From Biomass to Biofuel: Burn a Nut - 4-H

From Biomass to Biofuel:
Burn a Nut
What is the energy in plants?
How do we find it? How do we use it?
Minimum
Completion Time
45 minutes
Skill Level
Intermediate
Ages 11-13
Learner Outcomes
Explores how agricultural
crops can be used to
create fuel, Investigates
ethanol-based fuels
based on their biological
properties.
Science Skills
• Measure
• Observe
• Interpret/analyze/
reason
Life Skills
• Reason
• Acquire and Evaluate
Information
Educational
Standards
• Properties and changes
of properties in matter
• Transfer of energy
• Populations, resources,
and environment
Success Indicator
Follows the Scientific
Method in an experiment
to release energy from
nuts and beans
Acknowledgements:
Robert L. Horton, PhD, Ohio
State University Extension, Carol
Warkentien and Jeanne Gogolski,
EP&P LLC
Content adapted from DuPont
(www2.dupont.com) and Pioneer
(www.pioneer.com) web pages.
Adapted with permission from the
Ohio Soybean Council.
Where do we get energy? The same energy
that you get from food can be used for fuel.
What is a biofuel? Biofuels are made from
renewable materials like plants rather than
non-renewable sources like crude oil and
coal. How much energy can you get
from a plant—a nut? a soybean?
Try this experiment.
Note: Always wear eye protection and consult an adult when
working with an open flame. Find a responsible adult that
you trust to do this activity with you. Be sure to protect your
clothing and hands and set up your experiment in an open
area.
Learn More
• Bio Architecture Lab
• Biotechnology and You
• Biodiesel Basics
1. Gather these materials: 1 nut (pecan,
almond, or brazil nut), 1-2 soybeans,
2 large paperclips, stopwatch, empty
aluminum can, small glass dish,
masking tape, thermometer, ring
stand, food or balance scale, safety
glasses, grill lighter, copy of Burn a Nut
Observation Log, glass fuel burner and
lamp oil.
2. Arrange a nut on the unfolded
paperclip. Tape to bottom of the dish
(see figure 1). Measure the mass of
the fuel, (nut or soybean), fuel holder
(paperclip) and glass dish. Add this
data to the Observation Log.
3. Pour 50 ml of water into the aluminum
can. Record the temperature. Suspend
from the ring clamp using an unfolded
paper clip (see figure 2).
4. Ignite the nut or bean by holding a
flame on it until it begins to burn on
its own. Start the stopwatch when you
apply the flame.
Virtual Fun
Figure 1
Figure 1
• Tour an ethanol plant
• Willie Nelson on biodiesel
• Burning a brazil nut on
•
YouTube
Cooking with an almond
News & Careers
•
•
•
•
Tracking Renewable Fuel
(article and video)
BP biofuels
Fuel and feed from
microalgae
Importance of enzymes
Figure 2
Figure 2
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Support for this resource was provided by:
No endorsement of a commercial entity or its products or services is intended or implied.
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Do • • •
5. Adjust the can to hang directly over the burning
fuel source. Do not extinguish the flame! If
the nut/soybean stops burning before it is
completely consumed, try to relight.
6. Monitor the temperature of the water, but do not
allow the thermometer to touch the bottom of
the can.
7. Allow the fuel to burn until it is consumed.
Record both the burning time and the
temperature of the water on the Observation
Log. Measure the mass of the glass dish,
paperclip and any ashes.
8. Calculate the change in time, temperature and
mass and record on the Observation Log.
9. Repeat steps 1-8 using the soybean. Record your
data.
10. Repeat steps 1-8 using a glass fuel burner
containing lamp oil instead of the nut/soybean.
Allow the lamp oil to burn for exactly 3 minutes.
Record your data on the Observation Log.
11. Calculate the change in temperature over the
change in mass. Which fuel
produced the greatest change
in temperature compared to the
More Challenges
mass? Which fuel has the most
stored energy?
• Test other nuts or food sources. Make
predictions about how much stored energy
there is in some of your favorite foods.
• Learn about the fermentation process for
More than a century ago in 1892, Rudolph
Diesel patented the diesel engine which he
designed to run on vegetable oil. In 1925
Henry Ford, founder of the Ford motor
company, told a reporter that fuel made from
plant matter was the “fuel of the future.”
making ethanol and the transesterification
process for producing biodiesel. Compare
the process of making ethanol made from
plant starches to the process of making
biodiesel made from the oil in oilseeds.
• Find out about other biomass sources
such as switchgrass, algae, jahtropha that
scientists and engineers are exploring for
advanced biofuels in your home state.
Today energy crop innovation is continuing
to develop sources of sustainable biofuels.
The development of advanced biofuels
technologies is on course to begin mass,
commercial use in this decade. Engineers
and entrepreneurs believe that 10-25% of
global agricultural wastes alone can provide a
sustainable source of 12% of the global road
transport fuels market in the near future.
