Horizon Bio-Energy Kit User Manual
Recommended for ages 12+
Bio-Energy Kit
User Manual
User Manual
Contents:
1. About Bio-energy .........................................................................................
2. How the fuel cell works ................................................................................
3. General safety instructions ..........................................................................
4. Included parts ..............................................................................................
5. Experimenting with the Bio-Energy Kit .........................................................
6. Troubleshooting ............................................................................................
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To avoid the risk of property damage, serious injury or death:
Model No.
This kit shou ld on ly be use d by p erso ns 12 year s old and up, a nd on ly under the supervision of adults who
have familiarized themselves with the safety measures described in the kit. Keep small children and animals away,
as it contains small parts that could be swallowed. Read the instructions before use and have them ready for
reference.
Warning
1. About Bio-Energy
What are biofuels?
Bio energy is energy that is derived from biomass. Bio mass is generally defined as materials that
are derived from recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. Biofuels can be broadly
defined as a combustible fuel produced from biomass including solid, liquid, or gas forms of fuel
derived from recently dead biological material, most commonly plants. This differentiates biofuel
from fossil fuel, which is derived from long dead biological material. Biofuels are generally in the
form of alcohols, esters, ethers, and other chemicals produced from biomass. The Bio-energy
discovery kit shows a new way to create electricity using tiny quantities of biofuel mixed with
water, and without combustion - using a new energy conversion device called a direct ethanol fuel
cell (DEFC). In the immediate term, this new ethanol fuel cell technology creates a non-toxic, easy
to use, and long lasting power source alternative for small electronics.
Types and source of biofuels
The two main types of biofuels are bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by
the sugar fermentation process. These main sources of sugars most commonly come from food
crops such as corn, maize and wheat crops, waste straw, willow and popular trees, sawdust,
grasses, jerusalem artichoke, myscanthus and sorghum plants. Biodiesel can be produced from
straight vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow and waste cooking oil. The process used to convert
these oils to Biodiesel is called transesterification. The largest possible source of suitable oil
comes from oil crops such as rapeseed, palm or soybean.
1. About Bio-Energy
What are biofuels?
Bio energy is energy that is derived from biomass. Bio mass is generally defined as materials that
are derived from recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. Biofuels can be broadly
defined as a combustible fuel produced from biomass including solid, liquid, or gas forms of fuel
derived from recently dead biological material, most commonly plants. This differentiates biofuel
from fossil fuel, which is derived from long dead biological material. Biofuels are generally in the
form of alcohols, esters, ethers, and other chemicals produced from biomass. The Bio-energy
discovery kit shows a new way to create electricity using tiny quantities of biofuel mixed with
water, and without combustion - using a new energy conversion device called a direct ethanol fuel
cell (DEFC). In the immediate term, this new ethanol fuel cell technology creates a non-toxic, easy
to use, and long lasting power source alternative for small electronics.
Types and source of biofuels
The two main types of biofuels are bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by
the sugar fermentation process. These main sources of sugars most commonly come from food
crops such as corn, maize and wheat crops, waste straw, willow and popular trees, sawdust,
grasses, jerusalem artichoke, myscanthus and sorghum plants. Biodiesel can be produced from
straight vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow and waste cooking oil. The process used to convert
these oils to Biodiesel is called transesterification. The largest possible source of suitable oil
comes from oil crops such as rapeseed, palm or soybean.
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What is Ethanol?
In common usage, Ethanol is often referred to simply as alcohol. It is a straight-chain alcohol and
its molecular formula is variously represented as EtOH, CH3CH2OH,C2H5OH or as its empirical
formula C2H6O.
After the use of fire, fermentation of sugar into ethanol is perhaps the earliest organic reaction
known to humanity. In modern times ethanol intended for industrial use has also been produced
from byproducts of petroleum refining. Ethanol is produced both as a petrochemical, through the
hydration of ethylene, and biologically, by fermenting sugars with yeast. Advanced research today
is looking at ways to obtain ethanol efficiently, economically, and in an environmentally friendly
way from waste plant matter, and genetic engineering.
Ethanol has widespread use as a solvent for su bstances intended for hu man cont act or
consumption, including scents, flavorings, colorings, and medicines. In chemistry it is both an
essential solvent and a feedstock for the synthesis of other products. The new technology in this
kit eliminates the need for combustion of ethanol and finds a new uses for tiny quantities of the
biofuel to power small electronics, not automobiles.
Ethanol for use in alcoholic beverages, and the vast majority of ethanol for use as fuel, is
produced by fermentation. When certain species of yeast, most importantly, Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, metabolize sugar in the absence of oxygen, they produce ethanol and carbon dioxide.
