Please help quickly! I'm doing the project "From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy." I'm a week in and not all my balloons are inflating. One balloon from each category is some what inflated, but those balloons still only have a circumference of 50 cm after a week. I noticed in troubleshooting that not all the balloons need to inflate. I'm worried though because the three bottles from each category are not consistent with each other("If the three bottles for the same condition (for example, all the bottles with cow manure and mashed bananas) do not seem very consistent in how much biogas they are producing, this could be because different amounts of air were trapped in the balloons when they were placed on the bottles.") Is there a problem if different amounts of air were trapped in the balloons when they were placed on the bottles? Also, can I record the bottles' circumference every week instead of every day? Please help me quickly!
Hi. I can try to help you figure out what is the problem, and why the balloons are not inflating.
Why the balloons are not inflating when you expect them to:
Perhaps the balloons are not trapping all the gas that is generated.
Did you check there were no small holes in the balloons before you started?
Are the balloons fixed on the bottles very well, so no air escapes through the connections? Use more tape if you are not sure.
Why are the balloons with the same test conditions not measuring the same?
Some variation is normal - this is why we do more than one balloon per condition... but ideally they will show a similar trend. So perhaps there is something slightly different about the test conditions you thought were the same.
Did you carefully divide the biomass mixture between the bottles of the same test condition?
Did you make sure the balloons were all starting with no air in them?
Measuring everyday allows you to capture the most data. I do suggest you measure everyday.
Most of my balloons are creating vacuums, but two are doing fine. The ones that are not inflating and are creating vacuums are tightly sealed and positioned right on the mouth of the bottle. There is nothing trapping the biogas inside the bottles. I've been researching it and finding nothing. I can't find a way to explain it. Please help me!
mkdearie wrote:Most of my balloons are creating vacuums, but two are doing fine. The ones that are not inflating and are creating vacuums are tightly sealed and positioned right on the mouth of the bottle. There is nothing trapping the biogas inside the bottles. I've been researching it and finding nothing. I can't find a way to explain it. Please help me!
Ok so you mean the balloons are not inflating and the bottles are getting sucked in? I think Thats related to pressure difference caused by temperature different from the decomposition. HVe a read here, and let me know if this is what seems like happened. http://en.allexperts.com/q/Chemistry-in ... ethane.htm
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I'm doing the project "From Trash to Gas: Biomass Energy." I'm a week in and not all my balloons are inflating. One balloon from each category is some what inflated, but those balloons still only have a circumference of 50 cm after a week. I noticed in troubleshooting that not all the balloons need to inflate. I'm worried though because the three bottles from each category are not consistent with each other("If the three bottles for the same condition (for example, all the bottles with cow manure and mashed bananas) do not seem very consistent in how much biogas they are producing, this could be because different amounts of air were trapped in the balloons when they were placed on the bottles.") Is there a problem if different amounts of air were trapped in the balloons when they were placed on the bottles? Also, can I record the bottles' circumference every week instead of every day? Please help me quickly! 
Most of my bottles are creating a vacuum. I'm OK with that. I just want to know why that is happening. It seems interesting! 
I can't find a way to explain it. 