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Willravel · 03-21-2005, 10:51 AM

According to this biodeisel website, Biodieselers using waste oil feedstock say they can make biodiesel for 60 cents US per gallon or less. Most people use about 600 gallons of fuel a year (about 10 gallons a week) -- say US$360 a year. For those who don't know, biodiesel is an interesting alternative to dino-oil (the stuff we're killing people over). While you need to process it, it's as trouble free as diesel, won't corrode your engine like pure veggie oil, and needs no engine change. It's a combination of oil (fresh, virgin, uncooked), methanol (the main or only ingredient in barbecue fuel or fondue fuel, sold in supermarkets and chain stores as "stove fuel"), and (sold in supermarkets and hardware stores as a drain-cleaner, there's probably a can of it under the sink in most households).

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 on top and can be syphoned off.

The process is called transesterification, which substitutes alcohol for the glycerine in a chemical reaction, using lye as a catalyst.

We use methanol to make methyl esters. We'd rather use ethanol because most methanol comes from fossil fuels (though it can also be made from biomass, such as wood), while ethanol is plant-based and you can distill it yourself, but the biodiesel process is more complicated with ethanol. (See Ethyl esters.)

Ethanol (or ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol -- EtOH, C2H5OH) also goes by various other well-known names, such as whisky, vodka, gin, and so on, but methanol is a deadly poison: first it blinds you, then it kills you, and it doesn't take very much of it. It takes a couple of hours, and if you can get treatment fast enough you might survive. (But don't be put off -- it's easy to do this safely. Safety is built-in to everything you'll read here.)

Methanol is also called methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha, wood spirits, methyl hydrate (or "stove fuel"), carbinol, colonial spirits, Columbian spirits, Manhattan spirits, methylol, methyl hydroxide, hydroxymethane, monohydroxymethane, pyroxylic spirit, or MeOH (CH3OH or CH4O) -- all the same thing. (But, confusingly, "methylcarbinol" or "methyl carbinol" is used for both methanol and ethanol.) In the US you can usually get it at race tracks.

Methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) doesn't work; isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) also doesn't work.

The lye catalyst can be either sodium hydroxide (caustic soda, NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH), which is easier to use, and it can provide a potash fertilizer as a by-product. Sodium hydroxide is often easier to get and it's cheaper to use. If you use potassium hydroxide, the process is the same, but you need to use 1.4 times as much. (See More about lye.) You can get KOH from soapmakers' suppliers and from chemicals suppliers. Other chemicals, such as isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) for titration, are available from chemicals suppliers.

You don't have to convert the engine to run it on biodiesel, but you do need to make some adjustments and check a few things.

Retard the injection timing by 2-3 degrees -- this overcomes the effect of biodiesel's higher cetane number. It also causes the fuel to burn cooler, thus reducing NOx emissions.

Petro-diesel leaves a lot of dirt in the tank and the fuel system. Biodiesel is a good solvent -- it tends to free the dirt and clean it out. Be sure to check the fuel filters regularly at first. Start off with a new fuel filter.

Check there are no natural rubber parts in the fuel system. If there are, replace them. Viton is best.

We might not have to drill anywhere (like Alaska) if we can start to shift the market to biodeisel, AS WE CAN ACTUALLY GROW VEGETABLES FOR FUEL. Any country able to grow produce should be able to start upping production, as the money from the oil industry shifts over to agriculture.

03-21-2005, 10:51 AM	#88 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	According to this biodeisel website, Biodieselers using waste oil feedstock say they can make biodiesel for 60 cents US per gallon or less. Most people use about 600 gallons of fuel a year (about 10 gallons a week) -- say US$360 a year. For those who don't know, biodiesel is an interesting alternative to dino-oil (the stuff we're killing people over). While you need to process it, it's as trouble free as diesel, won't corrode your engine like pure veggie oil, and needs no engine change. It's a combination of oil (fresh, virgin, uncooked), methanol (the main or only ingredient in barbecue fuel or fondue fuel, sold in supermarkets and chain stores as "stove fuel"), and (sold in supermarkets and hardware stores as a drain-cleaner, there's probably a can of it under the sink in most households). 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 on top and can be syphoned off. The process is called transesterification, which substitutes alcohol for the glycerine in a chemical reaction, using lye as a catalyst. We use methanol to make methyl esters. We'd rather use ethanol because most methanol comes from fossil fuels (though it can also be made from biomass, such as wood), while ethanol is plant-based and you can distill it yourself, but the biodiesel process is more complicated with ethanol. (See Ethyl esters.) Ethanol (or ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol -- EtOH, C2H5OH) also goes by various other well-known names, such as whisky, vodka, gin, and so on, but methanol is a deadly poison: first it blinds you, then it kills you, and it doesn't take very much of it. It takes a couple of hours, and if you can get treatment fast enough you might survive. (But don't be put off -- it's easy to do this safely. Safety is built-in to everything you'll read here.) Methanol is also called methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha, wood spirits, methyl hydrate (or "stove fuel"), carbinol, colonial spirits, Columbian spirits, Manhattan spirits, methylol, methyl hydroxide, hydroxymethane, monohydroxymethane, pyroxylic spirit, or MeOH (CH3OH or CH4O) -- all the same thing. (But, confusingly, "methylcarbinol" or "methyl carbinol" is used for both methanol and ethanol.) In the US you can usually get it at race tracks. Methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) doesn't work; isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) also doesn't work. The lye catalyst can be either sodium hydroxide (caustic soda, NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH), which is easier to use, and it can provide a potash fertilizer as a by-product. Sodium hydroxide is often easier to get and it's cheaper to use. If you use potassium hydroxide, the process is the same, but you need to use 1.4 times as much. (See More about lye.) You can get KOH from soapmakers' suppliers and from chemicals suppliers. Other chemicals, such as isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) for titration, are available from chemicals suppliers. You don't have to convert the engine to run it on biodiesel, but you do need to make some adjustments and check a few things. Retard the injection timing by 2-3 degrees -- this overcomes the effect of biodiesel's higher cetane number. It also causes the fuel to burn cooler, thus reducing NOx emissions. Petro-diesel leaves a lot of dirt in the tank and the fuel system. Biodiesel is a good solvent -- it tends to free the dirt and clean it out. Be sure to check the fuel filters regularly at first. Start off with a new fuel filter. Check there are no natural rubber parts in the fuel system. If there are, replace them. Viton is best. We might not have to drill anywhere (like Alaska) if we can start to shift the market to biodeisel, AS WE CAN ACTUALLY GROW VEGETABLES FOR FUEL. Any country able to grow produce should be able to start upping production, as the money from the oil industry shifts over to agriculture.