How To Make Biodiesel
http://homemadebiodieselinfo.com/articles/32/1/How-To-Make-Biodiesel/Page1.html
Heath Allison
By Heath Allison
Published on 05/28/2008
If you've ever wondered how to make biodiesel, this step by step guide will walk you through the process, so you can begin saving money and the environment.
So you want to know how to make biodiesel? Start by gathering your biodiesel ingredients. You will need vegetable oil—used is fine—lye or another caustic agent like sodium hydroxide and methanol.
Methanol is actually very easy to find. Simply purchase dry gas at any local automobile store. You also need HDPE containers to store the finished product. It is important to use HDPE so that the resulting biodiesel does not melt the plastic. Only HDPE is tough enough.
Making biodiesel is a time-consuming process. If you are using used cooking oil, start by filtering the oil to remove
any impurities. Next, slowly heat your oil to 120 degrees and check the titration level.
It is critical that you heat the oil and allow it to sit in open containers. If you have too high a water content in the oil, you will end up making lots of glycerin soap and very little biodiesel.
The ultimate goal of the titration level is to figure out how long it takes for the lye to use up the free fatty acids. For every one-milliliter titration, an extra gram of lye must be added. If you add too much or too little, you will end up with an inferior product that doesn't work as biodiesel.
Once you have this biodiesel formula figured out, mix your ethanol and lye together. Slowly add the warmed oil and then using an electric mixer, really combine the ingredients. Let the mixture sit.
Once the layer of glycerin has settled to the bottom, remove the glycerin and set it aside. Usually, this process takes an hour. Next, measure the resulting liquid. You need to add water until you have a pot of mixture that is 2/3 resulting liquid and 1/3 water. Place an aquarium bubble into this mixture and allow it to "wash" for about six hours. Allow the water and oil mixture to separate.
Drain off the water mixture and transfer the resulting liquid to an open storage container where it will dry. The mixture must be kept warm while drying, so tank warmers are recommended. In addition, use fans to keep the air circulating. Providing your room humidity is low, the mixture will dry in an hour.
Once you are done making your biodiesel, use large funnels to transfer it to your HDPE plastic storage containers. Now that you know how to make biodiesel, you know its simple to make, but can be time consuming.
How to make biodiesel is easy if you know how. For a step by step guide I highly recommend the Encyclopedia of Making Biodiesel at Home.
Photo Credits: 1
Methanol is actually very easy to find. Simply purchase dry gas at any local automobile store. You also need HDPE containers to store the finished product. It is important to use HDPE so that the resulting biodiesel does not melt the plastic. Only HDPE is tough enough.
Making biodiesel is a time-consuming process. If you are using used cooking oil, start by filtering the oil to remove
any impurities. Next, slowly heat your oil to 120 degrees and check the titration level.It is critical that you heat the oil and allow it to sit in open containers. If you have too high a water content in the oil, you will end up making lots of glycerin soap and very little biodiesel.
The ultimate goal of the titration level is to figure out how long it takes for the lye to use up the free fatty acids. For every one-milliliter titration, an extra gram of lye must be added. If you add too much or too little, you will end up with an inferior product that doesn't work as biodiesel.
Once you have this biodiesel formula figured out, mix your ethanol and lye together. Slowly add the warmed oil and then using an electric mixer, really combine the ingredients. Let the mixture sit.
Once the layer of glycerin has settled to the bottom, remove the glycerin and set it aside. Usually, this process takes an hour. Next, measure the resulting liquid. You need to add water until you have a pot of mixture that is 2/3 resulting liquid and 1/3 water. Place an aquarium bubble into this mixture and allow it to "wash" for about six hours. Allow the water and oil mixture to separate.
Drain off the water mixture and transfer the resulting liquid to an open storage container where it will dry. The mixture must be kept warm while drying, so tank warmers are recommended. In addition, use fans to keep the air circulating. Providing your room humidity is low, the mixture will dry in an hour.
Once you are done making your biodiesel, use large funnels to transfer it to your HDPE plastic storage containers. Now that you know how to make biodiesel, you know its simple to make, but can be time consuming.
How to make biodiesel is easy if you know how. For a step by step guide I highly recommend the Encyclopedia of Making Biodiesel at Home.
Photo Credits: 1