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Renewable Energy: Biodiesiel Essay

Decent Essays

Fuels have dominated the way the world operates for decades; with a rising demand for fuel becoming constantly more predominant. Their uses are vast, making them versatile and in high demand around the world. But since most common fuels like diesel and petrol are fossil fuels, the availability of such fuels is decreasing rapidly. Hence alternatives to these fuels are being developed and used worldwide. These alternatives include biofuels. Biofuels are defined as “a hydrocarbon that is made BY or FROM a living organism that we humans can use to power something.” (biofuel.org.uk, 2010) Most biofuels are made using forms of biomass, including algae, sugar cane, seeds, oil, fats etc. (biofuel.org.uk, 2010) Biodiesel is a biofuel alternative to …show more content…

(biofuel.org.uk, 2010) Combustion ensues when a fuel is reacted with air. Complete combustion occurs when all of the bonds in a molecule are broken, releasing the maximum amount of energy. Complete combustion is referred to as the excess. However, in reality this rarely occurs. Incomplete combustion ensues when there is a reduced amount of oxygen available - hence not all of the bonds are broken. Incomplete combustion is referred to as the limiting. (BBC, 2014) Figure 1 – Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Source: (Beychok, 2012)

Heat of formation measures the theoretical amount of energy released in reaction. (Helmenstine, 2014) It is calculated using the formula on the screen. Heat of combustion measures the experimental amount of energy released in a reaction. (Oliver, 2014) It can be calculated using the formula on the screen.
The heat of formation of dodecane (C12H26) – traditional diesel – was calculated for the complete combustion to equal:
ΔHf = 154.8798KJ/g
The heat of combustion of dodecane (C12H26) – traditional diesel – was calculated for the complete combustion to equal:
ΔHc = 87.95KJ/g
The heat of formation of dodecane (C12H26) – traditional diesel – was calculated for the incomplete combustion to equal:
ΔHf = 91.6KJ/g
The heat of combustion of dodecane (C12H26) – traditional diesel – was calculated for the incomplete combustion to equal:
ΔHc = 48.71KJ/g
The energy released in the

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