Testing the Viscosity of Different Oils Compared to Diesel Fuel

Catherine Dellinger, Lacey Anderson, and Garrett Moore

Animas High School

ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this lab was to investigate the viscosity of different oils
compared to diesel fuel at certain temperatures. In this lab the viscosity of
vegetable oil, corn oil, and diesel were all tested at 22 (room temperature), 45, 70,
and 95 degrees Celsius. This was done by dropping a marble through a 900 ml
graduated cylinder of oil and timing how long it takes the marble to get from one
point to another. The oil was then heated on a hot plate to the specific temperature
and the preceding steps were repeated. It can be concluded that the vegetable oil,
when heated to 95 degrees Celsius has approximately the same viscosity as the
diesel fuel at room temperature, 45, and 70 degrees Celsius. When the graph is
extrapolated, it shows that the viscosity of vegetable oil matches with the viscosity
of diesel at approximately 114.6 degrees Celsius. These results show that vegetable
oil could possibly be used as an efficient fuel when heated appropriately. Corn oil
showed to be too viscous compared to diesel, which means it would not be an
efficient alternative to diesel because of how heated the engine would have to be.

INTRODUCTION:
Diesel engines have been around since the late 1800s and have been known
to run on a variety of different fuels. Like a gasoline engine, a diesel engine is a
type of internal combustion engine. Combustion is another word for burning, and
internal means inside, so an internal combustion engine is simply one where the
fuel is burned inside the main part of the engine (inside the cylinders) where power
is produced. In a diesel engine, the fuel burns inside the cylinders themselves.
The use of vegetable oil as a source of fuel has been known for a long time
since the very first creation of the Diesel engine. Vegetable oils are biodegradable
and nontoxic, have low emission profiles, are made from renewable resources and
so are environmentally beneficial. Diesel engines can be known to run on vegetable
oil with no modifications.
In the lab the experiment will be conducted to test which oils are similar in
viscosity to diesel fuel, and at what temperatures the viscosities are approximately
the same. The definition of viscosity is the resistance of a liquid to flow. When
engines are heated the liquid temperature increases which reduces viscosity. When
engines cool the liquid temperature decreases and the viscosity increases. An
example of a viscous liquid is breakfast syrup, and a less viscous liquid is water. This
lab is very important because it compares the viscosity of different oils to diesel
fuel. With diesel fuel being a non-renewable resource, over time there will be less of

it to access, so it is essential to find out what will be similar to diesel to potentially

use in a fuel tank. The lab shows two different oils viscosity compared to diesel
fuel, all measured at the same temperatures.

MATERIALS:

1000 ml graduated cylinder

1000 ml sample of one of the following: diesel, corn oil, and vegetable oil
Thermometer
1000 ml Erlenmeyer flask
Steel wool
Marble
Stopwatch
Stirring rod

METHODS AND PROCEDURE:

Fill the graduated cylinder with your liquid sample to the 900 ml mark. Draw two
lines on the column with the wax pencil, one near the top of the oil and one near
the bottom. Measure the distance between the two lines in meters and record the
length. (100 centimeters in one meter.) Take the temperature of the liquid at room
temperature (in Celsius) and record it. Use a stopwatch to time the marble as it
drops through the oil. Drop the marble into the oil and measure the time it takes the
ball to travel from the top line to the bottom line. Try to drop the marble as close to
the liquids surface as you can. Conduct 2 or 3 times and record the times in your
table. Pour the oil from the graduated cylinder into the Erlenmeyer flask until you
have emptied most of the fluid. Before the marble drops, place a sample of steel
wool into a funnel to catch the marble. Heat the same oil in the Erlenmeyer flask on
the hot plate to 45C. You can use a stirring rod to mix it. Pour the heated oil from
the flask into the graduated cylinder up to 900 ml mark (oil might have expanded, if
so take new height measurement). Drop a marble into the oil in the cylinder. Using a
stopwatch, measure the time it takes the ball to travel from the top line to the
bottom line. Conduct about 2 or 3 trials and record the time in seconds in your
table. Heat the oil to 70C on the hot plate. You can use a stirring rod to mix it.
Repeat steps 8-9. Record the time in seconds in your data table. Heat the oil to 95C
on the hot plate. Repeat steps 8-9 and record the time in seconds in your data.

HAZARDS:
Diesel contains chemicals that are dangerous to inhale and swallow. It is also
flammable so while doing this lab it is crucial to keep the diesel away from an open
flame. While heating each oil, it is important to wear heat resistant gloves and
safety goggles because the Erlenmeyer flask gets very hot to the touch. It is
important to also be cautious when pouring the hot oil into the graduated cylinder,
so using a funnel and pouring it slowly is essential for safety. If hot oil or diesel gets

on your skin make sure to wash it off with cold water and soap as well as treating
the burn if present.

