Update #4

We finished with test #1. We decided not to burn the gas in this experiment because we knew that only pure methane had collected. We guessed that there was some gas leaking from the balloon, so we reinforced the second bottle and made it more airtight. We emptied out the first experiment bottle, and disposed the manure. We began constructing the apparatus for the second experiment. For the second experiment, along with the manure, we are putting in mashed bananas and vegetable peelings. We are also going to at least test the gas to make sure that something has accumulated this time.

Procedure

Prepare Collection System

1. Gather copper tubing, vinyl tubing, large water bottle, ball valve, cork, balloon, and connectors.
2. Insert copper tubing into Mylar Balloon and tape down (make sure there aren't any leaks).
3. Drill T-Adapter into cork and glue tight (optional).
4. Attach ball valve to vinyl tubing on both sides.
5. Connect vinyl tubing to copper tubing, and attach the other end of the vinyl tubing to the ball valve, which would be attached to the burning apparatus.
6. Add manure(mandatory) + any other optional feedstocks.

Experiment #1: Manure Only

Update #3

It has been 3 weeks since we last met and out the project together. Plenty of manure has collected, and now it is time to burn the gas. There is some gas that collected, not too much, but it is a significant amount. We need to quickly burn it and move on. For our next experiment, we need to collect a large pile of vegetable peelings and mix it in with the manure as part of our second variable.