Monday, December 28, 2009

Biopro Biodiesel Processor

Biopro biodiesel processor helps you prepare biodiesel in your home. Though there are some other gadgets that prepare biodiesel they are not that much effective like this. The Biopro biodiesel is appreciated by many experts as it completely refines the fuel. Biopro biodiesel processor can be used conveniently anytime and at any place you preferred to do the refining of biodiesel. It can be used in automatic or manual mode. Most are using the automatic version while the rest preferred to do the manual procedure.

They are many Biopro biodiesel processors available in the market. There is no need for supervision when the machine is ON. This is definitely one of the most efficient machine processor that one can have. The waste vegetable oil can be given to some restaurants for cooking purposes.

The process involved in Biopro biodiesel processor is
•Start the process by pushing the single button in automatic mode.
•Glycerin byproduct shall be drained off, later than 24-hours.
• Together with 45-gallons of water, press the start button of the "wash" part to start cleaning your fuel.
• 24 hours later, you may already pump out the refined biodiesel fuel and proceed to the next batch.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Fuelmeister Biodiesel Processor

The Fuelmeister biodiesel processor helps in preparing green fuel at homes. One can prepare 60 pence per liter including the work involved. They come as complete system engineered with quality materials. The buyers can get all the specialized materials, equipments and supplies. You can start making the biodiesel the same day you receive the processor. It is so easy to do. Just by following certain guidelines you can start doing the biodiesel by yourself without anyone’s help. All you need to add is vegetable oil, methanol, methyalte solution, electricity and amberlite.

The Fuelmeister Biodiesel processor has been designed to take up the minimum amount of space and operation time. Because it’s a closed system you do not have to pour or stir any liquids. To run a batch of fuel it is easy to set the timer and press the two buttons. The processor will turn even heavily used cooking oil into clean burning, biodegradable and smooth – running biodiesel. It has angled plumbing for complete drainage. It is been engineered with all safety precautions. The most exciting thing about the Fuelmeister biodiesel processor is that it makes 150-600 liters in 8 hours. The biodiesel process is a well proven and reliable process.

Monday, November 30, 2009

BMW Biodiesel Fuel

Many biodiesel bikes and cars have been launched by BMW. The biodiesel when used in BMW should be of high quality. It is always recommended to use good biodiesel fuels in your vehicles so that it can have a long life. Try to change the filters more often. It is advisable to change it after you have filled the tank a couple of times. Use of biodiesel is appreciable, but be cautious of its quality. So it is always better to ask the person who sells biodiesel to show you a quality test. You can also get details of good quality biodiesel sellers for your BMW from your friends, relatives and through web. In the internet they have mentioned many places that sell higher quality biodiesel. But only after using we can give comments. So it always better to ask your friends and relatives and get the biodiesel from where they gets.

BMW car

The BMW Indonesia is doing research to make biodiesel from raw, green materials such as vegetable oil rich that is in iodine. According to a report in the Jakarta Post, the institutes are trying to find ways to convert it into effective alternative energy using hydrogenation.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Biodiesel Free Fatty Acids

Biodiesel is one of the products that come as a result of the reaction between oil and an alcohol. Vegetable oils and animal fats contain triglycerides or molecules with 3-carbon molecules that can be written chemically as CH2OCOR1-CHOCOR2-CH2OCOR3. Generally the oils like virgin vegetable oil, waste vegetable oil, algae oil, or animal fat reacts with 3 alcohol molecules to form a glycerin molecule, chemically CH2OH-CHOH-CH2OH and 3 molecules of biodiesel CH3OCOR1, CH3OCOR2, and CH3OCOR3. Where R1, R2, and R3 are one of several hydrocarbon chains, referred to fatty acyl groups. Vegetable oils with as little as 1 to 2 percent free fatty acid have been observed to cause difficulties with biodiesel production and separation.

So always it is necessary to use vegetable oils that have more amounts of fatty acids. The First method is esterifying the free fatty acids creates methyl esters, which is followed by the transesterification. The second method is to intensify the quantity of catalyst in single transesterification procedure. Therefore, the extra catalyst neutralizes the free fatty acids, which creates soap as a byproduct. Biodiesel are very useful in creating a green environment. They can be easily prepared in homes. The biodiesel fuels contribute a lot to the environment protection and control of pollution.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

TDI Biodiesel

Tdi biodiesel are eco friendly biodiesel that can be used in cars. Tdi biodiesel are best suited for cars. But be aware of the quality of biodiesel that you are using in the car. If the quality is not good then, it can cause some damage to the car spare parts. There are a lot of reviews and comments available in the net. You can have a glance in it before you plan to use Tdi biodiesel. Now days, biodiesel is used in many cars. One important thing that each and every biodiesel user should pay attention is QUALTIY.

Here’s a list of a few points to consider when buying a biodiesel.

• always get proper blended and treated biodiesel. Thickened fuel can starve the fuel injection pump, clog the fuel filter and atomize poorly when forced through fuel injectors.
• be cautious about the poorly washed fuel. It contains contaminates including corrosive methanol, water and glycerin.
• avoid long term storage of biodiesel, it attracts water. Which can end up with contaminates in the fuel.
Everyone is becoming more conscious in using eco friendly items. That too all are very particular in using eco friendly biodiesel. The mechanical experts say, “The use of Tdi biodiesel can minimize the potential risks”.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Biodiesel Business Opportunities

Though the biodiesel industry has just now come into field it is becoming a very big business for many people. Definitely in future there is a good biodiesel business opportunity. There is an explosive growth for biodiesel from 2004. Currently 171 plants sites are there in North America with 60 new plants are under construction or expanding. It is growing from cottage industry to a recognized renewable motor fuel. The biodiesel refining spans two different commodity markets namely agriculture and energy. Agriculture markets determine feedstock prices of Soya bean oil, canola, animal fats etc. Energy markets determine biodiesel sale prices of diesel fuel/heating oil. Alternate feedstock still offers a positive business model. Plenty of biodiesel plants are constructed with new job opportunities. Sustainable plants with multiple feedstock capabilities operate in complex chemical environment.

There is a lot of business opportunity in this biodiesel field. The banks have also started encouraging people doing biodiesel business by giving loans. There are many local and international trends emerging. There are many integrated biodiesel companies and also there is a vast opportunity for peoples in biodiesel business. Definitely almost every vehicle user will change to biodiesel so definitely it will fetch a good profit to the biodiesel business man.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Transesterification Biodiesel Mechanism : What is it about?

It is the most common and frequently mentioned process mentioned when we talk of biodiesels; the most vital process in production of biofuel from various vegetable oils and animal fats byproducts. Knowing the basics of transesterification biodiesel mechanism elevates our appreciation and understanding of biofuels and its impact on our societies at present and the future to come.