RESULTS:
All of the results collected show that diesel had the lowest viscosity, vegetable oil
had the second lowest, and corn oil had the highest. All the tested oils viscosities
decreased when they were heated which was as predicted. The viscosities increased
as their temperatures decreased or cooled which was also as predicted. Vegetable
oil had the fastest decreasing viscosity when heated and diesel had the slowest.
Table 1 and 2 show that when the vegetable oil is heated to 95 degrees Celsius it
almost matches the viscosity of the diesel fuel at 22, 45, and 70 degrees Celsius.
The data was averaged in Table 2, and an extrapolated graph was made as shown in
Figure 1 to find the point of intersection where the two oils had the same viscosity
as diesel at 95 degrees C. The r^2 equations that are shown in Figure 1 compare
the line of best fit values at any given point to your actual data. When the r^2
equation equals r^2=1 that means that the line of best fit and data collected has no
deviation as represented by the vegetable oil line in the figure. In Table 3 the
presented equations represent the trend lines that allowed us to find the
intersection where each oil had the same viscosity as diesel at 95 degrees Celsius.
The intersection for vegetable oil was 114.26 degrees Celsius and for corn oil it
was 160.77 degrees Celsius.

TABLE 1: Temperatures and time taken for marble to drop through Diesel, Vegetable
oil, and Corn oil
Vegetable Oil
Degrees C

Trial number

Diesel (time in (time in

Corn Oil (time

seconds)

in seconds)

seconds)

(Room Temp.) 22

Trial 1

0.23

0.4

0.38

(Room Temp.) 22

Trial 2

0.21

0.38

0.4

(Room Temp.) 22

Trial 3

0.23

0.3

0.39

45

Trial 1

0.24

0.28

0.36

45

Trial 2

0.2

0.33

0.32

45

Trial 3

0.22

0.3

0.35

70

Trial 1

0.2

0.29

0.35

70

Trial 2

0.19

0.23

0.3

70

Trial 3

0.18

0.27

0.31

95

Trial 1

0.18

0.19

0.29

95

Trial 2

0.17

0.23

0.25

95

Trial 3

0.17

0.22

0.27

TABLE 2: Average temperatures and time taken for marble to drop through Diesel,
Vegetable oil, and Corn oil.

Averages

Time in

Time in

Time in

Seconds

Seconds

Seconds
Viscosity of Diesel
at Running
Temperatures (95

Degrees C

Diesel

Vegetable Oil

Corn Oil

Degrees C)

22

0.22

0.36

0.39

.17

45

0.22

0.31

0.34

.17

70

0.19

0.26

0.32

.17

95

0.17

0.21

0.27

.17

FIGURE 1: Temperature of Corn oil, Vegetable oil, and Diesel compared to time taken
for marble to drop. how well your line of best fit is a best fit. Compares the value at
any given point to your actual data. 1 is a perfect fit.

TABLE 3: Trend Lines and predicted intersection temperatures of Corn and Vegetable
oil compared to Diesel.
Trendline
Equations
Diesel

Predicted Intersection Temperature (c) with Diesel

Y1=-7.41E-4*X+0.0243

Vegetable Oil Y2=-2.048E-3x+0.404

X=114.26

Corn Oil

X=160.77

Y3=-1.555E-3*x+0.42

DISCUSSION:
The results conducted show how vegetable and corn oil at specific
temperatures compare to diesel fuel. This allowed us to find at which temperature
each oil would need to be heated to in order to run in an engine at the same
viscosity of diesel. In an engine, diesel fuels running temperature is approximately
95 degrees celsius. The oils must match the viscosity of diesel at running
temperature in order to be used in an engine or else the oils could clog the tubing
and injectors or be too watery to be properly used as fuel. The results showed that
each fuel became less viscous as they were heated, which was as predicted, and
they became more viscous when cooled which was also as predicted. Table 1 and 2
show that when the vegetable oil is heated to 95 degrees Celsius it almost matches
the viscosity of the diesel fuel at 22, 45, and 70 degrees Celsius. This means that
vegetable oil can possibly be used as fuel in a car efficiently, when heated
accordingly. Referring to the data, corn oil is too viscous compared to diesel and
vegetable oil so if it were to be used as fuel, it wouldnt be able to flow through to
the pistons which leads to inefficient combustion or would have to be heated to
intensely greater temperature then the engine could handle. So, it can be concluded
that corn oil would not be an efficient alternative to diesel.
An inaccuracy that could have occurred during our experiment was getting
the right times for how fast the marble went through the oil. Our timer used their
iPhone, which was the first mistake. The marble fell down the graduated cylinder
very quickly, making it difficult to get the most accurate time on a phone. A
stopwatch would have made it much more accurate because it is easier and faster
to push a button than to touch a screen. If we chose a lighter marble to drop this
would have increased the drop time giving us a more accurate measurement and
more reaction time as well. The results would have shifted if a lighter marble was
used, but the trend lines would remain the same and give us approximately the
same extrapolated points.

The r^2 equations that are shown in Figure 1 compare the line of best fit
values at any given point to your actual data. When the r^2 equation equals r^2=1
that means that the line of best fit and data collected has no deviation as
represented by the vegetable oil line in the figure. After averaging the data from all
of the results and graphing a line of best fit in Figure 1 for each liquid, we were able
to do several calculations for Table 3 to find the point of intersection where the oils
had the same viscosity as diesel at 95 degrees celsius. This intersection for
vegetable oil was 114.26 degrees Celsius and for corn oil it was 160.77 degrees
Celsius.