The 90-second oil change: Castrol claims a breakthrough Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY Published 12:09 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2015 | Updated 10:37 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2015 The oil change may be about to endure a change of its own. A big motor­oil maker plans to announce Thursday that it has achieved a breakthrough in engine­ lubrication design that makes it easy to change the oil in a vehicle in as little as 90 seconds, Castrol, a division of BP, says the modification over current designs also lowers carbon emissions and fosters recycling. The new system, which Castrol has dubbed Nexcel, must be integrated into vehicle engines at the design stage. That means it won't hit mainstream cars for another five years — about the length of time between major model changes for many automakers. Castrol said it's in discussions with several major automakers to speed adoption of the Nexcel system, which it brags is significantly faster than the 20 minutes it traditionally takes to get an oil change. It's "a revolutionary technology that's the most significant change in oil servicing since the introduction of the vehicle," said Steve Goodier, project leader. "The average driver will not notice a direct difference as far as driving it down the road is concerned. Where the driver will see a benefit — and it's quite significant — is time." A product development team of about 50 people, including technologists in the United Kingdom, U.S. and Germany, created the system. The company did not reveal many details about the technology, which it said also offers environmental benefits. It lowers carbon emissions when the car is driving and enables improved recycling of oil cells back into refined petroleum. "It means you do not waste a drop of lubricant during the oil­change process," Goodier said. The system will make its debut in the Aston Martin Vulcan supercar, which can only be driven on racetracks, not streets. But Castrol said that decision was made to speed the process of development and testing, allowing other automakers to gauge performance before adopting the system. 90­second oil change? It could be a reality in 5 years. Shannon Rae Green reports.  4 CONNECT TWEET  117 LINKEDIN COMMENT EMAIL MORE (Photo: Castrol) 4 117 SUBSCRIBE NOW to get home delivery NEWS SPORTS LIFE TECH TRAVEL OPINION 85° CROSSWORDS SOLAR ECLIPSE 2017 MOREMONEY A key test is whether the oil delivers smooth handling, braking and accelerating. Castrol said the technology "functioned smoothly" in a test in which a vehicle went from 62 miles per hour to a full stop in 1.6 seconds. The system has also been tested with everything from cheap minicars to racecars. What's unclear is how the technology could affect oil­change service locations, which generally charge anywhere from $20 to $55 for a standard oil change, according to consumer information website CostHelper.com. Nexcel would make it substantially easier for consumers to change their own oil, Goodier said. He said it's t.

1. The 90-second oil change: Castrol claims a breakthrough
Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY
Published 12:09 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2015 | Updated 10:37 a.m. ET
Oct. 8, 2015
The oil change may be about to endure a change of
its own.
A big motor-oil maker plans to announce Thursday
that it has achieved a breakthrough in engine-
lubrication design that makes it easy to change the
oil in a vehicle in as little as 90 seconds,
Castrol, a division of BP, says the modification over current des
igns also lowers carbon
emissions and fosters recycling.
The new system, which Castrol has dubbed Nexcel, must be inte
grated into vehicle
engines at the design stage. That means it won't hit mainstream
cars for another five
years —
about the length of time between major model changes for man
y automakers.
Castrol said it's in discussions with several major automakers to
speed adoption of the
Nexcel system, which it brags is significantly faster than the 20
minutes it traditionally
takes to get an oil change.

2. It's "a revolutionary technology that's the most significant chan
ge in oil servicing since
the introduction of the vehicle," said Steve Goodier, project lea
der. "The average driver
will not notice a direct difference as far as driving it down the r
oad is concerned. Where
the driver will see a benefit — and it's quite significant —
is time."
A product development team of about 50 people, including tech
nologists in the United
Kingdom, U.S. and Germany, created the system.
The company did not reveal many details about the technology,
which it said also
offers environmental benefits. It lowers carbon emissions when
the car is driving and
enables improved recycling of oil cells back into refined petrole
um.
"It means you do not waste a drop of lubricant during the oil-ch
ange process," Goodier
said.
The system will make its debut in the Aston Martin Vulcan supe
rcar, which can only be
driven on racetracks, not streets.
But Castrol said that decision was made to speed the process of
development and
testing, allowing other automakers to gauge performance before
adopting the system.
90-second oil change? It could be a reality in 5 years. Shannon
Rae Green reports.

