We’ve all heard about the wonders that is biodiesel. Aside from being cheap and renewable, this alternative fuel is environment-friendly because it does not produce harmful smoke filled with poisonous chemicals, unlike traditional fuel. That is why so many people are just excited to make that big switch to turn green to be able to save money and save Mother Nature. And making that jump from traditional to biodiesel is not that hard. Here’s how you can convert your gas-guzzling car to an energy-efficient green machine. 

First step is to find a diesel car. Sorry for those who have gasoline-powered vehicles. The main component of switching to biodiesel starts with a diesel engine. Though it’s been a while since automakers manufactured this type of vehicles, many are already looking ahead and going back to making diesel-engine cars. In the coming years, this type of vehicle will be lining up in showrooms and purchasing them won’t be a problem anymore. 

Then next thing you do is to scout or look for places where you can get your fuel. Biodiesel is actually just vegetable oil, the type we often use to fry French fries and other yummy fried treats. So one place where you can find an abundance of this eco-friendly fuel, aside from your kitchen, are fast food chains who use up gallons after gallons of this greasy goodness. Better start warming up to the manager of the local fast food joint and ask them if you can pick up some of their waste vegetable oil. A good advice is to visit several business establishments in your neighborhood to secure a good supply of vegetable oil. 

After acquiring your fuel, you also need to purchase a biodiesel conversion kit. This is actually the most important element of going green because this will allow your car to smoothly run on just vegetable oil without causing problems to your car engine. This is going to be a large purchase. That is why a good advise is to hit up some biodiesel forum available online to be able to get a feel of how much conversion kits go for. Also, there are certain conversion kits that work best for a particular model and make of a car. Better do your research and maybe ask a professional to avoid any mistakes and wasted time and money. 

Next up is installation. Of course, you can have a professional mechanic do it for you. Just be sure to find someone who has experience when it comes to converting cars to run on biodiesel. But if you are the type of person who is a handyman by heart, maybe doing it yourself will be a lot more fun. And you can also save up some more money this way. Here are some of the common modifications you need to know to be able to accomplish the task: 

1. Vegetable Oil Fuel Tank

      The difference in viscosity of vegetable oil and diesel can be problematic to most engine. That  is why most conversion kits employ a two tank system to separate the fuels. This is achieve by  providing a second fuel tank specifically for the vegetable oil. A pumping system should also be  installed to be able to get the vegetable oil out of the fuel system when the car is not in use. 

1. Hose/Seal Overhaul for Fuel System

      Though vegetable oil is safe on diesel engines, it is still a toss up on whether the fuel system is  compatible. Rubber hoses and seals from older vehicles tend to break down when exposed to  heated vegetable oil. So to be sure, replace all hoses and seals and have them installed properly.  Also, make sure that what you put in there is specific to your make and model. 

1. Heating system

Because you are going to run in vegetable oil, you’ll need heat to activate it. That is why the heating system is a very important component when converting to biodiesel. Most conversion kits already include a heating system that will warm up the oil before pumping it into the fuel system. A common setup is a system that pumps waste heat from the radiator into the oil tank. If your kit does not include one, better find another with a heating system or find a way on how to install one. 

Lastly, you’ll need to prepare you fuel. And the most important preparation for the vegetable oil that you’ll use to run your car is filtering it before pumping it into the fuel tank. There are number of ways to do this, but the most common is by heating the oil and then using different filtration device to filter out the leftover food particles on the oil. Some effective filtering materials include large coffee filters and mesh strainers. This step is a bit messy but this will make sure that your new fuel system will last long. 

There you go. Now that you’ve learn how to convert your car to run on biodiesel, all you need to do is pump up some vegetable oil to the tank and drive off to the sunset. And this time, no more worries of burning you pocket with gas prices and destroying the environment. But remember, drive safely.

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How does the Biofuel Production Processing work?

If you want to know more about the production process of Biofuel, then read this article.

 Biofuel consist of two major categories of fuels-Bioethanol and Biodiesel, therefore there are two different procedures of producing biofuel from biomass. The methods followed have a strong impact on the end results that are achieved. There are two key reactions that are involved in the production of Bioethanol, one is Hydrolysis and the other is Fermentation.

