WESTFIELD SCIENCE ORIENTED SCHOOL

C. SORIANO ST. BF RESORT VILLAGE, LAS PINAS CITY

GRADE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

INVESTIGATORY PROJECT PROPOSAL

Title: How to Make Biogas from Scrap Food?

Brief Description: The study helps to get access to the new sources of energy like
renewable energy resources. Solar energy, wind energy, different thermal and hydro
sources of energy, biogas are all renewable energy resources. But, biogas is distinct
from other renewable energies because of its characteristics of using, controlling and
collecting organic wastes and at the same time producing fertilizer and water for use in
agricultural irrigation. Scrap food is an organic material having the high calorific value
and nutritive value to microbes, that’s why efficiency of methane production can be
increased. It means higher efficiency and size of reactor and cost of biogas production
is reduced.

Materials: Seven (7) Balloons

Seven (7) Soda Bottles
Duct tape
Funnel
Pureed stack of Kangkong
Pureed Peeled Potato
Pureed Onion
One (1) teaspoon Bleach
Teaspoon
Blender
Marker
Weighing Scale
Peeler

Procedure:
 1. Peel and cut the onion, peel the potato, and cut the kangkong. Put each on a
separate bowl.
2. Make 7 batches of puree out of the onion, potato, and kangkong by putting half
a cup of each in a blender separately.
3. Weigh each puree equally.
4. Wash and dry the soda bottles. Recycle their caps
5. With masking tape and a pen, label all the bottles.
6. Using the permanent marker and ruler, make a small horizontal mark that is 2
centimeters (cm) from the top of each bottle. This is how full you will be filling
each bottle. If you try to fill the bottles to the very top, it can be easy to overflow
them
7. Check all the balloons for any small holes that air might leak out of. If you find a
balloon with a hole, replace it with one that does not have a hole.
You can check if a balloon has a hole by blowing a little air into it, holding the
main hole shut, and listening for air escaping and watching for the balloon to
slowly deflate.
8. Place the funnel in one of the soda bottles.
9. Carefully fill the bottle with distilled water to the mark you made 2 cm from the
top of the bottle. Pour very slowly as you near the top so that the bottle does
not overflow.
10. Cover the mouth of the filled soda bottle with a completely uninflated balloon.
11. When you are putting the balloon on the mouth of the bottle it is very important
that you hold the balloon so that it is completely uninflated. If there is air in the
balloon, when you put it on the mouth of the bottle the air will remain trapped in
the balloon and this can give you false results.
As you put the balloon on the mouth of the bottle, aim the balloon so that its
opening is right over the mouth of the bottle (and not off to the side, where its
opening might be blocked by the side of the bottle's top).
Be sure to only use a balloon that you have made sure has no small holes that
air might leak out of.
12. Secure the balloon at the mouth of the soda bottle with a couple strips of heavy
duty, clear shipping tape. Make sure that the entire opening of the balloon is
completely sealed around the mouth of the bottle.
Do not adjust the shipping tape once you have put it on the balloon because this
can rip the balloon.

Time Frame: Approximately one (1) week

Summary: Biogas is produced by bacteria through the bio-degradation of organic

material under anaerobic condition. Anaerobic type generates mixture of gases. The gas
produced which are carbon dioxide and methane present viable environmentally friendly
energy source to replace fossils fuels that are non-renewable energy. Using food scraps
that can produce biogas can help lessen the effect of climate change and the best part
it is also renewable sources of energy.