3. 4
CONNECT TWEET
117
LINKEDIN COMMENT EMAIL MORE
(Photo: Castrol)
4
117
SUBSCRIBE NOW
to get home delivery
NEWS SPORTS LIFE TECH TRAVEL OPINION 85°
CROSSWORDS SOLAR ECLIPSE 2017 MOREMONEY
A key test is whether the oil delivers smooth handling, braking
and accelerating.
Castrol said the technology "functioned smoothly" in a test in w
hich a vehicle went from
62 miles per hour to a full stop in 1.6 seconds. The system has a
lso been tested with
everything from cheap minicars to racecars.
What's unclear is how the technology could affect oil-change se
rvice locations, which
generally charge anywhere from $20 to $55 for a standard oil ch
ange, according to
consumer information website CostHelper.com.

4. Nexcel would make it substantially easier for consumers to chan
ge their own oil,
Goodier said. He said it's too early to discuss pricing for automa
kers that may integrate
the system into their cars or consumers who experience the simp
lified oil-change
process.
Goodier said he "can't imagine" it would substantially disrupt th
e oil-change service
business model.
But fewer hours spent on oil changes in the shop could mean fe
wer jobs for
technicians if service locations don't adapt.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @Nath
anBomey.
Cycle of Copper Reactions
Introduction
A renowned 19th century chemist described his first experience
with chemicals in the
following way:
“While reading a textbook of chemistry I came upon the

5. statement, "nitric acid acts
upon copper." I was getting tired of reading such absurd stuff
and I was determined to
see what this meant. Copper was more less familiar to me, for
copper cents were then
in use. I had seen a bottle marked nitric acid on a table in the
doctor's office where I
was then "doing time." I did not know its peculiarities, but the
spirit of adventure was
upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn
what the words "act upon"
meant. The statement "nitric acid acts upon copper" would be
something more than
mere words. All was still. In the interest of knowledge, I was
even willing to sacrifice
one of the few copper cents then in my possession. I put one of
them on the table,
opened the bottle marked nitric acid, poured some of the liquid
on the copper and
prepared to make an observation. But what was this wonderful
thing which I beheld?
The cent was already changed, and it was no small change
either. A green-blue liquid
foamed and fumed over the cent and over the table. The air in

6. the neighborhood of the
performance became colored dark red. A great colored cloud
arose. This was
disagreeable and suffocating. How should I stop this? I tried to
get rid of the
objectionable mess by picking it up and throwing it out of the
window. I learned
another fact. Nitric acid not only acts upon copper, but it acts
upon fingers. The pain
led to another unpremeditated experiment. I drew my fingers
across my trousers and
another fact was discovered. Nitric acid acts upon trousers.
Taking everything into
consideration, that was the most impressive experiment and
relatively probably the most
costly experiment I have ever performed. ... It was a revelation
to me. It resulted in a
desire on my part to learn more about that remarkable kind of
action. Plainly, the only
way to learn about it was to see its results, to experiment, to
work in a laboratory.”
from F. H. Getman, "The Life of Ira Remsen"; Journal of
Chemical Education: Easton,

7. Pennsylvania, 1940; pp 9-10.
Chemistry is the study of chemical reactions – the
rearrangement of atoms to form new
materials. The passage above describes a variety of interesting
reactions, some of which you
will perform in this experiment. In this experiment you will
perform a sequence of reactions of
copper that form a cycle. As you record your observations, try
to interpret them in terms of
chemical equations. In particular, think about grouping them by
reaction type. You will also
practice quantitative laboratory techniques by determining the
percent recovery of the initial
sample of copper.
The sequence or reactions in this lab begins and ends with
copper metal, so it is called a
cycle of copper reactions. Because no copper is added or
removed between the initial and final
steps, and because each reaction goes to completion, you should
be able to quantitatively recover

8. all of the copper you started with if you are careful and skillful.
This diagram shows in an
abbreviated form the reactions of the copper cycle.
1 2
Cu (s) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) → Cu(OH)2 (aq)
↑ 5 ↓ 3
4
CuSO4 (aq) ← CuO (s)
Obviously, these reactions are not balanced. They simply
convey the changes that copper
undergoes during the cycle. The numbers next each reaction
arrow correspond to the following
balanced reactions.
(1) 8 HNO3 (aq) + 3 Cu (s) + O2 (g) → 3 Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 4
H2O (l) + 2 NO2 (g)
(2) Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2 NaOH (aq) → Cu(OH)2 (s) + 2
NaNO3 (aq)

