Week 8: 6th June 2011 to 10th June 2011

Week 8 (Semester 1, Term 1)

What have we done and learnt:

06/06 Monday: Due to the lack of methanol, the experiment could not be carried out. Therefore, we calibrated the reciprocating pump. Before we start calibration, we read the safety and instruction manual and identified the hazards that might be present. For instance, it is stated that the pump should not be pump dry as it might cause cavitation. We calibrated the reciprocating pump using water at the sink area. We then thought that we should placed the pump at the reactor area so that the height of the reactor would be taken into consideration. We could only complete one run of calibration so we are going to continue with calibration tomorrow.

07/06 Tuesday: We calibrated the pump once more to compare our results with yesterday's result. Our findings show that our results were more constant as compared to yesterday's results. However, the flowrate was much lower. This might be due to the elevation as the pump was placed at a higher height.

Next, we went to find the TSO Mr ???, of the polymer ??? lab to cut our tubes to our desired lengths. We added roughly 10% excess to the length that we need. This is to ensure that we have sufficient length even if we have to do some adjustments. Later that day, we also went to buy some things that we need for our experiments such as, containers and rubber gloves.

08/06 Wednesday: Today, we did the calibration for the reciprocating pump after the cutting of the tubes to our desired lengths. Due to the lack of time, we only managed to do 1 set of reading to compare with the results yesterday. Tomorrow, we would place the pump to a higher elevation and do a calibration to compare which is the best position for us to place the pump for operation. Our target for tomorrow would be to determine the best position for the pump to be place and to make or buy a stand to support the pump if necessary.

Week 7: 30th May 2011 to 3rd June 2011

Week 7 (Semester 1, Term 1)

What have we done and learnt:

30/05 Monday: We washed the unwashed biodiesel from Friday. After several attempts of washing, we managed to remove part of the unwanted contents by draining it off. However, the biodiesel still remained slightly cloudly. It might be due to the fact that we left the unwashed biodiesel over the weekend and because not all sodium methoxide was transferred into the reactor for reaction.

01/06 Wednesday: We did level marking and displacement test using water. In addition, we also fitted the rubber fittings at the corners of the bottom drip tray to seal off the sharp ends. Furthermore, we also washed the chemical bottles, washed the reactor and did housekeeping to prepare for the experiment on Friday.

02/06 Thursday: We met up with Mr Andrew Kon in the morning to report our progress such as what we have bought and the modifications we have done to the workplace. The reciprocating pump arrived yesterday and we checked it out with Mr Andrew Kon today. One task we received was to find more information regarding the purchasing of a ultrasonic water bath to promote better mixing of the sodium hydroxide pellets and methanol.

03/06 Friday: We ran the experiment with the aid of our senior Sin Kim. We ran the experiment without the use of the reciprocating pump because it was not calibrated yet. The ratio 5 : 1 was used for methanol against SOV. The unwashed biodiesel was washed 5 times to ensure a clearer biodiesel would form. Our first biodiesel sample was obtained and the colour was good. Some points we learnt to take note today was the height of the bubbler to be placed and amount of water to be added for washing. Due to the fact that the reactor is not tall enough for more water to be added for washing, we decided to do more number of washes to compensate for the low volume of water.