Converting Waste into Fuel?

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objectives were to see if cellulase can break down seaweed and find the optimum conditions for the cellulase to work efficiently. The ultimate goal is to convert the seaweed into ethanol as an alternative fuel source. Methods/Materials For each test, I degraded seaweed using cellulase, with a mixture of seaweed, water, and enzyme for two hours. Then I would calculate the weight decrease and make a percentage. I also tested other areas such as temperature, time, concentration of enzyme, and type of enzyme. Results I found that cellulase could degrade seaweed, where the percentage of the weight decrease was 11%. Cellulase from Aspergillus sp. was found to be the best enzyme, where it led to a weight decrease of 14%. 40 C is the optimum temperature because the weight decrease percentage was 19%. I found that when the concentration of enzyme was increased, the weight of the seaweed dropped. Finally, 2 hours is the optimum time for the enzyme to work, for the percentage of the weight decrease was 39%. Conclusions/Discussion My conclusions are that cellulase can degrade seaweed, 40 C is the optimum temperature, and cellulase from Aspergillus sp. is the best enzyme. Also, as the concentration increases, the weight of the seaweed drops, and 2 hours is the optimum working time.

Awards (1)

• Second Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Alternative Energy (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0229

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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