9. (3) Cu(OH)2 (s) → CuO (s) + H2O (l)
(4) CuO (s) + H2SO4 (aq) → CuSO4 (aq) + H2O (l)
(5) CuSO4 (aq) + Zn (s) → ZnSO4 (aq) + Cu (s)
Four types of reactions are represented here. Reaction (1) is an
oxidation-reduction
(redox) reaction. This involves the transfer of electrons, in this
case from copper to nitrogen.
Reaction (2) is a double-replacement precipitation reaction.
Note that the nitrate and hydroxide
ions switch partners as the copper hydroxide precipitates (forms
a solid). Reaction (3) is a
decomposition. The hydroxide ion breaks apart, leaving one
oxygen combined with the copper.
Reaction (4) is an acid-base reaction with a single replacement.
The sulfate ion switches from
the hydrogen to the copper, while the protons (hydrogen ions)
combine with the oxide ion
forming water. In this example, the oxide ion is a Bronsted-
Lowry base, an acceptor of protons.
The final reaction is another redox reaction in which zinc loses
electrons to copper.

10. This experiment requires you to successfully complete the
following tasks:
• Carefully follow the procedure and work safely
• Make detailed visual observations about the reactions which
occur
• Record data and perform calculations
Most experiments require you to perform these tasks. They are
all a part of being a
successful scientist or engineer.
Equipment, Chemicals and Supplies
2 M sulfuric acid (H2SO4) plastic weigh boat nitrile gloves
3 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask hot
plate
5 M nitric acid (HNO3) 600 mL beaker metal tongs
2 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) 250 mL beaker metal scoopula

11. methanol 50 mL graduated cylinder glass stir rod
zinc metal (Zn) granules 10 mL graduated cylinder
wash bottle w/ deionized water copper granules (Cu)
Safety Hazards
Place your backpacks, skateboards, etc. on the counter in the
back of the lab. Lab sessions are
crowded, and it is important that people don’t trip and fall when
working around open flames
and chemicals.
As with many experiments, the chemicals you will work with
today can be harmful if you
do not work safely. Understand what you are doing, be careful,
and wear your safety
protection (goggles and lab coat at all times). You will perform
this experiment in the fume
hood. It is not safe to breathe large amounts of some reactants
and products and some
gases produced by these reactions.
If you accidentally spill a solution, notify the GSA immediately.

12. The GSA will clean up the
spill. If some solution gets on your hands or nitrile gloves,
wash them for a minimum of 15
minutes with soap and water after removing the gloves. While
it seems like this is a long time to
wash your hands, extra washing is necessary to remove
chemicals which might have soaked into
your skin.
Pay attention to the GSA and follow all his or her instructions.
Procedure

13. To work safely and avoid making mistakes and wasting time,
read the entire procedure before
starting the experiment.
Record your observations for each question (denoted by [...]
notation) on your data sheet. Do
this as you perform the experiment. You will not remember
what happened later after lab when
you write your lab report’s Results section.
NOTE: THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE PERFORMED IN THE
FUME HOOD.
1. Take a 600 mL beaker and fill it about three quarters (350
mL) with warm water. Use heat-
resistant gloves when pouring the warm water. Place the beaker
on the hot plate IN THE
FUME HOOD. Turn on the hot plate to a setting of 3 to keep the
water warm. Do not allow the
water to boil.
2. Weigh a clean 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask and record the mass
on your data sheet.
3. Using a weigh boat, tare (zero out) the balance and add

14. around 0.40 grams of copper granules.
(This is a very small amount. The tip of the scoopula should be
enough.) Record the mass of the
copper granules and flask on your data sheet. Add the granules
to the Erlenmeyer flask by
bending the weigh boat to avoid losing the product.
4. Measure 10 mL of 5.0 M nitric acid (HNO3) using a 10mL
graduated cylinder. Please use
caution and wear nitrile gloves when pouring chemicals. If any
solution spills on your
gloves, remove them, and wash your hands for a minimum of 15
minutes.
5. Add the 5.0 M nitric acid to the Erlenmeyer flask with the
copper granules. Cradle the
Erlenmeyer flask on top of the water bath for about 45 seconds.
If any solution spills on
yourself or the surface of the fume hood, notify the GSA
immediately. Please keep the
hood’s sash down to avoid inhaling the harmful fumes. Do not
open all the way up as
reactions take place. Remove the flask, swirl the solution and
place it back on top of the water

