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The Biodiesel Lab

Exploring the process of titration and its role in creating biodiesel fuel

Pouring cooking oil into glass bowl
triangles

The Biodiesel Lab is an activity developed by Learning Undefeated to help students explore the process of titration and its role in creating biodiesel fuel.

Biodiesel fuel is created from vegetable oil through a chemical process called transesterification. Unfortunately, the transesterification reaction is very sensitive to the presence of free fatty acids that are prevalent in vegetable oils. In order for the transesterification process to be efficient, the acids must be neutralized. The levels of free fatty acids, and therefore the appropriate levels of base needed, can be determined through a process called acid/base titration. A titration is a way of determining the concentration of a substance by adding a known concentration of a reagent until a certain effect is seen.

In this activity, your students will perform an acid/base titration to determine the molarity of free fatty acids in a waste vegetable oil solution.

 

Learning Objectives

  • Standards Alignments + Connections

  • Activity Components

  • Additional Resources

    Biodiesel.org
    Facts about biodiesel fuel

    Calculating Molarity
    Website on how to calculate molarity

    Reaction of Esters (AP)
    Mechanism for transesterification

    900 Miles on Renewable Energy 

    Stoichiometry
    Stoichiometry calculator


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