The traditional way of producing Bioethanol would be to mix sugar, water and yeast bacteria, which are then allowed to ferment in warm environment. Gradually the mixture becomes a liquid that has an approximate of fifteen percent alcohol. As and how the alcohol percentage increases, the yeast consumes itself in the process and dies out eventually which stops the process altogether. Then the liquid mash that is created is distilled and purified to get approximately ninety-nine point five percent Bioethanol. Thus this process of fermentation is a series of chemical reactions wherein the simple sugars are converted into ethanol. Yeast or bacteria, which feed on the sugars, cause the reaction and thus fermentation occurs. Ethanol and carbon dioxide are produced as and how the yeast consumes the sugar. There is a simple formula that represents the process of simplified fermentation reaction, which is as follows:

C6H12O6 (glucose) > 2 CH3CH2OH (ethanol)+ 2 CO2 (carbon dioxide)

In this kind of a process of production, bioethanol is derived from a variety of sugar and starch-rich crops, which includes grain, corn, sugar cane, and sugar beet. The process of traditional production of this kind of substitute fuel is well-known and easy process that only consists the fermentation of the sugar, similar to the process used to prepare beverages like whisky or vodka.

There is another process of making Bioethanol and that is presently in the phase of hypothesis wherein Bioethanol can be derived from materials that have lignocellulose which is primarily a strengthening substance found in the tissues of woody plant such as straw, cornstalks, wood chippings, or other organic materials that are often considered waste. When the usage of this method starts, the cost of production of bioethanol would be lesser than in the fermentation process, and the raw materials would be successfully grown in many more areas of the world.
This second process of production technology is supposed and hoped to be more productive than the first method since the output of Bioethanol would be doubled without straining the food chain as this process would allow the eco-friendly fuel to be produced from any organic matter. The output of this new process would be far more energy efficient than the previous process and would reduce the carbon dioxide emissions as well compared to biofuel, precisely Bioethanol produced by the process of fermentation.

Description of the process

• Firstly the biomass goes through a step that reduces the size of the material so that it is easier to handle and to make the production process more efficient. It is much like the grinding process that the agricultural residues go through so that the particles have uniform size.
• The next step is to treat the biomass in which the hemicellulose fraction of the biomass is broken down into simple sugars. It happens with the help of a simple chemical reaction called hydrolysis, which occurs when dilute sulfuric acid is mixed with the biomass feedstock. In this reaction, the complex chains of sugars in the hemicellulose are broken and that results in the releasing of simple sugars. The complex hemicellulose sugars are transformed into a mix of soluble five-carbon sugars, xylose and arabinose, and soluble six-carbon sugars, mannose and galactose. Small portion of the cellulose is also transformed into glucose. There are few enzymes that are used like the cellulase enzymes, which hydrolyze the cellulose part of the biomass. These enzymes are either produced in the last mentioned step or are to be bought.
• After the hydrolysis of cellulose, the glucose and pentose are fermented which gives "ethanol broth" as an output. A final step of dehydration has to be done to remove the excess water from ethanol and this step is therefore called Ethanol Recovery. Then the other by-products that include products like lignin are used to produce electricity that is required for the production of ethanol.

Presently this whole process is quite expensive therefore scientists are working hard to find out a way out and a cheaper process so that the production becomes cost effective that would also lead to a considerable increase in the usage of Biofuel.

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How To Make Biodiesel: The Three choices of using biofuel

Biodiesel becomes more and more popular every year. It’s popularity probably derives from the fact that biodiesel is so cheap and relatively easy to be made. You can make it in your own backyard or kitchen. It is far better than the original petro-diesel, it’s cleaner and better for the environment and your health.

Let’s talk about the three options you have when running a diesel engine on biofuel.

