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Biodiesel: The afterlife of oil - Natascia Radice

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TEDEd Animation

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How could you dispose of your cooking oil when you’re done cooking? The easiest thing to do might be to pour it down your drain -- but if you save it up and send it to a processing plant, it can gain useful new life as biodiesel, a biodegradable energy source which can run in diesel engines instead of refined petroleum. Natascia Radice describes the process of turning goop into good.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

Watch the TED-Ed Lesson on bioprospecting to understand better the issue with diversifying biofuels and finding alternative sources of energy.
Glycerol is the leftover product of the Biodiesel processing, Learn here how it can be used to produce ecofriendly biodiesel soap.
Learn here about a pilot initiative to crowdsource used vegetable oil recycling by using the schools in each city as a drop-off center. Learn more here.
Learn how to make biodiesel in this MAKE tutorial. However, this is a project that involves toxic and inflammable chemicals and should only be carried out in the presence and supervision of adults.

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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Natascia Radice
  • Director Lippy
  • Composer Austin de Lone
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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