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smotwan smotwan
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12 years ago
We're going to try to make an alcohollamp using plants as gas...as in biofuel...
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wrote...
12 years ago
If you heat wood in a test tube, you can condense methanol.  Be careful, methanol is very poisonous and could make you go blind if anybody thought they could drink it.  It is pretty simple to make just put some dry wood shavings in a test tube and heat with a flame.  I did this a a kid and that was many years ago but I do remember it making a liquid and it burned very well.

You also might want to try to squeeze some oil out of some olives to make a lamp like the ancient romans if I am not mistaken.
wrote...
12 years ago
Nuts taken from members of the Pittosporaceae are particular good burning materials.  The nuts have rich resins in them and these are similar to hydrocarbons in chemical constituents, and are even called, petroleum nuts.  Pittosporum resiniferum is the species that is very promising for petroleum source.
wrote...
12 years ago
The common garden flower the "Gas Plant" (Dictamnus alba) exudes a volatile oil that burns without hurting the flower if touched with a match. Done at night it's a real light show as the flame jumps from flower to flower and plant to plant.  Its a pretty flower as well.  RScott
wrote...
12 years ago
Dictamnus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae, with a single species, Dictamnus albus.

 It is known variously as Burning-bush, False Dittany, White Dittany, and Gas-plant.

It is a perennial herb, native to southern Europe, north Africa and southern and central Asia.

This plant grows about 60 cm high. Its flowers form a loose pyramidal spike and vary in colour from pale purple to white. It normally grows in woods in warm places.

 It is a popular garden plant both for its flowers and for its fragrance.

 It bears large elegant flowers of various colours: red, white, striped or blue.

 Its leaves resemble those of an Ash tree. Outside its natural range it is planted in gardens and grows well in warm places. It can also be found in sheltered places in woodlands.

In the summer months, the whole plant is covered with a kind of flammable substance, which is glutinous to the touch, and has a very fragrant smell; but if it takes fire, it goes off with a flash all over the plant.

The name "Burning-bush" derives from the volatile oils produced by the plant, which can catch fire readily in hot weather, leading to comparisons with the burning bush of the Bible, including the suggestion that this is the plant involved there.

The plant is more commonly known today as the Burning Bush. It is the essential oil, which has a lemon-like smell, that is inflammable.

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/county/cass/horticulture/perennials/coralbells/gasptwhi.JPG

http://plants.usda.gov/maps/large/DI/DIAL4.png

http://mareltrout.net/images/plants/gasplant052901.jpg
wrote...
12 years ago
If you are wanting to make a real alcohol lamp using plants as a source of bio-fuel You should consider include the fermenting of the alcohol and distilling of it as a part of the project.  You would need the permission and approval of your instructor of course.  The plant material you would need could vary, depending on what is available to you.  Corn or any grain would work well.  Grocery stores throw out old and spoiling fruits and vegetables every day that they would be glad to donate to a school project.  Potato's or any starchy vegetables would also work well.  A large cooler would work as a fermenting vat.  The still could be made from common laboratory glass-wear, heat source a Bunsen burner.  Goggle home distilling or home stills and you will find all of the information you need to get started.  This is also how the alcohol is made for the use in making gasohol for running cars.
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