All three options can be used with vegetable oils, animal fat or both (it doesn’t matter if you use fresh or used oils):

- You can use the oil as it is
- You can mix the oil with another chemical supplement like kerosene, or gasoline or petroleum etc.
- You can convert the oil to biodiesel

Using the oil as it is can be clean and effective. Not to mention cheap also. But you have to make modifications to the diesel engine so that it is optimized for vegetable oil. You can find pre-modified diesel engines where you can use petro diesel, biodiesel and pure vegetable oil in any combination. There are engines with separate fuel tanks and a switch, you fill one tank with vegetable oil and the other tank with original petroleum diesel. Then you just turn on the engine using the tank with the original petroleum diesel and after a while you switch to the tank with the vegetable oil.

Mixing the oil with other supplements is your second option. Because vegetable oil is thick you mix it with a different type of fuel to make it thinner so that it flows easily into the combustion chamber of your diesel engine. Remember that using petroleum or kerosene to mix the vegetable oil, is not a clean option though. You can make various mixes (for example 20% vegetable oil and 80% of another diesel fuel). Some claim that if you use such a mix you have to preheat the engine, others just start the engine and go without preheating.

Your final option (and by far the best, in my opinion) is to convert the vegetable oil into biodiesel. Because biodiesel works in any diesel engine without the need to make any conversion or modifications to the fuel system or the engine itself. Just fill and go. Biodiesel is a much safer, clean, ready to use fuel that’s well tested. This option unlike the other two is backed by thousands of short-term and long-term research and tests by scientists around the world.

It’s a shame you buy so much expensive energy from you local electric company or the gigantic oil companies when you can learn how to make your own biodiesel easily and effectively in your own backyard. Take a look at this free biodiesel ebook on how to make biodiesel. The information on the book is straight from the university of Idaho.

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Alternative Cheap Fuel Sources for Diesel Cars

Alternative fuel can help save otherwise useless used oil from filling land dumps. Waste vegetable oil is recyclable and a renewable cheap source for diesel engines.

This jalopy of a vehicle certainly caught my attention when it pulled up in front of our health food store thirteen years ago. The signs in the windows were especially intriguing, "This automobile burns used vegetable oil". When the owner came in he evaded my barrage of questions and only deepened my curiosity by saying the oil that was fueling his car was from a deep fryer! Since I was driving a diesel and interested in alternative options, I was hooked.

The wonders of the internet made it easy for me to satisfy my curiosity and delve into the subject of alternative fuel sources. Trips to the library and a purchase of one particular book called "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" and I was on my way. I invested in all the hose and fuel lines with electrical fuel selector valves.

The main point is to raise the temperature of the vegetable oil to 180F to maintain the proper viscosity, which allows it to combust. So, on September 23rd, 1997, I made my first trip to work, 150 kms return, on WVO (waste vegetable oil). With the system working fine, it was time for a major road trip, 1100 kms round trip on WVO. Driving 120kms per hour with no problem. I had to stop to fill the tank with oil from the containers I brought with me. In total, the car consumed about 13 gallons of oil.

The exhaust, when running on WVO, smells like burnt deep fried oil. The emissions are considerably reduced and there is no sulfur. Restaurants are more than happy to give away the oil, as they have to pay, to have it taken away. It needs to be filter down to about 5 microns before it can be used so there will be no damage the injectors or the injector pump. The possibilities are endless, as any diesel engine can run on used vegetable oil. This is a win/win situation for everyone involved.

With over 200,000 kms of driving experience and two diesels that have been converted to run on veggie oil, I have found through trial and error the restaurants with the cleanest oil. Since the exhaust fumes of alternative fuel cars can smell like french fries, next time the scent of greasy fries hits you as you are on the highway, don’t look around to see if there is a restaurant close by, check to see if you are following a diesel car!

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Technorati Tags: car, Cars, Collection, fuels, Oil, restaurant, Vegetable

Alternative Cheap Fuel Sources for Diesel Cars

Alternative fuel can help save otherwise useless used oil from filling land dumps. Waste vegetable oil is recyclable and a renewable cheap source for diesel engines.

This jalopy of a vehicle certainly caught my attention when it pulled up in front of our health food store thirteen years ago. The signs in the windows were especially intriguing, "This automobile burns used vegetable oil". When the owner came in he evaded my barrage of questions and only deepened my curiosity by saying the oil that was fueling his car was from a deep fryer! Since I was driving a diesel and interested in alternative options, I was hooked.

