Method:

1. Collect organic substances, such as vegetables, flower tops, coffee grounds, and fruit skins.
2. Chop and mash the collected substances and mix together
3. Cover, seal, and store together in a warm, dark environment
4. Allow to compost and ferment for seven days
5. Remove a sample of the compost and put directly into a pot
6. Use a Pyrex tube that extends from inside the pot to the outside where it can collect resulting alcohol fuel in a can
7. Seal the pot around the tube using aluminum foil and packaging tape
8. Record any observations during the distillation process
9. Continue heating until sample reaches 100 degrees, which would be the point when water would start to form steam
10. Allow both heated sample and collected alcohol to cool
11. Pour collected alcohol fuel back into the pot and restart the distillation process (steps 8-12) at least three more time
12. Measure volume of collected sample of alcohol and compare with volume of original compost sample

                                                     

• 11 + 1.0 mL of filtrate collected (1.47% of original compost sample)

DISTILLATION – THE PROCESS

1. Place the original substance in a heat resistant container elevated over a flame
2. Ensure that the container is sufficiently sealed except for one tube that points downward, away from the original container, which has a final collecting container at the end
3. As the substance is heated and the liquid reaches its boiling point, it will change state, and gas will rise from the substance
4. Since the gas cannot escape into the air, it will travel down the tube, away from the heat source, and therefore condense (become liquid again) and be collected in the final container
5. Once the gas slowly stops forming, you know most of the ethanol has been boiled off and now remains in your collecting container (because ethanol has a lower boiling point than water, you want to remove from heat before steam starts to form)
6. Turn off heat and allow to completely cool before removing the collecting container (to ensure all the gas has condensed in the tube and been collected in the container)

Results

• Volume of original compost sample -  750 + 10 mL
• Volume of collected alcohol fuel - 11 + 1.0 mL
•  Comparing ratio - 750:11

Possible Error

• Not completely sealed, therefore, steam escapes into air instead of distilling through the straw
• Some steam remained inside pot instead of condensing through straw, so not all was collected
• Burning the compost causes other gases to be expelled and not purely alcohol gas

Discussion

In this experiment, we collected, fermented, and distilled organic compost to produce alcohol fuel - namely, ethanol. We found that a 750 mL sample of compost yields 11 mL of distilled ethanol filtrate. Unfortunately, we were unable to calculate the percentage composition of pure ethanol from the filtrate. Perhaps with a proper still and more advanced technology, we would have been able to obtain more accurate results, more efficiently.

However, considering we only retained 1.47% of the original amount of compost from the distillation, organic compost comprising of corn husks, flower tops, lettuce, coffee grounds, and fruit skins may not be as efficient as some other forms of biomass more commonly used, such as corn and sugarcane. Nevertheless, if people started forming a habit of collecting their organic waste, it could be fermented and distilled to make ethanol to power their households and cars in an environmentally-friendly way - saving other natural resources in the process. Although (if distilled as in our experiment) it is an inefficient method of obtaining energy, it makes use of matter that one would have otherwise thrown in the garbage.

Furthermore, with the majority of energy used in Canada being from natural gas, hydropower, and oil (refer to Canada's Total Energy Consumption graph in “The Effects”), only 0.7% is from a renewable energy source such as biofuel. If Canada could only decrease the consumption of energy derived from oil and natural gas, and instead, use more renewable energy sources such as bioethanol, it would prevent depletion of such limited natural resources, as well as reduce pollution and our carbon footprint in the environment, (considering Canada is the world's 7^th leading producer of carbon dioxide emissions largely due to burning fossil fuels.)