Cluster 6:
Biodiesel from Renewable Sources
Week 1
About Our Cluster:
Our cluster is related to the creation of biodiesel, a more sustainable source for fuel than other nonrenewable and renewable fuels. Our professor is Dr. Skip Pomeroy.
Day 1:
At the beginning of our journey, we must make biodiesel from scratch using vegetable oil and methanol.
The reaction we are using is the following:
TAG (triacylglycerol) + 3 CH3OH (methanol) —> 3 FAME (fatty acid methyl ester / biodiesel) + glycerol.
As the reaction suggests, we must react the oil with methanol, and we did this in a round bottom flask.
In the photos, you can see Paulo in the middle of pouring the oil and Jaden, Janice, and Chris (a Cluster Assistant) watching the reaction occur.
Day 2:
On Tuesday, our cluster began to brainstorm for our ethics essay!
After some extensive voting, we decided on the topic “Mandatory Use of Renewable Energy."
Additionally, there are economic and social concerns: how will removing petroleum production affect the economy? Will the lower class be able to afford renewable energy?
After lunch, we continued to work on making our biodiesel. We began by washing it and pouring water into the condenser while SLOWLY rotating it back and forth. Then, remove all of the water and repeat many times. This process is SO ODIOUS AND MIND-NUMBING, but in the end, it's worth it-- all of our biofuels turned out to be great!
Halfway through our lab, Winston, Dr. Skip Pomeroy's massive dog, interrupted us.
Day 3:
After creating the biodiesel and transferring it to the separation funnel on Tuesday, many impurities still reside in it, most of which are polar. We use this chemical property to our advantage by running water through the mixture and carefully rocking the water back and forth, which will dissolve the impurities. The resulting water-impurity solution is denser than the biodiesel, and the two are immiscible, resulting in two separate layers with impurities on the bottom upon standing. We drain the impurities, add more water, and repeat until the water remains clear even after shaking. This process was not the most entertaining, and we found the time to take some photos including this selfie of Aditya and Krish!
Day 4:
Week one of the newsletter is due today! The photos are taken, the captions are written, and all that is left is to format everything on the site and polish it up! After working and discussing the ethics essay, the newsletter team gathered and finished the site you're seeing right now! To the right, you can see a unique part of UCSD's campus! We see this everyday on our LONGGGG walk to the Natural Science Building. AND you can go inside of it!
Meet the newsletter team!
Cluster Photographer: Madeline Pinches, Krish Parekh, Jessica Gresham
Cluster Writer: Jason Gao, Brandon Hahm
Res Life Photographer: Aditya Patil
Left to right: Krish Patil, Brandon Hahm, Jason Gao, Madeline Pinches, Jessica Gresham, Aditya Patil