The wonders of the internet made it easy for me to satisfy my curiosity and delve into the subject of alternative fuel sources. Trips to the library and a purchase of one particular book called "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" and I was on my way. I invested in all the hose and fuel lines with electrical fuel selector valves.

The main point is to raise the temperature of the vegetable oil to 180F to maintain the proper viscosity, which allows it to combust. So, on September 23rd, 1997, I made my first trip to work, 150 kms return, on WVO (waste vegetable oil). With the system working fine, it was time for a major road trip, 1100 kms round trip on WVO. Driving 120kms per hour with no problem. I had to stop to fill the tank with oil from the containers I brought with me. In total, the car consumed about 13 gallons of oil.

The exhaust, when running on WVO, smells like burnt deep fried oil. The emissions are considerably reduced and there is no sulfur. Restaurants are more than happy to give away the oil, as they have to pay, to have it taken away. It needs to be filter down to about 5 microns before it can be used so there will be no damage the injectors or the injector pump. The possibilities are endless, as any diesel engine can run on used vegetable oil. This is a win/win situation for everyone involved.

With over 200,000 kms of driving experience and two diesels that have been converted to run on veggie oil, I have found through trial and error the restaurants with the cleanest oil. Since the exhaust fumes of alternative fuel cars can smell like french fries, next time the scent of greasy fries hits you as you are on the highway, don’t look around to see if there is a restaurant close by, check to see if you are following a diesel car!

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Backus said he conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propa…   used about two gallons of diesel for every 20 gallons of vegetable oil. At that rate, he said he spent about $0.50-$0.60 per gallon of fuel in his car. He said that

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How and Where to Buy Essential Oils - Quality Testing & Adulteration Analysis

Essential oils are readily available from many health food and aromatherapy stores, via mail-order, and via companies that have Web sites. Although readily available, the quality of essential oils from one vendor to another can vary drastically whether you buy them locally or not. Additionally, the price charged is not necessarily an indication of the quality of the vendor’s oils.

It is vital to use only high-quality pure essential oils for optimum results. It is most unfortunate that many essential oils available on the market today are of poor quality and, therefore, cannot help alleviate health problems. Essential oil traders supply mostly to the perfume and food industries who are more concerned with the fragrance or flavour of an oil rather than its therapeutic effects.

These industries must always have essential oils with the same chemical formulae if they are to produce the same aroma and taste consistently, so they find it necessary to ‘adulterate’ oils to replicate aromas and flavours. Price is also a major consideration. Factors such as the weather, bad harvests, the variety of the plant, the composition of the soil, the time and the method of cultivation and extraction can affect the composition of essential oils greatly and this creates difficulties for the perfume and the food industries who seek standardisation.

Suppliers of essential oils will often adulterate their oils by adding synthetic ingredients, alcohols, vegetable oil, cheap chemical constituents or low-cost essential oils. They may even substitute an entire essential oil with a cheaper, similar oil for commercial gain (e.g. lavendin may be sold as lavender).

Essential oils used in aromatherapy must, of course, be as pure, natural and ‘whole’ as possible if they are to have the desired therapeutic effects. Synthetic materials which simulate the aroma and appearance of an essential oil cannot have the same therapeutic properties as an essential oil and should not be used in therapy.

Synthetic chemicals also carry the risk of harmful and unpleasant side effects, as do synthetic drugs. It is totally impossible to duplicate an essential oil in its entirety in the laboratory. Vital constituents and trace elements will inevitably be missing. It is the total of the components of an essential oil working together which produces a healing effect.

If oils are referred to as ‘nature identical’ this implies that the oil is synthetic and produced in the laboratory and is, therefore, unsuitable for aromatherapy. Synthetic oils also do not possess the ‘vital force’ or ‘life force’ of essential oils which comes from living plants. Chemicals also do not contain the ‘vibration’ of natural living plants.

Since most aromatherapy suppliers buy essential oils from importers who supply the perfume and food industries it is important to seek a supplier who deals mainly with essential oils intended only for therapeutic use.