Simply put, transesterification is a straightforward refining process of oils from animals and vegetables, employing reaction from both with short-chain alcohols, usually ethanol or methanol. The biodiesel production process involves purification, neutralization of free fatty acids from the oils, then there is the actual transesterification process in itself, followed by the final process to produce the biofuel. In purification, waste vegetable oils are filtered and cleaned, and rid of present non-oil elements. In this stage, water is also removed in preparation for the transesterification. Neutralization follows, wherein cleaned the filtered oil is titrated to determine presence and volume of free fatty acids. Transesterification is then employed after these two processes.

The most well-known method of transesterification, also used widely and considered cost-effective, is called base-catalyzed reaction. This process converts oil directly to methyl ester, and because it employs low temperature and low pressure in processing that base-catalyzed reaction is the choice of manufacturers of biodiesel. Also needed for this process are conventional equipments which may be constructed in the simplest manufacturing plants. More importantly, through base-catalyzed reaction, there is almost perfect conversion of oil to biodiesel in less time, and side reactions are minimal. The end of the process sets in when the lower layer of glycerine and other waste products can be determined apart from the mixture of biodiesel and alcohol.

At present, transesterification hastens and ensures quality biodiesel in the industry, contributing to its rapid growth in the recent years. With almost 350 gallon capacity produced every year, it can be said that more and more people can readily avail of biodiesel and begin an environment – friendly lifestyle.

When we come to understand the transesterification biodiesel mechanism, we greatly appreciate its role in the total process of producing a wise choice of biofuel. We come to understand the complexities of biodiesel that brings us great economic and environmental benefits, and we come to understanding we are contributing to energy security while we have at hand good, alternative fuel as well.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Biodiesel Engine Conversion Kits

Gas price hike has been the common dilemma every people in each country are facing. This is the reason why they are continually seeking for the best methods to solve this problem. One of these methods is by setting fuel (more specifically biodiesel) to their vehicles. If you are one of these people who are looking for the best way to cut your gas expenses, then you need biodiesel engine conversion kits.

What is a biodiesel conversion kit? What does it do? Does it help? Can it help you? If you want the answers to this question, then read the information below.

A conversion kit reduces the gas expenses for most vehicle owners. This is known as one of the ways in which one could save money. This way can be very useful to those who are looking for easy but efficient methods. Move. Start looking for the kit and save money for the whole family.

This said biodiesel kit will also help the client to save the earth from global warming due to the key features of biodiesel that are surely environment friendly.

The use of the engine kits will also lessen the burden of paying higher amounts for gas and for helping the government from being dependent to some foreign producers and or sellers.

Starting the use of the biodiesel fuel through conversion of your engines can also change the way the Earth turns. It can change the day-to-day news from those that are negative to positive news like lesser price of gas.

Biodiesel Engine Conversion Kit

Furthermore, a biodiesel engine conversion kit can be the most efficient kit to be used to produce biodiesel through altering vegetable oil. Do not worry because your biodiesel can be used in your vehicle even if it is made for other kinds of fuel. However, do not forget that the damage of the engine’s vehicle will not be entertained by the manufacturer if the reason is your conversion of fuel used. What is the reason behind this? A few manufacturers endorse the use of biofuel because it will negatively affect their profit.

On the other hand, this rule varies depending on the seller of your vehicle. In addition to this, older vehicles have the conversion kits available in the market that can also cleanse the production of biodiesel.
Here are the prerequisites for the conversion kit: vegetable oil, methanol, and tap water. You need an ample source for the vegetable oil. Restaurants can serve as the best source. Most kits are set overhang or in shed.

Remember that biodiesel engine conversion kits can be as expensive as more features are included. The most expensive are the models that stop odors in the refining process. Refining can be very good for the engine. Expensive kits are the easiest to use, buy that if you can afford.

Instead of spending too much for the price of your gasoline, why not save more money? You can always use the money to upgrade your engine and for maintenance purposes.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Biodiesel Emissions Statistics

Today, most of the leading manufacturers are seeking the methods of producing biodiesel based engines. Most of the sellers are also looking for producers to buy some engines that are biodiesel based because most of their customers are seeking for that kind of engine.

Did you ever ask why did biodiesel incarcerate the interest and the attention of the fuel users, producers, and even sellers? How this biodiesel did reach its popularity? What are its features that make it reach the top?
Yes, most of the producers are trying to create engines that are adaptable to vegetable oil and diesel fuel mixture. The reason maybe is the fact that according to studies, the use of biodiesel aids the United States on lessening its dependence for oil to foreign suppliers. This is the said benefit of biodiesel.

According to one of the biodiesel emissions statistics, owned produced biodiesel will be a great help to keep the cost of production lesser. This said lesser cost of production can be utilized as calamity or emergency funds (for example earthquake).

Another benefit from biodiesel is that it keeps the farmers in employment. Due to the fact biodiesel is extracted from specific plants; its production means a living to the farmers.

In addition to this, plants like canola as well as soya can be used for biodiesel merchandise. Aside from giving jobs to farmers, production of biodiesel also leads to a good market situation for the soya bean surplus production.

In fact, the smoldering of fossils compared to the production of biodiesel will provide more oomph to the environment.

It is also said that the use of biodiesel and its production is indeed self-sustaining. This is because biodiesel is renewable.

Other life cycle investigations give an idea about the fact the more energy units are achieved in biodiesel production life cycle than fossil fuel production. This said life cycle of the biodiesel fuel is said to take no effect to cropping, shipping, fabrication, and allocation of the soya beans as well as canola to the clients.
In fact, according to the studies sponsored by the Agriculture and Energy department, production and utilization lessens the emissions of carbon dioxide.

Another benefit of this biodiesel fuel to the clients is that it shows a trace of air pollution reduction as well as greenhouse gases emission reduction.

Another biodiesel emissions statistics proved that the use of biodiesel is four times more efficient unlike other fuels. Also, biodiesel lessens the noxious carbon dioxide and ozone that contributes to global warming. In addition, biodiesel production also helps in lessening the sulfur dioxide release. With these statistics, biodiesel can indeed be concluded as the most efficient and beneficial fuel in the field of automotive.

Nevertheless, it is also evident that despite the growing popularity of the biodiesel’s benefits, a few producers endorse it because it cuts their profit. Though, you can still make a home made biodiesel as a solution to the environmental and economic dilemmas that the globe is facing.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Making Biodiesel from Animal Fat

Recent studies state that in economic haste to power vehicles with biofuel, crops productions now are geared away from food consumption. This disturbance in the law of supply and demand has forced institutions to look deeper into other options for fuel, bent toward making biodiesel from animal fat.

