Transport+efficiency

Group 4 Project Survey

Part 1: Transport efficiency

Processed data : The 8 cars that drive everyday to school produce 6 x as much C02 in a school year (175 days) than the Bus. If the people who take cars everyday would take a bus instead, 2758332.5 grams of CO2 would be saved every school year. It also important to note that the bus can carry the extra 8 people that take the car everyday, therefore these people would not increase the total amount of CO2 released by the bus. Also the distance that the 8 people have to make up with the car, can be covered by the U-bahn which runs on electricity.

Graph 1: Transportation used in Grade 11 (48 people)

Graph 2: Total CO2 from Cars and Bus in a school year

__Part 2:__

Many different countries like Brazil, US and Sweden are starting to find alternatives to normal gasoline powered gas, such as Ethanol. This is why we will compare gasoline and ethanol in heat efficiency by using an enthalpy experiment. Basically gasoline is a non- renewable resource of energy and therefore when heat is lost this is a misallocation of resources. Also the efficiency of the two fuels will be measured, as the amount of energy needed to heat up 20 degrees of water will be calculated.

__Variables:__ Ethanol and Gasoline (independent variables)

Apparatus: Thermometer (smallest division:1 C), Tin can, 2 spirit lamps (with ethanol and gasoline), Clamp, Scale, (smallest division: 1 gram) 150 ml of water, Measuring Beaker, (smallest division:10ml) Fume hood, Matches, Safety glasses (!)

__Method:__

• 150 ml of water were measured with the measuring beaker and then poured into the can • Then the Tin can was fixed 10 cm above the surface of the fume hood. • Then the water temperature was measured with a thermometer and noted down. • Next the Spirit Lamp’s weight was measured with a scale (record results) and then placed underneath the tin can and was lit up with a match. • The flame was extinguished until the water had risen 20 degrees. • The spirit Lamp’s weight was then measured again with a scale and the results were recorded. • Repeat steps with the second fuel.



Ethanol Burning

Gasoline burning.

Not completely combusted Gasoline, and excessive pollution.

__Results:__

Which fuel burns more efficient? Ethanol or Gasoline

We have investigated efficiency of the two fuels. We wanted to see which form of

the burning process converted chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel

into kinetic energy or work

We burned the fuel and measured how much energy the water would need to

increase it to a certain temperature (increase by 20 degrees) which was declared before we started.

The data we collected before the experiment;

Initial mass of spirit lamp + ethanol before burning = 212,26g

Initial mass of the spirit lamp + gasoline before burning =196,54g

Temperature of the water before the experiment in both the containers = 25C

The data colleted after the experiment,

Terminal mass of spirit lamp + ethanol after burning = 210,59g

Terminal mass of spirit lamp + gasoline after burning = 195,18g

Temperature of the water after the experiment in both containers = 45C

To calculate how much energy was used in both experiments to increase the temperature of the water by 20 C.

We use the formula Q = m x c x ∆𝑡 ; to find out how much joules of heat is needed to increase the temperature to 45 C with both the fuels.

So we calculate how much heat is absorbed by the water

Q = 0.15 x 4200 x 20 Q = 12 600 J

So to increase temperature of water by 20 degrees, by using 12,600 J we need:



__Conclusion:__

From the data above we can conclude that Gasoline is the most efficient fuel as it takes less mass than ethanol to heat up one degrees of water. However when keeping the pollution in mind, we observed that the flame from gasoline was much more violent, and a lot more CO2 was released. Also there was a lot of soot at the bottom of the tin, which means that the combustion was incomplete and therefore potential energy was lost. So it may take less mass to heat up 1 degrees of water for gasoline, however the risk of pollution is much greater and there is a misallocation of resources as the combustion is incomplete. However the temperature was increased by 20 degrees at a much faster rate, which adds to its efficiency. Ethanol doesn’t require much more mass, therefore it can be seen as potential future fuel to power automobile motors. Especially due to the fact that it also produces much less CO2 and combust much more completely (there is less soot on the bottom of the can).

__Evaluation:__

There are many limitations of our experiment, as it is a simplification of a car motor. Car motors can combust more completely, and therefore gasoline is used more efficiently. Normally the difference in mass needed to heat up 1 degrees of water should be much greater between ethanol and water, therefore when actually using ethanol in cars it would be much less efficient than our experiment has shown.

__Conclusion for part 1 and 2:__

Much more pollution is created by 8 cars driving to school, than the Bus carrying the remaining 36 people in a school year. When comparing ethanol and gasoline we can draw the conclusion that gasoline may be more efficient however it creates much more pollution. If governments would invest into researching ethanol as a car fuel, the 8 cars could be powered by ethanol which would reduce the pollution greatly.