Post on 22-Jan-2015
description
BIOFUEL
From Food Scrapes to Sustainable Fuel Source
WHAT’S BIOMASS AND HOW CAN YOU GET ENERGY OUT OF IT?
Is it hard to get energy out of biomass? No, people have been doing it for thousands of years.
Biomass is made of organic remains from plants and animals which are taken mostly from harvesting and processing of agricultural and forestry crops.
Biomass are wastes and by-products that could be used as fuels for producing energy, instead of becoming landfill waste.
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WHAT IS BIOGAS AND WHAT KINDS OF BIOMASS ARE GOOD AT MAKING
BIOGAS Biogas- Organic matter, especially plant
matter, that can be converted to fuel and is therefore regarded as a potential energy source.
Biomass is all plant material, or vegetation, either raw or processed, wild or cultivated. Like trees, grass, corn and vegetables.
Even though the smell of manure from cows can be strong and disgusting, the waste is a rich source of energy that can be used to make electricity.
MATERIALS 9 empty 2-litre bottles of soda 40.75 grams of cow manure (as fresh as
possible) 15.25 grams of mashed bananas 25.2 liters of distilled water or sometimes more,
depending on the exact volume of the bottle 18 large-mouthed (about 3.5cm in diameter)
latex balloons Metric tape ruler Scale, capable of distinguishing between 1g
quantities Duct tape
PROCEDURE
Clean the nine 2L bottles
Fill nine bottles with 5 grams of cow manure
Fill 3 of the bottles with another 5 grams of cow manure
Fill 3 of the bottles with 5 grams of raw vegetables
Fill the last 3 bottles with 5 grams of mashed bananas
PROCEDURES CONTINUED Each bottle contains 10g of biomass
Fill up all the bottles to the top with distilled water
Place the latex balloon over the soda bottle, un-inflated
Secure the balloon with some Duct tape
Measure the diameter of the balloon twice a day for a period of two weeks
RESULTS
CONCLUSION AND THINGS TO TRY NEXT TIME
Experiments involving bacteria can be very difficult to grow.
I think this experiment would produce better results if it was done on a bigger scale. More Cow Poo!
I think that pH had something to do with how much biogas my experiment made. It was either too low or too high. If the pH was around 7 that probably would have been better.
CONCLUSION AND THINGS TO TRY NEXT TIME
I think temperature had an effect on my experiment. Bacteria only grow at specific temperatures. For example when we brought the experiment inside they seemed to start producing biogas.
Next Time Monitor pH in each bottle Monitor the temperature in each set of
bottles Make bigger biodigesters, and use more
manure.
Chopping vegetables
for Test #2
Weighing manure
Starting Test #1
Adding distilled water Manure has to be fresh.
Thanks Little Farm
THANK YOU