Class project compares diesel and biodiesel fuels

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Class project compares diesel and biodiesel fuels
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Maryann Dartnell’s senior physics and environmental science IB classes began testing biodiesel on Friday, May 19 and finished the experiment on Monday, May 22 ...

 Students at Morgan County High School are on the cutting edge of technology when it comes to the alternative fuel debate.

Maryann Dartnell’s senior physics and environmental science IB classes began testing biodiesel on Friday, May 19 and finished the experiment on Monday, May 22. The experiment marked the culmination of a year of work.

"The classes have worked on it all year and now we’re in a crunch because we just got all the chemistry finished and these are all seniors, so they don’t have to be here today," Ms. Dartnell said.

The experiment tested the power difference between diesel and biodiesel by finding the time and distance it took for the truck to go from zero to 30 miles per hour, determining which fuel is more powerful.

The class anticipated that the biodiesel would create more power.

"Vegetable oil has the same carbon-hydrogen bonds (as diesel), but heats up more, creating more energy," Dartnell said. "Biodiesel burns cleaner and has five times the burning power."

Before the beginning of the experiment, Dartnell questioned the class about how the experiment was going to play out. The class determined the ratio of waste vegetable oil to diesel that combined to form the biodiesel.

Finally, after going over the safety rules of the experiment, the class headed to the auto shop in two groups: one to prepare the biodiesel and one to measure and mark the course.

The alternative fuel began as diesel and wasted vegetable oil that the classes got from Madison Drug. The class combined eight parts diesel to two parts waste vegetable oil to make the biodiesel.

However, the experiment had to be postponed when the truck they were going to use stopped working.

On Monday the classes had to figure out the best way to get the biodiesel from the trash can into the truck. They finally settled on using a beaker to take the biodiesel from the trash can into a gas can and then into the truck. The

classes then went outside and

performed the experiment.

The classes ran three trials on each form of fuel. The diesel made the truck get to 30 miles per hour in 152 feet; 151 feet, ten inches; and 156 feet, six inches. The biodiesel got to 30 miles per hour in 169 feet, six inches; 166 feet, four inches; and 168 feet, seven inches.

So, the diesel went from zero to 30 miles per hour in a shorter distance and in less time than the biodiesel, but not enough to make a huge difference. Also, the biodiesel is more environmentally friendly than diesel.

The experiment did not end exactly as the classes hypothesized, but a lot was learned throughout the year about the development of alternative fuels.