15. bath. Keep repeating this step until all the copper has dissolved.
[1] What is in the solution when the reaction is complete?
Record your observations on
the data sheet.
6. Once the copper dissolves, remove the flask from the water
bath. Place the flask on the bench
in the fume hood to cool. When the solution is cool, add 15 mL
of deionized water.
7. Measure 15.0 mL of 3.0M NaOH with a 50mL graduated
cylinder and add it to the
Erlenmeyer flask while stirring the solution with a glass rod to
precipitate Cu(OH)2.
[2] What is formed in the solution besides Cu(OH)2? Record
your observations on the
data sheet.
8. Place the Erlenmeyer flask back on the hot plate (setting 6).
Heat, DO NOT BOIL, the
solution. Gently stir the solution with a glass rod to prevent

16. bumping (i.e. the formation of a
large steam bubble in a locally overheated area). Record your
observations on the data sheet.
If your solution begins to boil, remove the Erlenmeyer flask
using metal tongs and set it on
the counter. Turn off the hot plate.
9. Once the transformation is complete, remove the solution
from the hot plate using metal tongs
and continue stirring for one minute on the bench. Then allow
the solid material to settle.
10. Once settled, decant (pour off) the supernatant liquid into a
600 mL waste beaker at your
bench. Be careful; avoid losing any solid. If you need more
space this can be done outside of
the hood.
See the video Decantation for assistance
(http://youtu.be/Xassu5TBFDs)
11. Add about 100 mL of hot deionized water to the solid that
remains in the flask. Allow the
solid to settle again and decant once more into the waste beaker.
If you need more space this can

17. be done outside of the hood.
[3] What is removed by the washing and decantation process?
Record your observations
on the data sheet.
12. Measure 15 mL of 2.0 M H2SO4 with a 50mL graduated
cylinder. Pour this solution into the
flask that contains the solid while stirring.
[4] What is in the solution now? Record your observations on
the data sheet.
13. Using a weigh boat, weigh 1.0 gram of zinc powder. IN
THE FUME HOOD, add the zinc
metal powder to the flask containing the solid solution. Stir
until the supernatant liquid is
colorless. If the zinc powder forms clumps in the solution,
break the clumps apart with your
stirring rod.
[5] What happens?
[6] What is the gas produced? Record your observations on the

18. data sheet.
14. When the evolution of gas ceases (no more bubbles), decant
the supernatant liquid into the
waste beaker.
15. If you see any silvery grains of unreacted Zn mixed in with
your recovered Cu, add 5 mL of
2.0 M HCl and warm, but do not boil the solution. When the
evolution of gas ceases, allow the
solution to cool and decant the supernatant liquid into the waste
beaker.
16. Wash the recovered Cu with about 5 mL of deionized water.
Allow the solid to settle and
decant the wash water into the waste beaker. Repeat the
washing and decantation at least two
more times. Dispose of all aqueous waste in your waste beaker
in the container labeled A.
http://youtu.be/Xassu5TBFDs
17. In the hood, wash the solid with about 5 mL of methanol.
Allow the solid to settle and
decant the methanol. Dispose of the methanol in the waste

19. container labeled S.
18. Place the Erlenmeyer flask on a hot plate to dry the copper
metal (setting 6). Remove the hot
flask from the hot plate with metal tongs. Set it on the bench
top to cool.
[7] What color is the solid material? Record your observations
on the data sheet.
19. Once the Erlenmeyer flask is cool and the copper appears
dry, weigh the flask with the solid.
Record the mass on your data sheet.
20. Clean up your work area. Dispose of the solid copper
product in the solid waste jar. Return
borrowed equipment to the stockroom.
Perform the necessary calculations and record your data on the
data sheet. Calculate the mass of
the product you recovered by subtracting the weight of the
empty Erlenmeyer flask from the
weight of the flask plus the copper metal. Calculate the
percentage of recovery using this