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Biofuel or Biofool? Biofuel Production Needs Careful Planning

Biofuel production is being ramped up the world over, but at what cost? Replacing petrol with ethanol from food crops is a poorly thought out short term strategy. However, being able to make fuel from plant cellulose could truly be a key to a greener future for the whole world.

While we strive to deal with the imminent decline of world oil supplies we also need to consider the impact of oil alternatives. Biofuel production has been held up as a solution to our oil dependence. Biofuels have also been promoted as a replacement for oil, implying that we will be able to maintain our lifestyles even after the oil supply has run dry.

This is certainly a worthy goal, but how realistic is this and at what cost will this fuel be produced? The basis of biofuel production is the conversion of plant sugars into ethanol, which can then be used as a fuel. There are two broad types of sugars available in plants, and the choice of which to use as the fuel source directly affects the profitability of the fuel generated from the plant.

The first type are simple sugars, with one or two sugar molecules joined together. These are the sugars that we digest from plants, that are we get our energy from. These sugars are mainly present in the fruits of plants. An example of this is the corn cob. This part of the corn plant is high in energy. Making ethanol from this part of the plant is profitable since the sugar molecules are easily converted into ethanol with the help of organisms such as yeast.

The second source of sugars in the plant is in the plant body itself, the tough fibrous material called cellulose. This is comprised of the same sugar molecules present in the fruit, but are bonded together in long strands. These strands are very difficult to break down into simple sugars and involve complex enzymes such as cellulase. These can be produced commercially but this is an expensive process. The result of converting cellulose into ethanol is both a lower yield and a higher cost per unit of fuel, but its great advantage is that any plant matter, even cardboard and paper, can be converted into fuel. There is no need to reduce the availability of food with cellulose conversion.

At present virtually all biofuel production crops rely on simple sugars such as the cob of the corn plant and the sap of sugar cane. Such crops solve nothing - they are supplementing fuel supplies while reducing food availability. Given the rising global demand and price of food, use of agricultural land to make ethanol from simple plant sugars is at best irresponsible.

Biofuels may represent a partial solution to our energy needs, but they cannot be produced at the expense of food. Research into improving methods of breaking down cellulose needs to be done. If this can be done efficiently, bioethanol could mean a genuine step toward a clean energy world.

For more information on biofuels, carbon reduction, energy saving ideas, kids activities and solar power facts, visit my website, Green Planet Solar Energy.

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How Can I Benefit from BioDiesel?

With gas prices getting more expensive, greenhouse gasses on the rise, you should start looking at alternatives. Biodiesel has been getting a lot of publicity but is it the answer? Can you use it? If so how?

Biodiesel Fuel

If you have an interest in being environmentally friendly, then no doubt you’re aware of the damage fossil fuels are doing to our environment. Not only that, but at some point they will run out. Add in the recent jump in gas prices, and it’s hardly surprising that more people are talking about making their own biodiesel fuel. Although it sounds like a great idea, you need to consider a few points before going ahead and making your own biodiesel fuel.

What Is Biodiesel?

To start with, let’s take a look at what biodiesel fuel actually is. At its most simple, biodiesel fuel is made from either vegetable oil, animal fat, or mixture of the two. It’s a clean burning fuel that is made from renewable resources hence the name biodiesel.

Generally, biodiesel fuel is made from straight vegetable oil, sometimes referred to as SVO. So if you want to make your own biodiesel fuel, you’ll need to have an adequate supply of the basic ingredients. Unfortunately, most households don’t produce enough waste animal fat or vegetable fat to come anywhere close to making enough biodiesel fuel to keep the family car running.

Using Recycled oil

This has led to a whole new industry, with the basic aim of sourcing much larger quantities of raw product. They get together with restaurants, bakeries, and any other business that uses a deep fryer, so that they can collect the used oil for recycling. The oils are then blended and used as the basis for biodiesel fuel. The processes are the same as you’d use to make biodiesel fuel at home, but by having access to a much larger supply of raw products, these companies can produce biodiesel in quantities that are more viable.

Can I make it at Home?

One thing to remember is that it’s not quite this simple! Used vegetable oil needs to be mixed and stored, which can be quite a problem if you have large amounts of it. You also need to dewater, filter and deacidify the waste oil before it can be used for making biodiesel. This makes the production of biodiesel fuel at home a lot more complicated.