Other options must be furthered considering soy oil, chicken fat and tallow present potentials as biodiesels as well. Close to half of the projected over one billion gallons of biodiesel in 2012 could be attributed to biodiesel. Developing stories like Tyson Foods’ push for a renewable energy division could very well contribute over 2.3 billion pounds of chicken each year! Loosely said, when that time comes, Tyson Foods could produce 300 million gallons of biodiesel!

Even oil giant Conoco Phillips is looking seriously into a scheme with Tyson Foods, targeting production of 174m gallons of low-sulphur biodiesel. Conoco Phillips aim to benefit from the fat byproducts the cows, pigs and chickens which Tyson Foods processes into its finished products. At present, these byproducts are bought by the cosmetics and pet food industries. The new venture of both will find Tyson shipping a large part of animal fat to the refineries of Conoco Phillips for the latter to process it into biodiesel.

Many studies have stated animal fats perform better in biodiesel, prompting many private companies to venture or invest in companies producing animal fats. Commonly used animal fats tallow and lard are used for biodiesel because they are largely composed of saturated fatty acids. Other advantageous to this form of fuel is that animal fats have as high as 74 cetane numbers, translating to better diesel engine performance. Animal fat also lessens exhaust and emissions, have greater engine efficiency.

The cost issue is settled on animal fat as it results to better engine performance and competence. Moreover, biodiesel from animal fat has very minute harmful emissions and noise pollution when put against other forms of biodiesel.

True, the energy crisis won’t be solved with all the fat from thousands of slaughterhouses around the world. With such unbelievable usage of diesel use, the successes of making biodiesel from animal fats are just a pinkie! But if more and more countries and government pursue this method of fueling industries and cars alike, a great revolution would begin. Clearly, when biodiesel becomes a way of life for many cultures, greenhouse gas emissions are decreased and use of fossil fuels will be a thing of history.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Biodiesel From Coffee Grounds

The price of gasoline can be very burdensome to the households around the globe. As a result, more scientists are conducting studies and devoting their time to experiment on possible sources of cheaper and efficient gasoline sources.

These scientists succeeded because aside from inventing the conversion kits for vegetable oils into biodiesel; today, coffee grounds can also be converted to produce biodiesel. Let me discuss the new breakthrough in the world of automotive – the biodiesel from coffee grounds.

In fact, scientists from the Nevada are proving that coffee grounds are not only waste but also can produce affordable, plentiful, and environmentalist source of fuel that can be used to run the engines of vehicles from cars to trucks.

On the other hand, another study was conducted in the laboratories of Narasimharao Kondamudi and Mano Misra. This experimentation leads to the prevalent utilization of biodiesel. It also proves the affordable and high class of an energy source.

The study also showed that these supposed to be “ravage” contains eleven to twenty percent of oil that can be used to produce biodiesel fuel. This said oil is measured by weight. This said measure is more than the palm, soy bean, as well as rapeseed can produce.

This can be connected to the Growers product production of sixteen billion grounds of coffee (measurement in pound) every year. This said production is allocated to the whole world every year. The waste grounds are used to make a variety of coffee mixture. This said measurement can be used to create gasoline to contribute to the needs of the world today. This was concluded through an experiment of conversion of coffee grounds into biodiesel.

Another interesting fact in the biodiesel from coffee grounds is that it smells like java. Due to this feature, coffee based fuel is said to be more stable that those conventional fuel available in the market today.
Furthermore, the materials left from the alteration of the coffee grounds, can also be converted to other useable compost as well as ethanol, this is all according to the experiment conducted.

Moreover, the terrific result and finding is that this method will allow the United States to profit more or less eight million dollars for a year. Compute the amount for each country that will be benefited with this innovation. Imagine how many countries are in the map. Imagine how many people will be saving money and how much money will be saved.

Biodiesel from coffee grounds is indeed an emergent market in the world today. Approximations by the scientists and related teams recommend and advocate that three billion biodiesel fuels will be made in 2010 (all these are measured in gallons).

These computations are not only from coffee grounds but also from the oil of peanut, vegetable, animal, cooking, and soybean.

In addition to this, fuel of biodiesel can be put in the standard fuel. It can not only be used as a substitute but also can be used as a fuel by itself.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Biodiesel Algae Disadvantages

Biodiesel algae disadvantages are listed in the following paragraphs. But do the following questions ever cross your mind: Does biodiesel from algae really exist? What are biodiesel algae? What are the characteristics of this type of biodiesel? What are the biodiesel algae disadvantages?

Let us try to answer the questions one at a time.

First, yes, it is. There are really existing biodiesel algae. These are also named as oilgae.
Second, biodiesel algae or oilgae are considered third generation biofuel. According to Dictionary.com, biofuel is derived from biomass; furthermore it is generated from renewable resources.

In addition to this, biofuel is said to charge a very low price when it comes to production cost.
In contrast to other traditional methods of producing biofuels, this kind of biofuel produces more energy for every acre weigh against the land required for production.

For the third and fourth question, let me present the disadvantages of biodiesel algae. Today’s scientists are conducting research and studies on the possibility to create fuels to be used in the following everyday tasks: producing biobutanol, vegetable oil, and bioethanol. This said alga culture is also seeking to produce other kinds of biofuel. In addition to this, most studies show and most scientists prove that the strategy and experimentation used in these studies are indeed suitable to produce other variety of biofuels. In addition to this, some experts say that the production of biofuel will be the most practical way to sustain the problem of gasoline shortage for the automotive world.

As well as biodiesel, biofuels are also considered environment friendly. It is used as the best means to decrease the gas from green house productions. In this way, biodiesel may also be used to help in the world’s problem on global warming. Biodiesel will not only be an environment friendly fuel but also a user friendly fuel.
In contrast to this idea, according to the findings of Paul Cotzen (a Nobel Laureate), one of the biodiesel algae disadvantages is that it contributes more to the dilemma of global warming.

In fact, in Paul Cotzen’s experiments, this biodiesel in rapeseed and in corn, produce more nitrous oxide that gradually contribute to the global warming that the world is facing today.

This said investigation is proved by other scientists who say that compared to the emissions from fossil fuels, biodiesel is more an element to the global warming.

In addition to these disadvantages, studies show that the production of biodiesel algae incarcerates more carbon dioxide and dinitrogen oxide in the atmosphere. This occurrence will also lead to global warming. This event usually occurs more or less forty percent in a normal weather and eighty percent in sunlit weather. Furthermore, production of algae results to oil production of about thousands of biodiesel for every year.
According to one scientist, biodiesel can be sustaining the sources for edible oil. This means that it will not only affect the weather through aggravating global warming.

