2012

1. Biodiesel Biosensor Experimentation Problem ASTM specifies that biodiesel must have .24% or less total glycerol to be safe for use in diesel engines. The current industry standard for testing the amount of total glycerol in a sample of biodiesel is done using a gas chromatograph (GC), which can be time consuming. Our final product will be a large step towards a simpler and quicker validation process for biodiesel manufacturers. Team Members Ben Wilson, Megan Templeton, and Matt Yourek 2012 Sponsors For the experimentation different variables were used to determine if there were significant differences when changing temperature, amount of lipase, soap, and testing biodiesel or oil. This test shows the results of using 20 mg of lipase mixed with 20 mL of biodiesel, 1 mL of water, and 1 mL of soap at 40 ◦C. Project Goals Dr. Dev Shrestha University of Idaho Biodiesel Lab Design, fabricate, and test a handheld biosensor that uses a modified pH meter combined with an immobilized enzyme electrode to detect the amount of free and total glycerol in a sample of biodiesel. Final Design Conceptual Design The final design proceeded to add lipase directly to the solution of biodiesel and water mixture, rather than using the applied membrane , which significantly decreased probe sensitivity. The interior of the testing device remained similar to the conceptual design with the addition of an operational amplifier to amplify the signal. The final housing design was altered to require less material than the conceptual design, while still providing security for the internal circuitry. The initial conceptual design included a housing unit that would protect the microcontroller, LCD screen, battery, and internal circuitry. This would attach to an external electrode by a BNC connection. The electrode would have an immobilized lipase membrane that used the water emulsion method. A special thanks to Joe Thompson and Sam Wos