Having said that, it’s certainly still quite possible to make biodiesel fuel at home, simply by buying straight vegetable oil, rather than using waste products. Even though it will cost you a lot more, when you compare it to the cost of buying the necessary amount of gas to run your car for a year, you can still save an enormous amount - somewhere around 75 percent. Even better, you’re saving the environment too.

Can I mix it with Petroleum?

The short answer is yes! It can be blended with petroleum in any percentages and used as fuel. There is a fuel called B20 which is 20 percent biodiesel that has shown significant environmental benefits. It can be used in an existing diesel engine with either little or no modifications. The only thing to be aware of is that biodiesel acts as a solvent and can remove old deposits on on your fuel tank walls and your fuel lines. This may lead to a clogging of your filters so care should be taken. But hey - then you have a clean system!!

So if you’re interested in saving money and helping out the environment, look at the option of making biodiesel fuel at home. It takes a little bit of effort, but the rewards are definitely worthwhile.

Steve Dolan is an environmentalist concerned about global warming and non-renewable resources. Biodiesel may form part of the answer. Find out more by clicking BioDiesel and Alternative Fuels

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11 Most Frequently Asked Questions on Converting Your Car to Biodiesel
 by: David Sieg 7eb

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1. OK, So what do I need to do to convert my car to biodiesel?

First and foremost, you need to have a diesel engine car. Biodiesel CAN NOT be used in a gasoline engine. Having said that, any engine that runs on #2 diesel can also be run on biodiesel. This means, home furnaces, generators, semi-trucks, farm equipment, fishing boats, etc. There is really nothing you need to do and nothing you need to convert. Just use it the same as any other fuel. ‘Conversion’ becomes necessary when you want to run your diesel engine on Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) For some pre-1994 model vehicles it is said that you need to replace your rubber hoses with synthetic ones. But truthfully, unless you have a leak, I wouldn’t bother.

2. How much money will I save? It really depends on you, and how you decide to make your own biodiesel. For example, if you are using waste vegetable oil from restaurants, (free feedstock) and buying other ingredients in bulk, your savings are going to be substantial. Say, around $2.00 or more per gallon.

3. Is it true that a gradually increasing the amount of biodiesel in my diesel fuel is the best way to start using biodiesel in my vehicle?

Not necessary. There is no mechanical reason that I know of to support this. Any blend of biodiesel, from 100% biodiesel (B100) to 100% diesel can be used in any diesel engine.

4. Should I replace my fuel filter before using biodiesel?

Not necessary. Biodiesel is a solvent and as such will also start cleaning your diesel engine and your fuel system. What it is going to clean is the sludge left behind from regular diesel fuel. Over time, this sludge can clog your filters. The truth is, biodiesel will keep your car’s fuel system very, very, clean. The degreaser cleaning properties of biodiesel will clean the system of the accumulated diesel sludge/debris first. It might take weeks, months or years, who knows? Engines are funny. After a while, you may need to change your fuel filter, but you’ll need to change them anyway as a normal maintenance procedure. If it clogs up, or you are having a problem (loss of power, smoking, coughing, trouble starting, etc.) and you suspect it could be related to the fuel filter, then by all means, switch it out, they are fairly cheap anyway. Simply change out the filter and chances are your problems will go away. It’s not a bad idea to keep an extra fuel filter on hand anyway.!

..just in case. The good news is, once your engine’s fuel system has been cleaned, it will stay incredibly clean from then on.

5. I have heard that biodiesel will eat or degrade the rubber in my fuel system?

Biodiesel is a solvent and a degreaser (a good one) and as a solvent, yes, it will eat rubber over time. The truth is, petroleum diesel with a high sulfur content does this too, only slower. Biodiesel acts a lot like Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) that is now fast becoming the diesel standard. Also, since 1993, diesel engines and equipment have been reworked and redesigned, using synthetic rubber with ULSD in mind. The auto makers have been phasing out rubber from the fuel systems themselves. This is resulting in fewer fuel leaks for diesel and biodiesel users alike. If you have a pre-1994 vehicle with rubber fuel hoses and are experiencing leaking problems, then yes, you should replace them with ULSD compatible hoses.