20. equation:
% recovered =
mass of Cu recovered
mass of Cu wire
A significant portion of this laboratory procedure was taken
from Ken Ostrowski’s website,
www.ostrowskiness.com/sections/chemistry/HTMLLab/gclab1-
06.htm. Used with permission.
http://www.ostrowskiness.com/sections/chemistry/HTMLLab/gc
lab1-06.htm
DATA SHEET FOR CYCLE OF COPPER
Your name
Lab partner’s name
Lab section
DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

21. Table 1: Data table on mass values
Measured Mass Units (g)
Erlenmeyer flask (Step 2)
Copper granules (Step 3)
Erlenmeyer flask and dry copper (Step 19)
Mass of recovered copper
Calculations on percent of copper recovered
_______________%
Answers to questions in the procedure. They should appear in
the Results section of your
report. Be detailed.
Step 5: [1] What is in the solution when the reaction is
complete?
Step 7: [2] What is formed in the solution besides Cu(OH)2?
Step 11: [3] What is removed by the washing and decantation
process?
Step 12: [4] What is in the solution now?
Step 13: [5] What happens? [6] What is the gas produced?

22. Step 18: [7] What color is the solid material?
Table 2: Observations from reactions in the copper cycle
Reaction Observations
Cu + HNO3
Cu(NO3)2 + NaOH
Cu(OH)2 + heat
CuO + H2SO4

23. CuSO4 + Zn
Report: A template for the report is provided on Canvas. Be
sure to follow the instructions in the
template for each section of the report.

24. Discussion Questions
Answer the following questions in the Discussion section of
your report. You should consider
these questions as you are performing your experiment. Take
enough notes so that you can
answer the questions after you have finished the experiment.
1. Identify the types of reactions observed and describe when
they happened in the performance
of this experiment. (10 pts.)
2. What would be the effect of using a single, solid chunk of
copper metal instead of the copper
granules? What would be the effect of using powdered copper
metal? Describe the factor or
factors taken in consideration to answer this question. (5pts.)
2. In step 4, you were warned not to let the solution bubble due
to bumping or boiling. If the

25. solution did splash out of the flask due to bubbling, would this
affect your final product?
Explain. (5 pts.)
3. New U.S. pennies have a copper color. Why wouldn’t this
cycle of copper procedure work
with a penny instead of the copper granules? Compare the
characteristics each has. (5 pts.)

26. Use the following template to write your lab report. Avoid using
first person when writing. Lab reports are double-spaced.
Follow the Cycle of Copper lab rubric to check how points are
allotted.
Cycle of Copper Reactions
Name
Lab partner(s)
Date
GSA’s name
Section
PROCEDURE(States changes made to the procedure. If no
changes were done, say the procedure was followed as written.)

27. RESULTS(Fill in the data table. Write sample calculations and
give a brief analysis of results.)
Table 1: Data Table on Mass Values
Measured Mass
Units (g)
Erlenmeyer flask
Copper granules
Erlenmeyer flask and dry copper
Mass of recovered copper
Percent of recovered copper
Table 2: Observations from reactions in the copper cycle
Reaction
Observations
Cu + HNO3
Cu(NO3)2 + NaOH
Cu(OH)2 +heat
CuO + H2SO4
CuSO4 + Zn

28. Sample calculations: (Write the equation used to find the
percent of recovered copper and define the variables. Show the
calculations.)
Analysis of results:(Write a short paragraph where you describe
why the amount of recovered copper either changed or stayed
consistent from beginning to end. Remember to also include
here the questions answered from the procedure in a separate
paragraph.)
DISCUSSION (Answer the following questions correctly and
thoroughly using complete sentences.)
1. Identify the types of reactions observed and describe them in
same order as they are done in the experiment for cycle of
copper.
2. What would be the effect of using a single, solid chunk of
copper metal instead of the copper granules? What would be
the effect of using powdered copper metal? Describe the factor
or factors taken in consideration to answer this question.
3. In step 4, you were warned not to let the solution bubble due
to bumping or boiling. If the solution did splash out of the
flask due to bubbling, would this affect your final product?
Explain.
4. New U.S. pennies have a copper color. Why wouldn’t this
cycle of copper procedure work with a penny instead of copper
wire? Compare the characteristics each has. (Cite your source)
REFLECTION(Explain personal contributions to the experiment

29. as well as your partner’s contributions. Identify at least one
limitation encountered and give at least one suggestion for
improvement.)