Final Exam- Biodiesel Portion Flashcards
(33 cards)
What is biodiesel? (general)
A domestic, renewable fuel for engines that is derived from natural oils
What is biodiesel? (technical)
a fuel that is made up of long-chain fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) that is derived from vegetable oils or animal fats
How do you make biodiesel?
Either a) base-catalyzed transesterification of the oil with methanol or b) acid-catalyzed esterification of the oil with methanol
What approach to making biodiesel was used in this lab?
base-catalyzed transesterification
What is a fatty acid?
carboxylic acids that have an R group of 8-18 carbons. Fatty acids are commonly found in cooking oils like canola, olive, vegetable, and are around 16-20 Cs long
What’s an unsaturated fatty acid?
Contains one or more carbon carbon double bond
What’s a saturated fatty acid?
Do not contain carbon carbon double bonds at all
What are the major component fatty acids in the oils that are used in this experiment?
a-linolenic, linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acids
Picture of the above acids
picture from the slides
What is transesterification?
the transformation of one ester into another ester through the interchange of the alkoxy group
Why use base-catalyzed production?
It is economically friendly. Low rxn temperature and pressure, minimal side rxns, faster than acid-catalyzed, less corrosive than acid-catalyzed
Draw the transesterification reaction that is specific to this experiment
Picture of the slide
Draw the mechanism of transesterification of oils
Picture of the slide
What are the expected FAMEs of this experiment?
methyl stearate
methyl linoleate
methyl oleate
methyl palmitate
methyl a-linoleate
Which FAMEs are in canola oil?
methyl oleate
methyl linoleate
methyl a-linoleate
Which FAMEs are in olive oil?
methyl oleate
methyl palmitate
methyl linoleate
Which FAMEs are in vegetable oil?
methyl oleate
methyl linoleate
methyl stearate
Draw the structures of the FAMEs
Picture from slide
What characterization technique is used in this experiment?
H-NMR of the FAMEs is done
What does the number of signals mean on H-NMR?
how many different kinds of protons are present
What does the position on H-NMR mean?
this is the chemical shift, which shows how shielded the proton is
What does the intensity on H-NMR mean?
The number of protons of a specific type
What does peak-splitting mean on H-NMR?
the number of neighboring protons
What is the starting material?
triglyceride