The 4-H Name and Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707.
Support for this resource was provided by:
No endorsement of a commercial entity or its products or services is intended or implied.
2
Name— ————————————————
Share • • •
Date — ————————————————
Which was the better fuel: the nut, the soybean or the lamp oil?
Records—Intermediate Level
From Biomass to Biofuel: Burn a Nut
Reflect • • •
Which contained the most “stored energy:” the nut, the soybean or the lamp oil?
Generalize • • •
How could the expanded use of biofuels affect the future? What other crops should be considered as possible fuel
sources?
Apply • • •
Would you recommend the use of nuts, soybeans or other crops for food, fuel or both? How is it possible to use the same
plant or biomass for both food and fuel?
The 4-H Name and Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707.
Support for this resource was provided by:
No endorsement of a commercial entity or its products or services is intended or implied.
3
Background
Information
Future Fuels Now
Most of the world’s energy needs today are met with oil and natural
gas, which come from fossil fuel. Every year America imports 3.67
billion barrels of oil. No one knows how long the supply can last.
Renewable fuels have the potential to solve the problem.
How can we find the energy in plants to be the biofuels in the future?
Scientific research and the development of biofuels such as ethanol
and biodiesel will help us to cut back on the amount of petroleum we use.
Biotechnology is helping make alternative energy sources easier and more
affordable to produce.
Biofuels are made from renewable sources. Along with corn, there are many other grains, grasses, trees, and even
agricultural wastes being investigated for their usefulness. Biofuels include ethanol and biodiesel, which you
may have heard of. They also include methanol, butanol, straight vegetable oil, syngas, and a seemingly endless
array of other unconventional, often experimental fuels.
For example, one technology uses algae to convert the CO2 into a clean, renewable biofuel. Researchers are
working on miniature fuel cells powered by methanol, butane, or even diesel fuel. These cells could replace the
batteries in laptops and cell phones. Breakthroughs in the use of discarded agricultural waste and nontraditional
crops like switchgrass have the potential to replace a large portion of the fossil fuels Americans now use.
Careers in this emerging field emphasize chemistry and engineering. Biofuel jobs can be
thought of by the stages of production. Farmers grow the raw material, called feedstock
or biomass. Agricultural researchers and scientists and microbiologists find ways to
develop feedstock that will yield the most energy. Agricultural engineers focus on the
overall manufacturing procedures, called bioprocessing. Animal nutritionists are needed
to figure out how much of the co-products can be fed to animals. After the oil is extracted
for biodiesel, the remaining soybean meal is processed into feed for livestock. The corn that
remains after the starch is removed becomes animal feed prepared for exports around the
globe.
Biofuel production involves more than a making a liquid to drive cars. Plastic that is now
made from petroleum can be made out of biofuel. People will have to market the products
and help society accept bioproducts. Those with computer skills will be needed, along with office workers, and
lab technicians as well as legislative and governmental regulatory agents.
Glossary
biodiesel­­—diesel fuel made from renewable resources
biofuels—fuels developed from biomass or agricultural
crops
biomass—organic material made from plants and animals
that contains stored energy from the sun
ethanol—an alternative fuel to gasoline made from a grain
such as corn or sugarcane
fermentation process—biological processing in which
sugars are converted into cellular energy, producing
ethanol and carbon dioxide as a waste product; ethanol
fermentation is the same process that occurs in the rising
of bread dough
transesterification—process used in the production of
biodiesel that involves reacting the vegetable oil with
methanol or ethanol
feedstock—raw material required for an industrial process;
biofuels start with feedstocks
The 4-H Name and Emblem is protected under 18 USC 707.
Support for this resource was provided by:
No endorsement of a commercial entity or its products or services is intended or implied.
4
Name— ————————————————
Date — ————————————————
Observation Log
Fuel: Nut
Records—Intermediate Level
From Biomass to Biofuel: Burn a Nut
Initial
Final
Change
Final
Change
Initial
Final
Change
0
3:00
3 minutes
Temperature (°C) of water in can
Combined mass of fuel (g) holder, glass dish
Time (min.)
0
Fuel: Soybean
Initial
Temperature (°C) of water in can
Combined mass of fuel (g) holder, glass dish
Time (min.)
0
Fuel: Lamp Oil
Temperature (°C) of water in can
Combined mass of lamp oil and glass burner
Time (min.)
Compare change in mass to change in temperature.
Fuel
Change in
Temperature °C
Change in Mass
Temperature °C
Change in mass (g)
Nut
Soybean
Lamp oil
Look at the data. Which fuel is the best?
Why?
Which fuel would you recommend for food?
For fuel?
Why?
What other factors should be considered when choosing a source of fuel?
What kinds of scientists are looking for new fuels?
New foods?
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