I hope that this article enlightened you about the biodiesel algae disadvantages.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Biodiesel is The Best Alternative Energy

The term biodieselhas been used a lot lately in the news due to increased prices in gas. This type of fuel is a cheaper alternative to rising fuel prices that countries are facing these days. Biodiesel is a non petroleum based diesel fuel which is made primarily with vegetable oil or animal fat. Or it can be combined with other products to obtain a suitable consistency that is right for your vehicle.

Biodesel can be used separately as an alternative to gas or can be blended with other products. There are a lot of benefits to a person using this type of fuel, but there are some disadvantages as well. The main advantage of using this product would be the cost efficiency, but the main disadvantage would be that some of these blends tend to be a little hard on certain car parts. Especially in cars manufactured before the year 1992. But the argument to this is that these certain parts would have worn out anyway.

So if your looking for a cheap alternative to the high rising gas prices in today’s world, then maybe you can check into make some biodiesel for yourself. With tons of information on the Internet regarding biodiesel and biodiesel fuel, you can find out how to make your own fuel. Then when the high cost of gas gets too out of hand, you will have comfort in the knowledge that you created your own fuel at a fraction of the cost that it would cost you at the pumps.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Soybean Biodiesel Production

The recent years witnessed the publicity rush that biodiesel is the ultimate answer to energy problems all over the world. Indeed, governments, companies and industries, and environment groups are moving mountains to attain secure future for the coming generations. Other responses to the energy crisis range from use of animal fat byproducts and soybean biodiesel production and varied biodiesel tax credits and incentives.

Biodiesel or B100 is the cleanest option of burning fuel because it emits fewer pollutants. Moreso,
with its use, biodiesel is considered good for the environment as it is made of renewable resources, does not increase the harmful CO2 level in the atmosphere, and has considerably lower emission than petroleum diesel. Scientists and environmentalists alike put forward the fact that using 100% biodiesel fuels lessen dangerous greenhouse gases by 75%.

Among a variety of biodiesels comes soy biodiesel, an alternative fuel produced from soybean oil.
In four years since 1999, about half a million gallons of soybean biodiesel has been produced, and
mainly used in the United States alone. With very minute or no modifications, soy biodiesel can
be used in diesel engines, and fuel trucks, buses and cars. In a process called transesterification,
methyl esters and glycerin are produced with the former used as the biodiesel itself.

Like all biodiesels, soybean biodiesel production is a cheaper choice, considering the negligible expense one makes when choosing this product for fuel. This leading feedstock for biofuel may cost higher at than $1 per gallon, but is projected to decrease over the years as use of biodiesels are now being the chosen lifestyle of a growing number of people. Point is, biodiesels may cost a few cents more but this can be dismissed when you seriously look at the benefits you get with your choice of fuel.

In the US alone, there are sufficient foodstuffs made up of soybean and vegetable oils and animal fats to make close to 2 billion gallons of biodiesel. Refuting claims of costly soybean biodiesel production, studies finally revealed that they produce more energy than is needed to grow the crops and then convert them to biofuels. With this, the soybean industry has been advocating use of biodiesel as well, flashing the help such method offer the environment and economy of the country. The same industry touts the versatility of soybean biodiesel which can be available to any citizen, stressing further that it has higher net energy benefit than other biodiesel sources.

For its high quality fuel advantages and benefits to the environment, for the energy security it provides the human race and the economic potentials it pose, soybean biodiesel production may just be one of the apt responses each one can make today.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Cost of Biodiesel 2009

Biodiesel these days can be either bought from companies producing them or produced on your own methods. Cost of Biodiesel 2009 elaborates the numerous benefits of making biodiesel a way of life. Stated here is the definite monetary cost of biodiesel to help you understand where your money is spent on. To better understand, biodiesel prices are compared with other fuel costs by the mile.

Per mile, one spends 8.2 cents on biodiesel. This is already B100 or 100% biodiesel cost; a deal . that gets you 37 miles in the city, and 45 miles on the highway. A mixture 80% petroleum-based diesel and 20% biodiesel (also known as B20) gives the same mileage both in the city and on the highway, however, B20 costs only 6.0 cents per mile.

Cost of unleaded gasoline averages at 6.9 cents per mile; one gallon of unleaded gas takes you 25 miles in the city, some 31 miles on the highway; while you need to shell out 5.2 cents for every mile with your usual petroleum-based diesel. With a gallon, your vehicle can run about 38 miles in the city, or 46 miles when traversing the highway.

In sum, the mileage you get with biodiesel at a slightly higher cost is a shrug-off. Besides, crude oil prices’ prominent movement are always upward! If you’re unconvinced of this wisdom, think this: biodiesel cost, over time, will certainly go down. While waiting for that day, focus on the fact that you’re spending a teeny-weeny bit more on biodiesel BUT contributing a lot to a healthier environment.

The cost of biodiesel 2009 may seem a minor splurge, knowing that your usual diesel fuel is the cheapest on the list, and gives your the best mileage besides. The point against this fact is that biodiesel are cost effective to your finances and largely, to the environment – these last three concerns far more outweigh the lower cost and better mileage benefits of the conventional fuel you use.

Consider this, in 2004, biodiesel cost $5 a gallon. Currently, it costs between $3 to $3.50, a trend of its price decreasing over the years. More than its softening cost, biodiesel has been tested and proven to run cleanest among its contemporaries and helps clean and lubricate your engines, sparing you costly maintenance woes.

Use of biodiesel and making it a way of life does not end when you pump the gas to your car. Cost of Biodiesel 2009 is simply a new beginning to your huge contribution to the US economy as well. This is because when use of biodiesel is fully rolled out and finally surpass use of diesel and gasoline, feedstock prices of vegetable oils will swell. Also, tax credits offered at limited time are being handed out by the government in the biodiesel production. When the day comes that biodiesel will be everyone’s choice of fuel, its market price decline and even lowered production cost is something we will be thankful for.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Biodiesel Advantages and Disadvantages

Biodiesel is defined as a kind of a fuel extracted from the plants of the oil. This kind of fuel can also be obtained from used cooking oil. Some says that biodiesel is predominantly utilized in the European countries.

In addition to this, biodiesel has also similar features to diesel (that is also based on petroleum). Both are alike in physical and chemical features. Both are also used for the operation of ignition engines and diesel engines. Due to these characteristics, biodiesel is said to be one of the cheapest fuel to use.

Aside from the above mentioned features of biodiesel these are the other biodiesel advantages:

First, the users of biodiesel fuel are assured of safety and easy handle. This means that utilizing biodiesel will not cost any danger to the part of the client. Another feature that biodiesel has is its being user-friendly.

Another advantage of biodiesel fuel is that it does not contain sulfur. It is also free from aroma.

