil. When that was complete we covered our bottles with the cap, and tipped it from side tossed 6 times. Finally we put the sealed tight bottle upside down in a beaker.
     I thought that today was a day we actually DID something. I felt like a scientist. In my opinion it was very fun. I wonder what we're going to be doing next....

How the Diesel Engine Works...(:

A diesel engine  is a combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to start the ignition which burns the fuel, then is put into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression. 
Parts and Functions :
Exhaust Camshaft- Allows burnt gasses to escape.
Water Jacket- allows coolant flow for smooth run.
Intake Camshaft- It takes driving force from crankshaft through gear train or chain and operates the exhaust camshaft.
Valves- Allows whole engine to run smoothly.
Connecting Rod- It changes the reciprocating motion of piston into rotary motion at crankshaft.This way connecting rod transfers the power made from piston to crankshaft.
Crank Shaft- Gets the motion from connecting rod and gives a rotary motion to the main shaft.

Today in class we...

Today in class we split up into about three to four groups doing different things. 3 other students and I filtered the waste cooking oil. We had to go slow at first by pouring the oil through the paint filter with Styrofoam cups, but by the time the oil got to half way we were able to pour the oil through the filter into another bucket. The method we used worked, but we had a few issues with heating part. The hot plates, and heating stoves we have take up to much energy for everyone to do. So we aren't getting into that step yet, we may be a little behind, but we should be getting caught up soon. I'm excited!!!

Cleaning up isn't all that amazing....

  Today in class we had to start cleaning the waste cooking oil, well most of us started cleaning it. A couple other students and I  started to clean up the dirty buckets and filters we had to re-use. Cleaning the buckets would seem easy, but it wasn't easy at all. To clean the bucket thoroughly it had to be power washed many times with the hose. It took about 7 times to rinse out ONE bucket to get it as clean as we needed it. To clean the paint filters we had to stretch them over the buckets and power wash them so we could get as much as the oil off of it. I kept getting sprayed by the hose, and getting oil on me. It was fun, but very messy! At least we got the buckets and filters clean!!

Purifying the waste cooking oil!!! :)

HYPOTHESIS:
If the oil is heated then cleaned properly, then we will be able to use it to make our biofuel, and the bus diesel engine will not be ruined and we'll be able to make the school bus run!!!
MATERIALS:

15 liters waste vegetable oil

Oil filter

5 gallon empty jugs

Camp stove/Hot plate

Steel pot

Lye

2.6 liters methanol

Coffee can

5 gallon plastic mixing bucket

Procedures:

• Gather all your waste vegetable oil and pour it through an oil filter
• Get 15 liters of the oil into a 5 gallon jug. Heat the oil to 100 degrees by placing the jugs in a steel pot and heat with a camp stove. If you have more than that, repeat these steps. Don't try to increase the amount of oil you're processing at one time.
• 
  
• Buy methanol. Make sure that the pump to transfer it is made of nylon; otherwise, the alcohol will destroy the pump and maybe even cause a fire.
• 
  
• Mix the lye and the methanol in a coffee can. The result will be sodium methoxide.
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• Clean the bucket, and pour in the oil. Pour half of the mix of sodium methoxide into the bucket. Wait two minutes and then add the rest of the sodium methoxide.
• 
  
• Stir the mix with a drill for mixing paint. Do this for 30 minutes. Place a lid on the bucket and let it rest for 12 hours. Open the lid, stir a bit more and then reclose it and allow the bucket to rest for a few days.
• Filter the biodiesel again with a restaurant filter bag. The biodiesel is ready to be used as fuel.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5948902_purify-waste-vegetable-oil.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask

On our way to making biodiesel...:)

The two main things to keep in mind before you start cleaning your waste oil is: Settling and Filtering.
Settling is the main important step, you want to get as much food particles towards the bottom so its easier to clean. The big particles that can be taken out by a drainer or so should be done first. The filtering is the next step is filtering which removes any excess particles that may clog the fuel. The waste oil should not be shortening based, or hydrogenated. Filter the oil through a filter system that should be bought. You repeat this many time, and follow the rest of the steps to making the oil.
All of this information can be found on:
http://www.lovecraftbiofuels.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=28

:)