making biodiesel at home com-biodiesel make your own

Biodiesel Make Your Own

Making biodiesel at home is not a new concept, in fact it's as old as the diesel engine itself. Rudolf Diesel wanted his engine to be able to run on vegetable oils. He designed it that way so that the farmers he built it for would always have a supply of fuel. This is not really a strange concept since the first diesel engine was not made to run on our modern day fossil fuels, but instead was run on peanut oil. He debuted his engine at the 1912 World's Fair. This is all a matter of history but keep reading anyway...

Diesel motors are a different breed of engine. They do not require the same refined fuel process that is used with modern (gasoline) cars. The diesel engine, is not the sleek stallion in the engine world, it's the work mule. Like the work mule and the Energizer Bunny, they will generally last a lot longer than a normal car motor.

Many people who make biodiesel themselves...

...using either used cooking oils, discarded from restaurants, straight vegetable oil or grow crops, and crush it with an oil press to extract the oil. Of course, if you have the acreage to grow a crop of soybeans this is the best method as you are getting clean oil to begin making biodiesel so no time will be wasted in the process of cleaning it. On the other hand, it's also a lot of work. If you're already a farmer, this method might work for you.

Since the vast majority of us aren't farmers, luckily there's another method. Although used oil from burger shops, donuts shops, or any fast food restaurant is just as effective, provided that you clean and drain it properly, the end result is just as good.

There are many different methods available for Biodiesel making. From making simple, small test bathes in kitchen biodiesel, which requires no special tools or equipment, to fabricating your own processors from scratch, to buying a pre-built biodiesel kit.

So let's get started, you say?...

A very simple method that I have found uses the following ingredients:

used cooking oil,
Methanol, ("HEET" found in automotive stores)
Sodium Hydroxide. (Caustic soda or Lye)

Please note that this procedure is perfectly safe but can be risky if you're careless. I do not recommend biodiesel making without further research of the process, these are just general guidelines of the biodiesel making process. At the very least read the safety page here.

Note that the oil must be heated and strained twice (you can use coffee filters) to ensure that you have got all of the muck out of it, if you don't take the time to do this you will block up your fuel filters. It is also advisable to begin with a test batch of biodiesel, this is easily done by using kitchen scales and a blender, with a ratio of 6 grams of sodium Methoxide to 1 liter of cooking oil. This measurement is only a guide that is why you do a test batch, to find out the exact calculation that will be required to make a larger batch. Biodiesel recipes in depth are covered here.

Heat the oil...

...add the Methoxide solution and mix this solution in the blender, and let the mixture stand to settle. (6 hours to a day)

If the test batch is successful you will see that the glycerin has sunk to the bottom of the mix once settled, Glycerine looks black, and sinks to the bottom of the blender, but the biodiesel will be a brownish color and will float to the top. This means you have successfully separated the mixture and changed the molecular structure of the oil, it can never revert back to its original status again.

Once you have your calculations correct you can start mixing bigger batches, You will then need to build or buy a processor for handling larger amounts of oil. If you're mechanically inclined, there are blue prints of designs on this site, they vary in design, just as much as the recipes for biodiesel does. If not, buy a kit. Find one that you feel is easy to make and understand.

One final note...

...be sure that you always wash the biodiesel, then test the biofuel first as once you have began the process you cant change your formula. So take care to make sure that all of your calculations are correct before trying to make larger batches. When working with Methanol and Sodium Hydroxide be very careful to take safety precautions to protect yourself from burns, or injury. They can, and do form into a harmful vapor if you're not careful. Never breathe the fumes when mixing the chemicals.

See also:

Want a Complete biodiesel System?

Want to Build Your Own Processor?

Need Recipes?