The third advantage is that it operates in any kind of basic engine. This will be a great help for the clients who will utilize this kind of fuel.

In addition to this, the fourth advantage of biodiesel is that it lessens and gets rid of the acid rid. This acid rain is said to be causing sulfur oxide that may raze the engine.

The fifth of these benefits is that it has less toxic unlike most fuels that emit more toxic.

Biodiesel fuel contains large number of octanes. This means that it is safe for the environment and the health of the people.

For vehicles which are using biodiesel, lubricity will be a big issue because vehicles using biodiesel will definitely have an improved lubricity.

Aside from the enhanced lubricity and aside from being a user friendly fuel, biodiesel fuel has also an enhanced feature of conductivity. In contrast to other fuels utilized by the vehicles, it has low sulfur content.

To summarize the advantages of biodiesel, one can say that it is indeed renewable. This means that it can be replaced by innovative growth. This description is in contrast to other fuels which are limited in number.

Due to these above mentioned facts about the advantages of biodiesel, it is reaching its peak of fame and status among leading clients.

On the other hand, the following are the disadvantages of biodiesel fuel.

First, is its stumpy content of energy; compared to petroleum based fuels, it has less 11% energy. This ends to power loss among engines.

Another is the operation’s quandary of the engine. Most of the vehicles today are designed as petroleum based; thus, using biodiesel fuel may lead to the engine’s problem on performance.

Next, the predicament in storage and management; unlike petroleum based products continuing storage will result to poor oxidation. This may lead to plugged filters. Biodiesel is also prone to microbial development.

The advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel are already listed. It is up to you to make a choice.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Biodiesel Tax Credit 2009: Helping You Because You Deserve it!

In your effort to be friendlier with the environment, the Biodiesel Tax Credit of 2009 is now available. Surely, your family’s finances and investments are now easier to manage, considering the less taxing purchasing process, and the refunds made available thru this credit. This manner of support to your own small ways of helping Mother Earth live healthy for the coming generations are actually doing your family big favours. Read more to know how you can be refunded, the variety of wise and eco-friendly alternative energy stocks,:

The interior and outdoor of your home might have undergone facelift to produce an eco-friendly lifestyle for your family. Some rewards for your conscientious efforts are provided by the Biodiesel Tax Credit 2009, ranging from your new windows, replaced lights and lighting system, a remodelled and refurnished kitchen, and newly installed air conditioning and heating structure.

Installing new energy-efficient windows in your home bring both more light to its cozy core, and a lighter family budget. Along with double-panelled windows, these two types are qualified for claims of federal tax deductions if installed before December 31, 2009. Deductions can be 10% of total installation cost up to $200 for all windows put up, including storm windows and skylights.

Changing your house lights and lighting systems can get you similar tax credits as well. When you replace old, costly bulbs with energy-efficient ones, not only are you strengthening the environmental movement as a family, you also the Biodiesel Tax Credit 2009 and put it to better use for your children’s future.

Other practical and energy-saving changes at home are plentiful! Instead of throwing used batteries, recharge! This task will help you save money and is a friendly daily good turn for Mother earth. When bent on a new kitchen appliance, bend further for those that are rechargeable. There are plenty of competent models of blenders and other food processors, microwave and coffeepots. The choice to use and purchase these kinds of appliances is a get a refund while doubling their property worth.

Wise and eco-friendly investments are also paying off, with a wide choice of companies who, like you, look forward to a hearty earth in the future. “Green” mutual funds take your money and invest them in companies that are your able partners, while alternative energy stocks investments allow you an advantaged playing field of saving Mother Earth.

Even when buying a car, your “green” efforts can earn you incentives. If you buy a new plug-in electric vehicle, you automatically line-up for a tax credit! Vehicles manufactured after 2006 and are of hybrid and biodiesel make can qualify you from the same benefit. Based on battery capacity, date of manufacture and hybrid capacity, tax credits range from $2,500 to $7,500! With that much, you can further provide a better future for your family. Truly, Biodiesel Tax Credits 2009 is paving is grateful way to your family’s well-being – all because you deserve it!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Making Algae Biodiesel

Currently most research into efficient algal-oil production is being done in the private sector, but predictions from small scale production experiments bear out that using algae to produce biodiesel may be the only viable method by which to produce enough automotive fuel to replace current world diesel usage.

Algae are harvested using a device called photobioreactors. Microalgae contain lipids and fatty acids as membrane components, storage products, metabolites and sources of energy.

Biodiesel can be made from algae by using centrifuges. Feedstock preparation - In this case, algae must first be separated from its medium, then the oil extracted from the algae. Separation of transesterification products – Biodiesel and glycerine must be separated, and any leftover reactants removed. Water wash – Biodiesel can be washed of soap and glycerine using a centrifuge. Magnasol solids removal - As an alternative to water washing, it may be possible to wash the biodiesel in Magnasol.

Studies show that algae can produce up to 60% of their biomass in the form of oil. Because the cells grow in aqueous suspension where they have more efficient access to water, CO2 and dissolved nutrients, microalgae are capable of producing large amounts of biomass and usable oil in either high rate algal ponds or photobioreactors. This oil can then be turned into biodiesel which could be sold for use in automobiles. The more efficient this process becomes the larger the profit that is turned by the company. Regional production of microalgae and processing into biofuels will provide economic benefits to rural communities.

The algal-oil feedstock that is used to produce biodiesel can also be used for fuel directly as "Straight Vegetable Oil", (SVO). The benefit of using the oil in this manner is that it doesn't require the additional energy needed for transesterification, (processing the oil with an alcohol and a catalyst to produce biodiesel). The drawback is that it does require modifications to a normal diesel engine. Transesterified biodiesel can be run in an unmodified modern diesel engine, provided the engine is designed to use ultra-low sulfur diesel, which, as of 2006, is the new diesel fuel standard in the United States.

The algal fuel is very resourceful to people who use biodiesel on a large scale. Airlines, railways and bus depots should use algal fuel to refuel the automobiles. Algal fuel is extremely eco-friendly energy and would save a lot of our fossil fuels if used wisely. Keep the world green!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Biodiesel Home Making - Forget Any Expensive Biodiesel Producer

Biodiesel is a free energy source that can be produced almost anywhere. Many farms in the United States of America make biodiesel by using leftovers from corn cutting. Biodiesel is favored because you can run a car on it without needing any special engine, a regular diesel can use biodiesel. The cost is very low for production, it costs only a fraction of what gasoline would cost. Biodiesel is made from methanol, oil and sodium hydroxide, the preparation of this mixture is very hazardous because of the inflammable quality of the mixture.

Many writers also touch upon this topic, books such as “From Fryer to Fuel Tank” by Joshua Tikell are best sellers of this field, they contain in depth information about this subject.

