Biofueling Future Generations

Introduction

 Backround: In this lab we are exploring the world of creating biofuels from plants. The process uses enzyymes and bacteria to create a finished product. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions without actually being consumed. Increasing temperature can speed up reactions but if enzymes are neccessary the temperature has to be at a specific range to be effective. Most enzymes function at a range between 20-40 degrees Celsius.In this lab we are taking the sugars found within cellulose within the cell wall of plants. In this reaction cellulases will break down the cellulose into strands of glucose. Ethanol was the first type of biofuel to be created but because of its low yield of energy, scientists have begun to search for more effective solutions. Our lab is a miniature version of this research and in order to make sure detect that our lab was successful in creating glucose we are adding a seperate substrate called p-nitrophenol which when added to a basic solution, will cause the solution to turn yellow. On the second day of this lab we will dealing with mushrooms that are naturally decomposers, which should break down the cellulose just as effective. Today most gas stations contain 10 percent ethanol within the regular gasoline.

Hypothesis: I believe that adding mushrooms on day two  will speed up the reaction because mushrooms are naturally decomposers and therefore will do their job effectively and increase the reaction rate.

Procedure: In this lab we are taking cellulose from plants and introducing an enzyme called cellobiose which creates two glucose molecules bonded together. If we wanted to make ethanol we would then add cellubiase which would break the molecule into two glucose which we would then create into fuel and burning the fuel would create energy. Instead we are adding an alternative substrate which will make a glucose molecule and Pnitrophenol. The addition of a strong base will begin to turn the solution yellow and throughout the reaction we will add some of the solution to a number of vials.

Results: In the lab adding enzymes to our substrates did not change anything on the macroscopic level. Only when the base was added did the product turn yellow. On day two the mushrooms extract did the exact same thing and therefore should contain similar enzymes for breaking down the cellubiose. Some possible sources of error could have been, leftover products from the class before us, changing the rate of reaction slightly, or different conditions from day one to day 2.