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From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy

From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy
Contributors
Science Buddies
Non-profit organization offering free STEM resources for hands-on learning | Science Buddies
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Summary
Have you ever dreamed of a world where you could take the scraps from last night's dinner and toss them into your car's fuel tank and make gas? Well, we're not quite in "Back to the Future" yet, but in this energy science fair project, you'll discover that food scraps, dead plants, sawdust, and other decaying organic matter, called biomass are a rich source of energy. You can get energy out of biomass by burning it, turning it into a liquid, or by turning it into a gas called biogas. You've probably burned biomass (like dead wood) before if you've ever built a campfire, and you've seen biogas being produced if you've ever watched cows happily munching on green grass. The cows eat a type of biomass (grass or hay) and turn it into the biogas, methane, in their digestive tracts. In this energy science fair project, you'll compare the amounts of biogas produced by different types of biomass.

This project idea was developed and written by Kristin Strong, Science Buddies. This science fair project idea was based on an 8th-grade, first-prize winning project by A. Osegueda in 2005.

Science Buddies Staff. "From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy." Science Buddies, 30 Mar. 2022, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Energy_p027/energy-power/from-trash-to-gas-biomass-energy.
Keywords
STEM
Chemistry Education
Energy Science Fair Project
Hands-on Learning
Biomass
Renewable Energy
Biogas
Methane
Biogas Generator

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Moderation state
Published
Object Type
Laboratory experiment
Activities/Technology (e.g., in-class activities, online games, hands-on activities/manipulatives, outreach, virtual tools, etc.)
Audience
Middle School
High School (Secondary School)
Published on
Green Chemistry Principles
Waste Prevention
Use of Renewable Feedstocks
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Responsible Consumption and Production
Learning Goals/Student Objectives
To compare the amount of biogas that is produced from different types of biomass. What you might think is "just garbage," might actually be turned into energy. Dead plants, rotting food, wood chips, sawdust, leftover crops, nut shells, and paper products are all examples of biomass, which are natural materials or organic matter that can be used to make energy.
Common pedagogies covered
Hands-on learning
Time required (if applicable)
Long (2 - 4 weeks)

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Science Buddies
Safety Precautions, Hazards, and Risk Assessment
This science fair project produces a small amount of a flammable gas, so it must be conducted in a well-ventilated area, away from any source of open flame or source of electrical sparks. Use caution and have an adult’s help when using the bleach, as it can cause chemical burns.
Teacher Recommendations or Piloting Data (if available)
N/A
Link to external
Science Buddies: From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.