The main reason biodiesel is made at home is because of the availability of all the materials in the house and the easy preparation of the substance. Biodiesel making also needs a few external components such as pumps and a tank.

The process of home making biodiesel is easy but long.

The first step is to collect the materials you will need a mixing vessel (generally an old one), containers (1000ml, 100ml and 10ml), a scale, gloves and a thermometer. Next you heat the oil to 120F or 50 C. Measure the oil into half liter increments. Measure out the amount of methanol to be used (20% of oil). Pour lye into the container which already has methanol and hot oil. Use a blender or a mixing vessel and mix the mixture violently. Allow the biodiesel to settle for a few minutes. You will see a dark layer of glycerin at the bottom, drain the glycerin out and leave the biodiesel to rest for a few days. This biodiesel is not useable.

Bio diesel is a quick way to make fuel with minimal ingredients and in a few days. This biodiesel can be used to run cars, make soaps and many other uses.

In conclusion the making of biodiesel at home is the answer to our future fuel problems.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

What is Biodiesel Centrifuge?

With the cost of regular, fossil fuel-based, diesel passing $4.419 per gallon, diesel-dependent drivers across the U.S. are feeling a painful financial pinch, and economy-minded tinkerers are brewing their own biodiesel fuel from used cooking oil.

Demand for biodiesel as a viable petrochemical alternative is growing exponentially.
Traditional "garage-style" production methods such as settling tanks, filters and similar methods are slow, expensive, and cannot meet growing demand. In such a scenario, a Centrifuge for the Biodiesel manufacture becomes of great help.

A centrifuge can be used for continuous separation of:

1. Pre-treatment of feedstock to separate solids, water, degumming, and free-fatty acid process from feedstock. Glycerin separation- Make EN/ASTM specifications on free glycerin right out of the centrifuge, prior to wet or dry washing.
2. Water wash separation- Separate free water from the biodiesel. In some cases, achieve EN/ASTM spec. on moisture without the use of a dryer or evaporator.
3. Dry Wash solids separation- to separate magnesium silicate continuously with no filter media to blind, and less labor-intensive.
4. Purification of glycerin- for separation of catalyst/salts and FFA’s.
There is simply no better way to make quality biodiesel quickly than teaming biodiesel reactors with the biodiesel centrifuges. The units are high capacity and are designed to work 24 hours a day for year after year. They are designed to be affordable as well as efficient. A great purchase for any biodiesel business, and at a price as cheap as settling tanks, thus making them a "no brainer" purchase.

The centrifuges are specifically designed for instantaneous and continuous separation of biodiesel/glycerin, as well as pre-treatment separation of water, oil and solids from waste vegetable oils. New centrifuges are CE-approved, with all stainless steel construction generating over 6,000 x G-force!
Flow rates of centrifuges are available from 2000 L/hr - 100,000 L/hr. Manual clean or automatic self-cleaning machines are also available at various locations.

A biodiesel centrifuge is more efficient when separating glycerin from biodiesel. Centrifuges can immediately increase production output by decreasing production lead times. What takes many hours for gravity to separate down to EN/ASTM specifications, a centrifuge can separate instantly in seconds.

Biodiesel centrifuges are ways of making the biodiesel production process happen faster. Under most circumstances biofuel has to "settle" for 12-24 hours to make sure the glycerin is fully out of the biofuel. This process is not convenient for many of those involved in the production of biodiesel though, and so many of them invest in a biodiesel centrifuge.
The settling process uses one of nature’s gifts to us - gravity. The value of the gravity used by settling is 1G (one time gravity).

A biodiesel centrifuge is a mechanical device that spins the glycerin and other impurities out of bio diesel (the same way a washing machine rotates to dry clothes when on the "spin" cycle). By spinning at very high speed our biodiesel centrifuges can reach up to 40,000G (forty thousand times gravity) and so can achieve the settling process that normally requires one day in just a few seconds. Our biodiesel centrifuges can separate the glycerin from biofuel at the rate of up to several thousand litres per hour (one US gallon = 3.785 litres). Thus Biodiesel Centrifuges are indispensible accessories of a Biodiesel producing system.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

How does Biodiesel Systems Work?

Production methods of Biodiesel are generally of great significance as everything depends on the efficiency of the producing systems. Here are a few ways in which it works.

The most common process being the Batch process. Care is taken to monitor the amount of water and free fatty acids in the incoming biolipid. If the free fatty acid level or water level is too high it may cause problems with soap formation and the separation of the glycerin by-product downstream. The Catalyst is then dissolved in the alcohol. This is done by the use of a standard agitator or mixer. The alcohol/catalyst mix is then charged into a closed reaction vessel and the biolipid (vegetable or animal oil or fat) is added. The system from here on is totally closed to the atmosphere to prevent the loss of alcohol. The reaction mix is kept just above the boiling point of the alcohol to speed up the reaction. Under normal conditions the reaction rate will double with every 10 °C increase in reaction temperature. Excess alcohol is normally used to ensure total conversion of the fat or oil to its esters.



The glycerin phase is much denser than biodiesel phase and the two can be gravity separated with the help of a centrifuge. Once the glycerin and biodiesel phases have been separated, the excess alcohol in each phase is removed with a flash evaporation process or by distillation. Care must be taken to ensure no water accumulates in the recovered alcohol stream. Once separated from the glycerin, the biodiesel is sometimes purified by washing gently with warm water to remove residual catalyst or soaps, dried, and sent to storage.

An alternative, catalyst-free method for transesterification uses supercritical methanol at high temperatures and pressures in a continuous process. In the supercritical state, the oil and methanol are in a single phase, and reaction occurs spontaneously and rapidly.

Ultra- and High Shear in-line or batch reactors allow production of biodiesel continuously, semi- continuously, and in batch-mode. This drastically reduces production time and increases production volume. Ultra – Shear, up to three sets of rotor and stator which converts mechanical energy to high tip speed, high shear stress, high shear-frequencies. The reaction takes place in the high-energetic shear zone of the Ultra- and High Shear mixer by reducing the droplet size of the immiscible liquids such as oil or fats and methanol.

In the ultrasonic reactor method, the ultrasonic waves cause the reaction mixture to produce and collapse bubbles constantly. This cavitation provides simultaneously the mixing and heating required to carry out the transesterification process.

