Preparation of Biodiesel Curriculum links: Introduction: This activity encourages you to find out about the chemistry of esters/carboxylic acid derivatives. There are numerous articles in the press about people making biodiesel from waste chip fat in their garden sheds, and there have been reports of waste oil being stolen because of its value in the […]

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Visit to Green Park Wind Turbine http://www.mygreenpark.net/green-park-wind-turbine-and-visitor-centre.aspx http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/our-green-electricity/from-the-wind/wind-parks-gallery/green-park-reading http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greenpark_wind_turbine_arp.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotricity Ecotricity is a green energy company based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England specialising in selling green energy to consumers that it primarily generated from its wind power portfolio. It is built on the principle of heavily reinvesting its profit in building more of its own green […]

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Collision course – Which car? The UK public has become very dependent on cars as a means of transport. There are nearly as many cars in the country as there are people (about 60 million). As fossil fuels decline in supply, government needs to take a decision about the kind of car to recommend to […]

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Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies http://www.bath.ac.uk/csct/dtc/ Doctoral Training Centre http://www.bath.ac.uk/csct/dtc/programme.html Established in 2008, the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies brings together academic expertise from the University of Bath with international industrial, academic and stakeholder partners to carry out research, training and outreach in sustainable chemical technologies. The Doctoral Training Centre in Sustainable Chemical Technologies places […]

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Making a solar cell in a drinking straw Introduction In this experiment you can make a solar cell in a drinking straw. It makes use of the good light-absorbing properties of raspberry juice to capture electricity from sunlight. Equipment You will need following equipment: Test tube rack and 3 test tubes; A screw with about […]

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Plastic, Polymer and fuel cell Resources Below are picture of the plastics that were made on the Goldsmiths’ Sustainable Energy course       http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-slime-without-borax-2 http://www.thesolarspark.co.uk/ http://www.bath.ac.uk/powerttp/index.shtml http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000461/polymer-slime http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practical-chemistry/pva-polymer-slime http://www.polymer-teaching-resources.com/Slime-making.html http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000296/green-plastics http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000293/snap-crackle-and-snot http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000026/nylon http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00001005/making-nylon http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000846/polymers http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000302/plastics-conservation-barbie-and-friends http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00000288/year-9-chemistry-day http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/Resources/inspirational/resources/3.1.7.pdf http://www.ewb-uk.org/filestore/Make%20your%20own%20Bio-plastic.pdf http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_4812282_own-rubber-ball-borax-glue.html http://networking.stemnet.org.uk/blog/home-made-bouncy-balls http://www.yummyscience.co.uk/ys_pages/ys_custard.html http://www.pstt.org.uk/ext/cpd/a-scientist-in-your-classroom/resources/pdfs/bouncing-custard-balls.pdf http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/Salters/pdfs/voltwo/SCC2_Prac3.pdf http://www.planet-science.com/categories/under-11s/our-world/2012/03/make-your-own-slime.aspx http://www.sciencebrainwaves.com/blogs/brainwaves/make-your-own-slime/ http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-slime-without-borax-2 http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/SeeK/slime.htm

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Slime Recipes Easy Slime Recipe 1 2 Cups Water 1/2 Cup Corn flour Food Colouring      Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add corn flour, then food colouring while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. This makes a messy slime that goes from liquid to solid, and is […]

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Polymerisation of lactic acid This procedure is based on one developed by Horn, Bader and Buchholz (tested by David Read (School Teacher Fellow, School of Chemistry, University of Southampton) and Rachel Hadi-Talab (Chemistry Technician, Science Learning Centre London)). The original documentation can be downloaded from: http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/learnnet/green/docs/plastics.doc Curriculum links: Activity: In the plastics industry today, there […]

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Making Cornstarch Bioplastic Many plastics are made using petroleum, a product of crude oil. There is a very limited supply of these fossil fuels left. Global oil reserves are estimated at 120 gigatons (1 gigaton = 109 tons). If worldwide consumption of oil is roughly 30 billion barrels per year, and the average barrel of […]

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Preparing a polyurethane foam from castor oil Background: There are a huge range of different polymers in use around today with all sorts of useful properties. This has allowed us to create a more comfortable life for ourselves as well as helping us to make all kinds of useful materials at a low cost. One […]

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