In the 2011-2012 academic year, Dr. Harmon used approximately 515 kg of methane in his home for heating, hot water, and stove/oven use. How many 75-gallon barrels of waste corn oil should Dr. Harmon collect to produce his own methane for 1 entire year assuming he uses the exact same amount of methane as in the 2011-2012 academic year? The density of oleic and linoleic acids are very similar, you may assume both are 0.90 g/cm3. Additionally, you may assume the percent yield of methane production from corn oil pyrolysis is 100%
HC18H31O2+ O2(g) àCH4(g) + CO2(g) + H2O(g) + H2(g)
HC18H33O2 + O2(g) àCH4(g) + CO2(g) + H2O(g) + H2(g)
To make this problem easier, you may assume 65% of the methane produced comes from linoleic acid and 35% of the methane produced comes from oleic acid.