The chemical equation below summarizes the conversion:
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C6H12O6 → 2CH3CH2OH + 2CO2
The Promise of Cellulosic Ethanol
The “skeleton” of all plants—generally speaking, the “xylem” — is composed of cellulose, which
cannot be easily decomposed. Most of the solar energy “captured” by plants is stored in the
cellulose. In this process, some special enzymes are used to decompose the cellulose into simple
sugars called saccharides, and then the saccharides can be transformed into energy for human to
use. Cellulose is abundant in nature, the alcohol produced from it is clean, and both the energy
consumed and the greenhouse gas emitted during this producing process are minute. If we can
transform cellulose, which is naturally abundant but not edible, into alcohol, then it would become
feasible to produce a renewable, clean biofuel for industrial and consumer use.
The common raw materials used to produce alcohol from cellulose are stalk, bark, and fibrous
tissues from plants whose cellulose cannot be eaten by humans. The production of ethanol from
food sources such as maize is not an efficient method of ethanol production and could potentially
decrease amount of land available for food production and influence the cost of grain products.
More efficient methods have been developed for ethanol production using plants that can grow in
marginal areas, not only producing greater amounts of ethanol per area of land, but also allowing
C6H12O6 → 2CH3CH2OH + 2CO2
The Promise of Cellulosic Ethanol
The “skeleton” of all plants—generally speaking, the “xylem” — is composed of cellulose, which
cannot be easily decomposed. Most of the solar energy “captured” by plants is stored in the
cellulose. In this process, some special enzymes are used to decompose the cellulose into simple
sugars called saccharides, and then the saccharides can be transformed into energy for human to
use. Cellulose is abundant in nature, the alcohol produced from it is clean, and both the energy
consumed and the greenhouse gas emitted during this producing process are minute. If we can
transform cellulose, which is naturally abundant but not edible, into alcohol, then it would become
feasible to produce a renewable, clean biofuel for industrial and consumer use.
The common raw materials used to produce alcohol from cellulose are stalk, bark, and fibrous
tissues from plants whose cellulose cannot be eaten by humans. The production of ethanol from
food sources such as maize is not an efficient method of ethanol production and could potentially
decrease amount of land available for food production and influence the cost of grain products.
More efficient methods have been developed for ethanol production using plants that can grow in
marginal areas, not only producing greater amounts of ethanol per area of land, but also allowing
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arable land most suited for food crops to be reserved for food production. Most research currently
revolves around the use of grass species such as switch grass, elephant grass, buffalo grass, that
grow very quickly, contain high amounts of cellulose, can be grown in marginal areas that will not
negatively affect food production. As a matter of fact, research indicates that in the fermentation of
switch grass to produce ethanol, the yield of energy in ratio to the amount of energy exhausted to
produce the fuel is as high as 540%, while for corn the same ratio is as low as 24%.
Could ethanol replace batteries in consumer devices?
Demand for storable power is accelerating as more and more features being added to our
portable electronic devices. It is expected that next generation energy storage devices such as
fuel cells could provide longer lasting power than batteries. Fuel cells convert fuel to electricity,
and so far most international research into fuel cells that would use liquid fuels for consumer
electronics has been focused on methanol. Such fuel cells are called Direct Methanol Fuel Cells,
or DMFC. In the last 10 years, DMFCs have received a lot of attention by many companies and
research organizations globally, who are investigating the possibilities of creating a number of
applications with DMFC technology, most of which are as a new power source for consumer
electronics.
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A substantial amount of research is curre ntly being devoted to ethanol s ince it can be an
environmentally friendly fuel source which is based on renewable resources.
A substantial amount of research is curre ntly being devoted to ethanol s ince it can be an
environmentally friendly fuel source which is based on renewable resources.
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Sugar cane Bioethanol Fuel Cell
Absorbing CO
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Power
Today a cleaner and more economical solution could emerge from research in using ethanol
instead of methanol as a fuel for fuel cells. The Bio-Energy Discovery Kit demonstrates the
technology of a newly developed Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell, or DEFC, which unlike DMFC, does not
use any corrosive fuel. Unlike other applications where biofuels are burned for energy, DEFCs do
not burn ethanol, but create electricity by slowly converting ethanol to regular vinegar.
Ethanol is the easier fuel to work with for widespread use by consumers, especially as more
research continues into the use of fuel cells in consumer electronics applications. Ethanol is a
hydrogen-rich liquid and it has a higher energy density (8.0 kWh/kg) compared to methanol (6.1
kWh/kg). Most importantly, a non-toxic long-lasting battery-like energy storage device can now
emerge as a clean alternative to alkaline batteries that contain mercury and cadmium substances,
a major source of groundwater pollution.
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