This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of biodiesel fuel with general chemistry students. Students produce biodiesel and assess quality by measuring viscosity. The fuel is compared with a commercially available reference fuel to facilitate discussion of quality control. The lab provides an exploration of instrument calibration, biofuels, and renewable energy. The lab is also applicable for high school, and a simple low-cost alternative viscosity procedure is presented.
Walz et al. (Sat,) studied this question.