Biodiesel is a biofuel made from pure plant oil, and treated with chemicals. It can be used in nearly any diesel engine, with little or no engine conversion. Unlike straight vegetable oilW, it can be used as fuel (new, or waste frying oil) in any engine.
Sources
Biodiesel can be made from any[verification needed] fat or oil, such as:
- fish oils (e.g. in Norway[1])
- vegetable oils, which are now often cheaper than regular fuel,[verification needed] if bought in bulk, and we consider that premium cooking oils are not needed.[verification needed]
- used deep frying fat or oil (which would normally be discarded, at economic and environmental cost) - take-away food shops typically have a regular output of this waste.
- Even fat from liposuction operations should be able to be used.[1]
Production from vegetable oil
Biodiesel production can be produced from straight or cleaned waste vegetable oil. This is not complex and can be done on a small scale. The vegetable oil is converted to a useable fuel by adding ethanol or methanol alcohol along with a catalyst to improve the reaction. Small amounts of potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide (commonly called lye or caustic soda, which is used in soapmaking) are used as the catalyst material. Glycerine separates out as the reaction takes place and sinks to the bottom of the container. This removes the component that gums up the engine so that a standard diesel engine can be used. The glycerine can be used as a degreasing soap or refined to make other products.
Costs
Biodiesel can be made DIY at 18 pence per liter whereas petrodiesel costs 1.32 pounds per liter in Europe.[2]
Advantages and disadvantages
An advantage of turning waste vegetable oil into biodiesel is that, although it still must be pre-filtered for particles, there is no need to convert the vehicle. You can just put it in your regular tank and drive. Biodiesel works like regular diesel.
Biodiesel produces less particulates than petrodiesel and is thus much less hazardous to the health of the population, particularly those living in urban areas exposed to significant levels of diesel pollution.[verification needed]
Suggested projects
- Search for literature discussing the health impacts of vehicle pollution, and different aspects of the pollution such as particulates vs other pollutants.[expansion needed])
- Design a relatively simple, reliable way of converting vegetable oil (waste and/or new) into biodiesel, to minimize the technical expertise and resources needed, perhaps making it more practical for production in small or medium-sized remote towns.[expansion needed]
- It is claimed by a guest on an episode of the UK TV show Top Gear[2] that adding a solvent makes straight vegetable oil runnier (less viscous) and better for use as fuel. The solvent used in the program is non-kerosene-based white spirit (non-kerosene based for tax purposes) added at 3% by volume to filtered used cooking oil. Does this work? Does it reduce the problems of straight vegetable oil, in terms of the long term effect on the car's engine and cold weather operation?[expansion needed] Can other (more common, ecologic) additives be used, e.g. oxyhydrogenW (using a oxyhydrogen booster), ethanol, methanol, ...)
See also
- Biodiesel Oven
- Biodiesel Tractor Conversion
- Biodiesel Truck Conversion
- Biodiesel auf Deutsch
- Pongamia pinnata, Karanja
References
- Tickell, J., Teickell, K., From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel, Greenteach Publishing, 1999.
External links
- Make your own biodiesel from Journey to Forever
- directions for making biodiesel
- Site listing biodiesel processors
- biodiesel processor
- Biodiesel conversion kits and processors
- Company producing processors
- biodiesel blog
- Footprint Recycling Providing biodiesel in Humboldt County
- NREL Biodiesel This is an excellent PDF going into some of the technical details of the chemistry and processes behind biodiesel production.
- Guide to Biodiesel
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel
- Collaborative Biodiesel Tutorial
- Some innovative DIY biodiesel equipment
- ↑ Fortune in fat, Aftenposten, 6 Dec 2006. Norwegian businessman Lauri Venoy owns a firm in Miami, Florida, was reported to be making an agreement with US hospital giant Jackson Memorial to supply 11,500 liters of human fat per week from liposuction operations.
- ↑ Biodiesel made by James Murphy