Evidence of Work:
This project was all about picking a current issue in the world and develop a solution to that problem relating to biotechnology. My group decided to focus on air pollution, mainly the emissions of carbon dioxide and the major contributors to this growing issue. We immediately found that cars and the burning of gasoline have a significant impact on the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. From there, we looked into different types of fuel and how they vary in carbon dioxide emission with bio-diesel and diesel having the lowest result. Then, we looked into the use of vegetable oil as a fuel source and decided on a combination of both diesel and vegetable oil.
Content:
Fuel: Material that is heated or burned to provide power for a vehicle or machine. We used this in our project when looking at the different types of fuel and how they compare in emission levels.
Emission: The production and expelling of something, usually a gas. This was used in our project when looking into the different greenhouse gas emissions that varying fuel types had, mainly looking at carbon dioxide.
Pollution: The introduction of a harmful substance to the environment that has a negative impact on the atmosphere. This was used in our project when looking at the root causes for earth's high levels and contributors to this major issue.
Climate Change: The change in global climate patterns taking place in the 20th and 21st century due to industrialization and burning of fossil fuels leading to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We used this in our project when looking at the implications that the various fuel types have on the environment and how they lead to climate change.
Renewable Energy: A form or type of energy that can either be collected or produced from a renewable resource to provide power for a machine or vehicle. This was used in our project because we were seeking an alternative fuel source that had renewable qualities.
Fatty Acids: Long chains of lipid-carboxylic acid found in fats and oils and in cell membranes as a component of phospholipids and glycolipids. We used this in our project because a large part of our fuel source was made with vegetable oil which has high lipid levels meaning it also has a high fatty acid content.
Carbon Dioxide: Odorless gas produced by the burning of carbon and organic compounds. This term was used in the project as it was one of the main factors in choosing which fuel source to go with and was one of he main problems we looked to address.
Bio-fuels: Type of fuel that is derived from living matter that has an overall less significant environmental impact than other forms. This term was used when looking at the different types of fuel that we had options of deciding on.
Petroleum Oil(Petrol): Liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that can be extracted & refined to produce various fuels. We talked about this when looking at the main fuel types that are widely used today and have a significant on atmospheric pollution
Alternative: A proposition offering a choice between multiple possibilities. We used this term when looking for an alternative transportation fuel source for petrol.
Emission: The production and expelling of something, usually a gas. This was used in our project when looking into the different greenhouse gas emissions that varying fuel types had, mainly looking at carbon dioxide.
Pollution: The introduction of a harmful substance to the environment that has a negative impact on the atmosphere. This was used in our project when looking at the root causes for earth's high levels and contributors to this major issue.
Climate Change: The change in global climate patterns taking place in the 20th and 21st century due to industrialization and burning of fossil fuels leading to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We used this in our project when looking at the implications that the various fuel types have on the environment and how they lead to climate change.
Renewable Energy: A form or type of energy that can either be collected or produced from a renewable resource to provide power for a machine or vehicle. This was used in our project because we were seeking an alternative fuel source that had renewable qualities.
Fatty Acids: Long chains of lipid-carboxylic acid found in fats and oils and in cell membranes as a component of phospholipids and glycolipids. We used this in our project because a large part of our fuel source was made with vegetable oil which has high lipid levels meaning it also has a high fatty acid content.
Carbon Dioxide: Odorless gas produced by the burning of carbon and organic compounds. This term was used in the project as it was one of the main factors in choosing which fuel source to go with and was one of he main problems we looked to address.
Bio-fuels: Type of fuel that is derived from living matter that has an overall less significant environmental impact than other forms. This term was used when looking at the different types of fuel that we had options of deciding on.
Petroleum Oil(Petrol): Liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that can be extracted & refined to produce various fuels. We talked about this when looking at the main fuel types that are widely used today and have a significant on atmospheric pollution
Alternative: A proposition offering a choice between multiple possibilities. We used this term when looking for an alternative transportation fuel source for petrol.
Reflection
I genuinely enjoyed this project because I liked learning about how humans are impacting Earth's environment, mainly atmosphere and what us humans can do to fix these problems we've created. My main contribution to this project was discovering what our exact solution of a 60% diesel, 40% vegetable oil fuel combination would be and why. Additionally, I put a lot of work onto the slides and did my best to make sure my group was prepared for the presentation.
While I feel I did well on this project, there were definitely a few things I could have done better. One of which would be spending a little more time on the slide because there was much more research conducted than was shown in the presentation and a major contributor to that was being setback on my website. Addressing that, I could improve in the next project by trying to get my work done further ahead of due dates to avoid being it situations where something goes wrong the night before.
While I feel I did well on this project, there were definitely a few things I could have done better. One of which would be spending a little more time on the slide because there was much more research conducted than was shown in the presentation and a major contributor to that was being setback on my website. Addressing that, I could improve in the next project by trying to get my work done further ahead of due dates to avoid being it situations where something goes wrong the night before.