Camelia Sativa Oil. Remember that name, it might be making your car go when petroleum becomes scarce.
This seed oil plant, also known as false flax, provides more energy per litre when used as a biodiesel fuel than conventional diesel, according to research completed by Chris McDowell (15) and Ian Miller (16) of Kilkenny College. "Biodiesel is a viable fuel alternative," stated Chris. It could be used without any modification to the vehicle, was "more eco-friendly" and produced fewer pollutants, particularly dioxide.
Chris's and Ian's study not only examined the use of Camelia Sativa oil, but also waste cooking oil as diesel alternatives. Vegetable oil biofuels have been under study for some years, he said, and Austria made much use of biodiesel derived from rape seed oil. Their tests showed - for the first time, he believes - that a vegetable alternative could produce more energy per litre than ordinary diesel. The Camelia oil gave almost 5 per cent more energy, he said, and waste oil had a marginally higher output. There was no waste with the production process, he said. The seed "cake" left behind after pressing could be used as a valuable livestock feed. The oil was broken down in reaction using potassium hydroxide and methanol, producing the biodiesel and glycerol, but the "waste" glycerol was itself of value in a range of industries from cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to polymer production. And the methanol was recoverable for reuse in the initial reaction.
Even the leftover plant stalks had a use, either as a mulch or soil enricher or as stems for weaving into baskets.
The decapitation of 2,000 bees to extract an enzyme from their heads was one of the tasks undertaken by three Co Laois students in an effort to improve upon a test to assess pesticide residue on fruit and vegetables. Christina Tobin (17), Mairead Walsh (16) and Ruth Gleeson (16) of the Brigidine Convent, Mountrath, decided to apply a Dutch technique, previously unused in this State, to detect residues. Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) allows a sample to be carried by a liquid through a packed bed of material, in this case glass plates coated in silica gel. This separates the individual sample components, including plant extracts and the pesticide residues.
The particular method of TLC used was based on stopping the action of an enzyme, cholinesterase, which is found in bee heads. Organo-phosphates and carbamate pesticides act by inhibiting the production of cholinesterase. Treated fruit and vegetable extracts were added to the plates, which were then placed in a developing chamber in order to obtain a chromatogram. The plates were then sprayed with beehead homogenate. If cholesterase-inhibiting compounds were present in the extract, then white spots appeared on a pink-violet background. The students found that the original test lacked sensitivity, so the method was modified by doubling one of the components of the dye-forming solution and doubling the fruit/vegetable extract to be sampled. While this increased sensitivity, the students concluded that questions still remained about the reproducibility of the test.