6. If I switch to biodiesel and don’t like it, are there any problems with switching back to diesel again?

No problems at all. You can switch back and forth as much as you like.

7. How are automobile makers, and specifically their warranties, responding to biodiesel usage?

It’s kind of interesting to watch, truthfully. As the biodiesel industry gets older and wiser, more and more OEMs (Original engine Manufactures) are warming up to this idea and making positive statement about 100% biodiesel and this is reflected in their warranties. The truth is, it’s kind of tough for them to argue the fact. The diesel engine, after all, was designed for this. Caterpillar, John Deere, and New Holland all accept and explicitly warrant B100 biodiesel in their engines. Others are taking a more "wait and see" attitude. They are warranting blends like B20, or B5 but stop short of wholeheartedly endorsing the idea. Other say they "neither oppose nor endorse" the use of bio-fuels.

This is where it gets interesting; Mercedes and Volkswagen both sell cars in Europe and the USA with diesel engines and there is no problem with warranty issues in Europe, but here in the good ol USA, they don’t/won’t support the use of biodiesel or the biodiesel industry. So bottom line? One, check your warranty. Two, if a OEM wants to deny a warranty based on biodiesel use, they can. But legally, they have to show a compelling reason that biodiesel hurt the engine. Which would be very hard to do. This is a very good reason to use ASTM (Commercial biodiesel) fuels, especially in newer cars or trucks.

8. What is biodiesel made from, besides vegetable oil?

Because modern diesel engines have been modified to meet diesel #2 viscosity standards, straight vegetable oil like the kind Rudolf Diesel used in 1912, is much thicker. This is the thing which kept biodiesel out of the energy/fuel playing field for so long. What has happened recently is a process called "transesterification." This process is used to thin the vegetable oil and remove the glycerol molecule from the vegetable oil and replaces it with methyl alcohol , or methanol. In order to do this, the methanol is mixed with sodium or potassium hydroxide (Lye) before being mixed with the vegetable oil. This is the basic process. Commercial production requires more ingredients and more refining processes, but you get the picture.

9. Should I worry about residual methanol, lye, or glycerol?

For home-brewers, the possibility of residual ingredients or by-products in the brewed biodiesel is a compelling reason to "wash" then test the biodiesel. Biodiesel that is commercially sold, is regulated and made to the ASTM standard, does not allow for residuals to be present. Therefore, you should have little worry with commercial biodiesel .

10. I’m thinking about converting my car/truck to run on straight vegetable oil (SVO) because it does not involve all the chemicals, and is cheaper. Why doesn’t everyone just convert to SVO?

As we have said, just because the first diesel engines were designed to burn vegetable oil, a lot has changed in the engine world since 1912. Biodiesel fuel, to work efficiently in a modern diesel, we need to lower the viscosity (thickness) of the vegetable oil. we accomplish this through the biodiesel production process. It can also be accomplished by modifying the engine with a SVO Conversion kit. But additionally, there are other reasons not to use straight vegetable oil. One, it still contains glycerol which doesn’t burn as cleanly as biodiesel and can leave deposits behind in the injection chambers. Two, SVO still needs to be de-watered, filtered and heated prior to introducing it into your tank. Also, filtering SVO can be very tedious to say the least, needing lots of time and energy, not to mention equipment and tools

11. Will biodiesel work in kerosene heaters and/or oil furnaces?

The short answer is…yes. Biodiesel is 100% compatible with diesel #2. There are no worries in that regard. One of the compelling reasons to buy a biodiesel kit in my opinion is to get rid of that financial albatross, called "heating oil" in colder climates. A biodiesel kit can pay for itself in a matter of months, one winter definitely. Kerosene, which is also known as diesel #1, or heating oil #1, is thinner than diesel #2. This, of course, requires a bit more experimentation, but generally, if a heater is designed for kerosene, then it will work with a biodiesel blend. (meaning a higher percentage of kerosene and a lower percentage of biodiesel)

About The Author

David Sieg is the Managing Director of Global Biotechnology Solutions, an American Company based in Vietnam. He is also the author of the popular http://www.making-biodiesel-at-home.com web site where you can find all the information you need to start saving money of sky-rocketing fuel costs.

