journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
Two-stage biodiesel process 10 FOOLPROOF biodiesel process 11 Biodiesel processors 12 Biodiesel in Hong Kong 13 Nitrogen Oxide emissions 14 Glycerine 15 Biodiesel resources on the Web 16 Do diesels have a future? Check with the vehicle manufacturer and replace the parts with resistant synthetic parts (such as Viton B). It's easy, you can make it in your kitchen -- and it's BETTER than the petro-diesel fuel the big oil companies sell you. Your diesel motor will run better and last longer on your home-made fuel, and it's much cleaner -- better for the environment and better for health. If you make it from used cooking oil it's not only cheap but you'll be recycling a troublesome waste product. Best of all is the GREAT feeling of freedom, independence and empowerment it will give you. The first two methods sound easiest, but, as so often in life, it's not quite that simple. Mixing it If you're mixing SVO with kerosene or petroleum diesel ("dinodiesel") you're still using fossil-fuel -- cleaner than most, but still not clean enough, many would say. Still, for every gallon of vegetable oil you use, that's one gallon of fossil-fuel saved, and that much less carbon in the atmosphere. Most people use a mix of up to 30% kerosene and 70% vegetable oil, some use 50/50 mixes. Some people just use it that way, others say it needs at least pre-heating and probably a two-tank system too, like SVO (see below), and we agree with that. The same goes for mixes with vegetable oil and biodiesel -- usually 50/50. In both cases, you might get away with just using it with an older Mercedes 5-cylinder IDI diesel, which is a very tough and tolerant motor. So, to be safe, you're going to need what amounts to an SVO two-tank system with heating anyway, so you don't need the kerosene. If you're mixing SVO with biodiesel, you'll use very much less of it by using it in the second tank for start-ups and stops rather than mixing it 50/50. Some kerosene or #1 diesel mixed with biodiesel lowers the temperature at which it starts to gel, and a 50/50 mix with biodiesel will do the same for an SVO system. Message to the 109 Biofuel mailing list: "I stuck 3 litres of pure rapeseed oil from my local supermarket straight into the tank of my 1998 VW Caddy van. Once the dino had cleared the fuel lines, I was running on about 50% dino to 50% oil. The only differences I noticed were: A) the engine ran about 10 deg C cooler; As the weather is finally starting to warm up here, I may increase the oil/diesel ratio and see that happens. Then you'll set the stage for ring sticking, glazing of the cylinder walls, increased lube oil consumption and eventual engine failure -- if you can continue to get the thing started in the morning. More than 20% or so in the diesel is not a good plan for more than short term 'experiments'. Unfortunately, you're not doing anything new here, Nick, and if it was as easy as running high percentages of SVO in diesel, and being able to maintain reliability, we'd all have gone that way long ago. This raised a lot of interest after it was publicized on a British TV program -- "just add a spoonful". It also raised a lot of scepticism: "'experimental' at best" was the view of experienced SVO'ers, and "steer well clear" unless you have a 5-cyl IDI Mercedes (in which case you don't even need the white spirit). Work on blends of SVO with other solvents, such as butanol and ethanol, is still experimental. Straight vegetable oil With SVO you have to start the engine on ordinary petrodiesel or biodiesel to warm it up, then switch to the straight vegetable oil, and switch back to petro- or biodiesel before you stop the engine. If you don't do that you'll coke up the engine and the injectors. This means having two fuel tanks -- no simple matter with diesels, which have airtight fuel systems. Using SVO also means pre-heating the oil or it'll be too viscous (thick). But there's a lot to be said for straight vegetable oil systems -- running on straight vegetable oil while starting up and shutting down on biodiesel can be a clean, effective and economical option. More information on straight vegetable oil systems 111 here. Biodiesel Biodiesel has some clear advantages over SVO: it works in any diesel, without any conversion or modifications to the engine or the fuel system -- just put it in and go. It also has better cold-weather properties than SVO (but not as good as petro-diesel -- see 112 Using biodiesel in winter). And, unlike SVO, it's backed by many long-term tests in many countries, including millions of miles on the road. Biodiesel is a clean, safe, ready-to-use, alternative fuel, whereas it's fair to say that SVO systems are still experimental and need further development. On the other hand, biodiesel can be more expensive, depending what you make it from and whether you're comparing it with new or used oil (and where you live). And, unlike SVO, it has to be processed -- you have to make it. But the large and rapidly growing worldwide band of homebrewers don't seem to mind -- they make a supply every week or once a month and soon get used to it. And anyway, you have to process SVO too, especially WVO (waste vegetable oil, used, cooked), which many people with SVO systems use because it's cheap or free for the taking. WVO has to be filtered and dewatered, and probably should be deacidified, and SVO should probably also be deacidified. Most people use about 600 gallons of fuel a year (about 10 gallons a week) -- say US$360 a year. So with an SVO system you'll be ahead in a year or two, which is not a long time in the life of a diesel motor. Biodiesel Converting the oil to biodiesel is probably the best of the three options (or we think so anyway). Most major European vehicle manufacturers now provide vehicle warranties covering the use of pure biodiesel -- though that might not be just any biodiesel. Some insist on "RME", rapeseed methyl esters, and won't cover soy biodiesel in the US, but this seems to be more a trade-related issue than a quality-control one. Germany has more than 1,500 filling stations supplying biodiesel, and it's cheaper than ordinary diesel fuel. It's widely used in France, the world's largest producer. Virtually all fossil diesel fuel sold in France contains between 2% and 5% biodiesel. Some states in the US are legislating similar requirements. Biodiesel is more expensive than ordinary diesel in the US but sales are rising very fast and prices will drop in time. In the UK biodiesel is to be taxed less than petrodiesel and it's already available commercially. If you want to make it yourself, there are 115 several good recipes available for making high-quality biodiesel, and they all say what we also say: some of these chemicals are dangerous, take full safety precautions, and if you burn/maim/blind/kill yourself or anyone else, that will make us very sad, but not liable -- we don't recommend anything, it's nobody's responsibility but your own. On the other hand, a lot of people are doing it -- it's safe if you're careful and sensible. Lye is sold in supermarkets and hardware stores as a drain-cleaner, there's probably a can of it under the sink in most households. Methanol is the main or only ingredient in barbecue fuel or fondue fuel, sold in supermarkets and chain stores as "stove fuel" and used at the dinner table; Learn as much as you can first -- 117 lots of information is available. Make small 118 test batches before you try large batches. Start here: make a test batch of biodiesel using 1 litre of fresh new oil in a blender. If you don't have a spare blender, either get one (you can pick them up quite cheap second-hand), or try 120 this. Get some methanol, some lye and some new oil at the supermarket and go ahead -- it's a real thrill! It's all quite simple really, thousands of people are doing it, very few of them are chemists or technicians, and there's nothing a layman can't understand, and do, and do it well. The process Vegetable oils and animal fats are triglycerides, containing glycerine. The biodiesel process turns the oils into esters, separating out the glycerine. The glycerine sinks to the bottom and the biodiesel floats o...
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