Biodiesel has gained attention in recent years as a renewable and
environmentally friendly fuel source. A laboratory experiment designed for high school
students is described to study biodiesel production. Under optimum conditions, the time of
running the reaction of biodiesel synthesis was less than a half-hour. Moreover, based on the
difference in density and solubility of reactants and products in the transesterification, one
visualizing method of detection of biodiesel product was suggested. The results
demonstrated that the visualizing method was simple, quick, and effective in determining
whether biodiesel was produced. This proposed experiment is typically completed in less
than two one-hour laboratory periods, which makes it suitable for a high school chemistry
laboratory.