Class: BE-210
Group: W5
Members: Marc Dworkin, Cindy Hong, Kay Hsu, David Thakker
Date: April 30, 1998
Full Text

Abstract:
Using oxygen bomb calorimetry, the purpose of this experiment was to determine the heat of combustion of vegetable oils. The heats of combustion were hypothesized to vary among oil types because of compositional differences. Four benzoic acid calibration trials were performed to calculate the average energy equivalent value, W, for the experimental calorimeter. The experimental W of 2482 + 14 cal/degC differed from the calorimeter’s literature value for W of 2426 cal/degC by 2.21%. The 95% confidence interval around the mean for the experimental W was 2459 < 2482 < 2504 (cal/degC), showing that the literature W is statistically different from the experimental W.

Using the experimental W, the average heats of combustion for extra virgin olive, peanut, and safflower oil were, respectively: 9434 + 38 cal/g, 9437 + 27 cal/g, and 9452 + 62 cal/g. The difference between these values was determined to be statistically insignificant through standard differential analysis. Thus, the experimental data can be averaged to 9440 + 39 cal/g, indicating that the heats of combustion of oils are independent of fat composition. The literature value for the heat of combustion of oil by bomb calorimetry was found to be 9450 cal/g, and this differed from the experimental average by 0.11%. This indicates that bomb calorimetry is an accurate method for determining the gross heat of combustion of oils.