The Microwave method is one in which microwave ovens are used to provide the heat needed in the transesterification process. The microwaves provide intense localized heating that may be higher than the recorded temperature of the reaction vessel.
These are basically how the Biodiesel systems work to produce the alternative energy source such as Biodiesel which might prove to be very crucial in the near future.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Cheap Biodiesel Equipment

Biodiesel, over the next few years can become probably one of the greatest boon to mankind’s development owing to environment friendliness that is inherent in it. It is an alternative fuel that is as useful as many other form of fuel. It is safe and made from common ingredients like seeds etc. The procedure of making the Biodiesel is simple in many ways but when it comes to large scale production, it requires equipments which are accessible in affordable prices. To make larger batches which you can actually use to fuel your vehicle, use in aircrafts and other places, then Biodiesel equipments become extremely important especially if it can be purchased by common man.



Biodiesel can be manufactured by mixing a lot of ingredients which are essentially mixed together by a mixer compartment. There might be a need for a settling compartment where the biodiesel separates from the byproduct. Sometimes this can be done right in the mixer compartment. Finally you need a holding or storage tank for the biodiesel once it is complete. Anyone can easily buy kits or processors that come with all the parts needed, including instructions on how to use the equipment to make biodiesel. Biodiesel equipment varies in price, but usually can be found affordable no matter what the costs.



The Biodiesel kits are also of significant use. It enables us to create a biodiesel processing system which will usually have to be put together to use it properly and in a more efficient manner. It will come in parts and pieces with instructions on how to put the kit together and how to produce biodiesel. There are complete Biodiesel kits assembled and ready to produce biodiesel fuel the same day available as well including a superior fuel filtering system and solid one piece steel frame.

A biodiesel processor is another equipment which is relatively cheap and comes together with the other parts. It often includes instructions on how to make biodiesel. It is probably what is needed the most in the entire manufacturing unit. A processor size is important.



Besides being able to make larger batches of biodiesel there is another reason to buy biodiesel equipment. Purchased equipment comes with built in safety features. Bought biodiesel equipment has seals and other safety features that keep fumes and hot oil from becoming a safety factor. Simple equipments like Biodiesel home brewer and backyard brewer. Books, Kits, Labware, pumps and biodiesel safety equipment are also found at cheap prices which make the overall procedure of manufacturing Biodiesel as simple as baking bread.

Such Biodiesel equipment is long lasting and offers high quality performance. This equipment has the capability of producing bio diesel from various oils like soya oil, rice bran oil, palm oil and so on. The large equipments use continuous flow technologies so that you can operate the machine without any interruption.
Additionally, using biodiesel equipment helps you ensure that the ingredients you use are safely mixed and that the whole process is done correctly. There is less room for error which could result in less than stellar biodiesel. It is highly recommended that Biodiesel be manufactured using these equipment which are although priced moderately, is of great importance and efficiency.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Biodiesel Business Plan

Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel which can be used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. The use of Biodiesel is expected to increase in a grand scale over the next few years due to its environment-friendliness as it finds use in vehicles, railroads, aircrafts and also as heating oil. Hence the Business plan of Biodiesel becomes of great significance.

The Business plans involves full technological cycle of production: cultivation of oil seed (rape), processing them into oil and final production of biodiesel. Purpose of the business plan is mostly to attract investment in the creation of biodiesel production plant and rape cultivation farming. The plan is mostly aimed at satisfying the growing demand for Biodiesel arising due to growing concerns about levels of environmental pollution and limited supply of energy sources. The major positive, from the economic stand point, is the competitive price of the biodiesel, due to high productivity in cultivation (the best soils in the world and favorable climate) and the lowest variable and fixed costs. Biodiesel fuel notably gives the same performance as that of conventional diesel, at competitive price and ecologically safe conditions.

The Marketing Strategy involves usually : 1) Emphasizing inherent qualities of biodiesel and focus on target markets; 2) Produce high quality fuel; 3) Offer competitive price at the level of the conventional diesel fuel; 4) Create strong distribution channels to ensure stability of production; 5) Emphasizing key advantages of the product; 6) Build a relationship business: long-term relationships, not single-transaction deals with customers; 7) Focus on fuel distributors and big consumers as key target markets.

The Biodiesel Business Plan usually covers all aspects of creating and managing the biodiesel production project: organizing, financing, auditing, marketing, promoting business, solving technical and organizational problems. This is where the main plan for producing this wonderful source is laid out and the outcome is practically decided in this planning. Though the whole procedure requires quite a lot of investment sometimes ranging to 2,00,000 dollars. As the profit of the Business Plan is obviously important, a net profit of a certain period of time is also calculated during the planning (depending on the period of the Business plan). The profits of which are highly lucrative which generate a fair return to the investors in the plan and to finance future such ground breaking plans.

Although biodiesel can be marketed as an ordinary fuel it is believed that most perspective customers are farms, in-city transport companies and those who need the lowest possible pollution levels in their technological processes: warehouses, owners of generators, etc. The reasoning is the following: farms are suppliers of raw materials and can receive biodiesel as a payment, in-city transport companies feel constant pressure to reduce their fleets’ pollution levels and will be happy to buy biodiesel, other users may also need non-polluting fuel for such reasons as safety, comfort, ecological concerns. These customers will definitely choose the biodiesel against the conventional diesel, if the product pricing is approximately the same in both cases. That is why planning becomes essential in reaching out to these people.

The Business Plan is overall mostly directed towards developing better energy solutions for benefit of the society by bringing innovative technologies and unlimited supply of energy sources without damaging and polluting the environment which is unique to Biodiesel and the Business Plan is just a necessary medium to make it possible.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Making Biodiesel from Soybeans

From planned study and economic proofs of all countries one can conclude that the demand for crude oil will never go down but all the more increase. Everyone for a fact knows that the price of crude oil products is certainly going to go up in future. People all over the world have started looking for substitutes to meet their needs and biodiesel has come as a boon for everyone. Biodiesel is one such fuel that can be derived from many sources and making biodiesl from soybeans is on of them.


Biodiesel consists of mono alkyl esters produced from vegetable oils, animal or old cooking oil that is also a type of fat. Soy biodiesel is fuel alternative produced from soybean oil,s ince it is widely available. Biodiesel contains no petroleum diesel, but it can be blended with petroleum diesel and use freely without any hassles


Soy biodiesel can be used in diesel engines with little or no modifications at all. Soy biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the soybean oil. The process gives two products: methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (used to make soap). The byproducts can be separated and only biodiesel can be used.


As compared to other methods of producing biodiesel, producing biodiesel from soybean oil is more of an advantage.


· Environment friendly - Soy biodiesel is better for the environment because it is made from renewable resources and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel and other forms of biodiesel. The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and soot, which results in less amount of pollution. The use of biodiesel does not increase the CO2 level in the atmosphere, since growing soybeans consumes also CO2. Biodiesel is also more biodegradable than conventional diesel.



· Better lubricant - Lubrication tests have demonstrated the lubrication advantage of biodiesel.



