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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Chuck Magerl, owner of Free State Brewery, said people frequently came to Free State to get their waste vegetable oil. The restaurant stores its used peanut oil, the only cooking oil<… 

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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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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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Waste Vegetable Oil as Fuel

The best way of using waste vegetable oil is to use it as a fuel. For further information read on this article.

Waste vegetable oil is nothing but the used vegetable oil or cooking oil found in almost every kitchen. Many of the people throw out this used vegetable oil as they think it’s of no use. But do you know that this used vegetable oil or waste vegetable oil can be used as a fuel?

Yes, it’s true. The waste vegetable oil when recycled can be used as a fuel in the engine. Waste vegetable oils work best in diesel engines like diesel generators or diesel cars. The reason of using waste vegetable oil as fuel is that it has more advantages over petroleum diesel.

Vegetable Oil Fuel Conversion

Before using in diesel engines, waste vegetable oil has to undergo a fuel conversion. This can be achieved in two ways.

The first way is to filter the waste vegetable oil before using it as a fuel. The fuel conversion process requires an additional fuel tank, a heat source for heating the oil and a filter for filtering the oil. Waste vegetable oil has to be filtered as it contains many food particles. It has a relatively high viscosity compared to petrol diesel and is too thick to work in the engine and therefore requires to be heated before the use.

The second way of fuel conversion is to convert vegetable oil into biodiesel. This converted biodiesel can be used directly in diesel engines without further modifications. The conversion of waste vegetable oil into biodiesel is a very simple process, which can be carried out in a biodiesel factory.

This conversion can also be carried out at home but requires a proper care and caution. This is because some materials used for this conversion are poisonous, caustic and inflammable.

Advantages of using Waste Vegetable Oil as Fuel

There are many advantages associated with the use of waste vegetable oil as fuel. The first thing is that it is free of cost and is easily available in the kitchen. Secondly it produces fewer green house emissions like carbon dioxide and sulfur and thus reduces pollution to some extent.

The vegetable oil fuel conversion is a very cheap process and produces less dangerous emissions as compared to a diesel engine. And after the fuel conversion, there is tremendous decrease in production of emissions.

The conversion of waste vegetable oil into biodiesel is a bit expensive process than the above one but has many other advantages. The use of biodiesel contributes to reduction of many air toxic pollutants like dust, particles, carbon monoxide and sulfur oxide. It doesn’t require any special storage and is safer to handle as compared to petroleum diesel.

There are many factors that contribute to the efficiency of the fuel. The type and quality of the vegetable oil used, the systems used for filtering and heating, the maintenance of the systems used and the proper use of the systems are some of the factors that contribute. Efficiency of the fuel also depends upon the people developing this system. Whether or not they have a complete knowledge of how the system works.

So now it’s up to you whether to use waste vegetable oil as fuel or to throw out it. But I personally recommend using it as fuel due to the various advantages that it has over the petroleum diesel. Also, by using waste vegetable oil as fuel you may contribute a little in preventing global warming.

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The device, which is about the size of consumer-size refrigerator, includes a turn-key waste vegetable oil (WVO) refinery that automatically transforms even the most disgusting used cooking

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According to the company’s website Vegawatt is “a turn-key waste vegetable oil (WVO) refinery, automatically transforming the darkest, nastiest used cooking oil into fuel appr

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Once the modification is made by a professional, used oil or straight vegetable oil can be used as fuel. Straight vegetable oil can be purchased at the grocery store

 
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Vegetable Fuel. Olive oil is known for producing a flame and was used by the ancient Mediterranean peoples as a traditional lamp oil. In ancient Egypt, lamps used castor oil

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