Experiment number 11 - Good luck! PDF

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Title: Experiment 11: Synthesis of Biodiesel and Soap Name: Redacted Lab Partners: None Section number: 32 Date: 4/17/2020

Introduction: Esterification refers to the reaction between alcohols and carboxylic acids to make esters, esters themselves are derived from carboxylic acids and the hydrogen in this group is simply replaced with a hydrocarbon group as a generality. Transesterification as a process is the process of exchanging the alkyl groups of esters typically derived from some type of plant or vegetable oil with methyl group.1 The reason for this transformation involving typically either methanol or ethanol but generally referred to as an alkoxide which commits a nucleophilic attack on the ester then creating a sort of tetrahedral intermediate and finally glycerol and a product known as the trans esterified product is generally to create biodiesels, a form of fuel that is economically

unviable.2 Similarly ester linkages that are discussed in reference to the transesterification process are important for another type of reaction, saponification. In saponification reactions the ester linkages of plant oils undergo hydrolysis by strong acids or bases, in this lab that is coconut oil and sodium hydroxide which results in nucleophilic attack, loss of leaving group, and finally deprotonation that forms a soap and like the transesterification process, glycerol.3 Transesterification Reaction:

Possible Transesterification side reaction:

Saponification Reaction:

Saponification Side Reaction:

Experimental Section:

Table of Contents: Table 1: Tabular data of Chemical properties Chemical

Formula

Molar

Melting

Boiling

Weight

Point °C

Point °C

Structure

Calcium

CaCl2

(g/mol) 110.98

Chloride Sodium

NaOH

39.99

318

1388

Hydroxide Potassium

KOH

56.10

360

1327

Hydroxide Methanol

CH3OH

32.01

-97.6

64.7

772

1935

Table 2: Tabular data of Chemical Hazards Chemicals: Calcium Chloride

Hazards This substance should not interact with the

Sodium Hydroxide

eyes of humans. This substance causes eye and skin damage that can be very harmful so its not a good idea

Potassium Hydroxide

to do that. This substance is harmful if swallowed, touched with the skin and certainly should not

Methanol

be put in the eyes. This substance is incredible flammable and toxic so touching, swallowing, or inhaling this

Vegetable Oil

Results:

substance is not a good idea. This substance can catch fire.

Calculations: Percentage Yield for Biodiesel = actual yield/theoretical yield *100 = 27g/30g*100 = 90% Discussion: The reaction surrounding the biodiesel formation included utilization of vegetable oils and methanol along with potassium hydroxide through a little process known as transesterification that yielded a total of 27g from a total of 30g input giving approximately a 90% yield. The color of this biodiesel was somewhat yellow and after testing with methanol 27/3 yielded a product that had no color at all, this indicates that the product was very pure and did not have glycerol byproduct or at most had a very minimal amount. Biodiesels like the one successfully extracted today in lab have very positive green outcome as implicatory purpose of

this fuel is that it can replace fossil fuels which are are very big source of CO2 pollution, by contrast biodiesels do not produce this chemical and therefore do not contribute to the negative impacts associated with CO2 byproducts. The saponification reaction conducted in lab produced approximately 53.67g of byproduct and although percentage yield was not recorded it was abundant. Furthermore, from the perspective of the environment known as in lab as the green chemistry perspective this process is very positive as the chemicals come from nature which is a renewable resource. As an example in this lab coconut oil, glycerol, and water are used, the production of creation of coconuts results in net total of CO2 to decrease assuming fossil fuels are not used in the mix to transport or to manufacture the oils because coconut trees are plants that utilize CO0 and are consequentially CO2 sinks. Conclusion: The background and the results are heavily conclusive and very positively correlated as the oils utilized were able to create the resultant products with accuracy that is not refuted by the data which reveals more secrets about the experimental data implicitly by accomplishing what it was supposed to do, creating biodiesel and soap. Outside of this lab biodiesels aren’t reasonable alternatives for fuel for economic reasons which can lead to consequences, however, some plants used for biodiesel are better than others.4 Soap is very important to humans in context of covid19 by destroying its outer fatty membrane and inactivating the virus.5

References:

Weldegirma, Solomon. “Experiment : Alkenes from Alcohols: Analysis of a mixture by Gas Chromatography.” Experimental Organic Chemistry. 8th Edition, Tampa, Pro-Copy Inc.2018. 50-49. 1) (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alcohols/esterification.html 2) Transesterification. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemicalengineering/transesterification 3) Helmenstine, A. M. (2020, January 8). Know the Definition of Saponification. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-saponification-605959 4) Butler, R. A. (2019, April 9). Why are biofuels bad for rainforests? Retrieved from https://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/biofuels.html 5) Thordarson, P. (2020, April 8). The coronavirus is no match for plain, old soap - here's the science behind it. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/story/deadly-viruses-are-nomatch-for-plain-old-soap-heres-the-science-behind-it-2020-03-08...