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How to Make Biodiesel - Making Biodiesel at Home

Biodiesel fuel is the answer to the polluting effects and rising prices of fossil fuels. Making biodiesel at home is an easy process… Learn how to make biodiesel at home in the easy step-by-step procedure given here.

Switch on the news on TV, open the newspapers, or browse the net - and one of the hottest topics being discussed is the adverse effects of pollution on the environment, people and animals. From smog to acid rain to global warming to cancer, fossil fuels are the main culprit. However, there is a clean, viable alternative fuel - biodiesel. If people learn how to make biodiesel fuel, not only can they have all the energy they need, but also not harm their health and the environment. Apart from being safer for the environment, biodiesel is also the much cheaper alternative. Plus, it is one of the best ways to lessen our being dependent on foreign oil.

What Exactly is Biodiesel Fuel?

Biodiesel is a fuel that is vegetable oil based, which can be used to run an unmodified engine - whether a truck, boat, bus or car. While it is usually derived from canola oil, recycled fryer oil can also be used to make it. It can be used in its pure form, or even be mixed with regular diesel. According to many environmentalists, biodiesel is the fuel of the future.

Biodiesel fuel is also one of the alternative fuels that have been tested the most thoroughly. And these tests have shown that while biodiesel performs just as well as petroleum diesel, it is a far more environment-friendly fuel.

While some claim that the United States does not have the capability of mass-production of biodiesel, however, it is a fact that at present there is the capacity of producing 200 million gallons, which is no mean amount.

How to make Biodiesel at Home

Essentially, biodiesel is derived by a chemical process known as transesterification. This basically involves the replacement of the glycerol component of the oil being used with an alcohol, which is done in the presence of a catalyst.

Although it may sound complicated, making biodiesel at home is quite a simple process. Farms all over the world have been using biodiesel for several generations; it is only becoming popular in the mainstream now because of the increasing need felt for finding viable alternative fuels to fossil fuels.

By using easily available ingredients, simple tools, and easy techniques anybody can learn to master how to make biodiesel, thus reaping the fuel cost cutting benefits of fuel production at home.

Step-by-Step Method of Making Biodiesel at Home

The first stage of making biodiesel is to collect the things you will require. These are:

• The oil
• A vessel for making the fuel in
• A settling tank
• A filtering system
• 95% pure sulfuric acid
• 99% pure methanol
• Prepared mixture of methoxide
• Measuring beakers and pipettes

1. Filter the oil in order to get rid of all particulate matter, like bits of fried food leftovers. Use a number of filtering screens. If you want to avoid this step of the process, you can just buy unused oil.
2. Heat the oil up to about 60 degrees C for about 15 minutes in order to remove any water that there may be in it. Then, put the oil in a settling tank and let it stand for 24 hours to allow it to separate. Then, either drain out the water from the top or from below.
3. Next, the oil should be measured precisely and heated until all the solids melt. It is important to measure the oil precisely so that the other ingredients that you put in are in correct proportions.
4. Then, using a ratio of 8% to the total amount of oil, add methanol that is at least 99% pure. The higher the purity of the methanol, the better.
5. Keep blending the methanol in the oil for about five minutes. At this stage of the procedure the mixture of oil and methanol will look cloudy.
6. Next, for every 1-liter of oil, add 1 ml of 95% pure sulfuric acid. Remember to be very careful, taking every safety precaution, while handling sulfuric acid, because it can be extremely dangerous.
7. Heating this mixture up to 35 degrees C, keep stirring it. Then, remove it from the source of heat and keep stirring it gently for 2 more hours. Then let it rest for about 8 hours.
8. After that, if you find that any of the mixture has solidified while it had been resting, reheat it lightly. Then, put half of a 12% volume methoxide mixture into it and stir for 5 minutes.

Tips and Precautions

• Try this process out on a small amount at first, say about 1 liter. Once you do that, you will know what to look out for when you handle a larger amount.
• The chemicals used in this process are hazardous; hence, you need to take every precaution before making biodiesel fuel at home.

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