How to Make Biodiesel - Making Biodiesel at Home

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.