The production of soy-based biodiesel has a positive energy balance, due to the high energy value of ester-based feedstock's, the low-energy requirements of the conversion process, and the nitrogen-fixing characteristic of soybean.



If we go into the details of the process of making biodiesel from soybeans we can break up the process into –


· Process of transesterification. It involves the mixing of methanol, sodium hydroxide, the latter acting as the catalyst and also an oil is mixed which in this process is soybean oil.


· A reaction takes place with the catalyst making the reaction fast.


· The reaction yields out methyl esters, which is the scientific name for biodiesel and glycerin.


· Now both of them are separated and both of them can be utilized.


· Glycerin a byproduct can be used in the manufacture of soap and other products.


Biodiesel is biodegradable and nontoxic when used in its pure form – B100. For the 20% and lower blends, the diesel fuel portion of the blend determines the toxicity and biodegradability, which in turn determines the capacity of it.


Production of biodiesel will lead to a better world for everyone and making biodiesel from soybeans is one of the numerous ways that can help.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Making Biodiesel from Animal Fat

The same time as the prices for petroleum fuels are rising the demand for biodiesel is rising too which is very much obvious. But the consequence is the more biodiesel is produced the more expansive the renewable feedstock is going to be. And if we look for alternative feedstock to produce biodiesel, animal fat as a waste product seems to be our cheapest and available at huge scale.

To process animal fat into biodiesel usually we can use the following method, which is most common. For this an alkaline catalyst Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide is used. It is dissolved in methanol and, then, mixed with the feedstock. Making biodiesel from animal fat requires a lot of considerations.

Animal fat melts between 40 and 50 degree Celsius, but to avoid that the methanol evaporates – methanol starts to boil at 60 degree Celsius – and then, consequently, not enough methanol will be available for the transesterification the process temperature should always be kept under 60. Secondly, when processing animal fat into biodiesel this feedstock reacts very sensitive if we use just too much catalyst. The consequence is that easily so much soap is formed that the whole mixture turns into some kind of thick glob, which would ruin everything. And the more of the so-called Free Fatty Acids (FFA) we find in the animal feedstock the more soap is formed which results in production loss.

With the two-step-process the amount of FFA is first reduced in a pre-step using sulphuric acid as catalyst and methanol. Then, when the amount of FFA reached a level of less than 1% the normal alkaline-based process can take place using methanol and lye as catalyst, which would speed up the reaction. . Hence, it is always advisable to process a feedstock which has less than 1% FFA using the one-step-process. It is faster, cheaper and more biodiesel will be produced and in today’s world time is money.
But because animal fat turns very easily into a thick glob of soap if we use just too much lye the right amount of catalyst will be crucial for the production.

The biodiesel produced from animal fat has some other properties than the one produced from vegetable oil. First, after settling the glycerol from animal fat turns solid when it cools down. The same thing happens to the glycerol produced from palm oil. This circumstance needs some special considerations when settling because cold and solid glycerol can’t be drained from the bottom of the settle tank.

Second, in contrast to biodiesel produced from vegetable oil the freezing point of biodiesel from animal fat is much higher. This means that the cold filter plugging point (CFPP) can be – depending on the fat the biodiesel is produced from – between 15 and 20 degree Celsius. In order to run cars on biodiesel produced from animal fat also in other seasons than summer it is necessary to blend the biodiesel from animal fat with biodiesel produced from, e.g., rapeseeds. A percentage of 10 to 15% biodiesel from animal fat seems to be appropriate. Biodiesel produced from animal fat is, therefore, the perfect fuel to admix and use.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Making Biodiesel from Algae

In this ever-expanding world, everything is being consumed at a very fast rate. Natural Resources are being depleted at a very fast rate and mankind is thinking of many ways to produce artificial energy. And one answer that has come up is Biodiesel. What is actually biodiesel? In a layman’s language Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel consisting of long chain alkyl (methyl, propyl or ethyl) esters, made by transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fat (tallow), which can be used (alone, or blended with conventional petrodiesel) in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles.

Though there are many methods available and being researched upon but one of the common methods of producing it is by Algae. Making biodeisel with algae is quite a tedious process/ One must know what are actually Algae. Algae are some of the most robust organisms on earth, able to grow in a wide range of conditions without any problems. Algae are usually found in damp places or bodies of water and thus are common in terrestrial as well as aquatic environments.  Terrestrial algae are usually rather inconspicuous and far more common in moist, tropical regions than dry ones, because algae lack vascular tissues and other adaption’s to live on land. So cultivation of algae is an important part in this process.

Algae cultivation though a very easy process but cultivation of specific strains of algae for Biodiesel would however a bit more difficult, as they can require high maintenance and could get easily contaminated by undesirable species. And contamination would lead to improper production of biodiesel.

First algal oil has to be extracted from algae and then biodiesel has to produced from that Algal oil. There's no doubt, algae biodiesel is probably the most theoretical and experimental aspect of biodiesel. It is also very costly. There are mainly three methods of oil extraction from Algae –

•    Expeller/Press - When algae is dried it retains its oil content, which then can be "pressed" out with an oil press. Many commercial manufacturers of vegetable oil use a combination of mechanical pressing and Chemical Solvents in extracting oil.
•    Hexane solvent oil extraction - Algal oil can be extracted using chemicals. .Benzene and ether have been used, but a popular chemical for solvent extraction is hexane. The downside to using solvents for oil extraction are the inherent dangers involved in working with the chemicals. Benzene is classified as a carcinogen. Carcinogen is a chemical which harms humans.
•    Supercritical Fluid Extraction - This can extract almost 100% of the oils all by itself. This method however needs special equipment for containment and pressure. In this method , CO2 is liquefied under pressure and heated to the point that it has the properties of both a liquid and gas. This liquefied fluid then acts as the solvent in extracting the oil.

Now transesterification of  algal oil is  done.It is normally done with ethanol and sodium ethanolate serving as the catalyst.
Ethanol is reacted with the algal oil to produce biodiesel & glycerol. The end products of this reaction are hence biodiesel, sodium ethanolate and glycerol.

The end mixture is then separated using Ether and salt water, which is added to the mixture and mixed well. After sometime, the entire mixture would have separated into two layers, with the bottom layer containing a mixture of ether and biodiesel. Biodiesel is in turn separated from ether by a vaporizer under a high vacuum. As the ether vaporizes first, the biodiesel will remain.
Thus the process of making biodiesel from algae is now over and is ready for use.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Making Biodiesel from Cooking Oil

Once upon a time in the long ago a man named Rudolph Diesel thought he could change the world with a revolutionary engine that ran on peanut oil. Pity he tried to sell it to both the French and English naval fleets for their submarines got mixed up in political intrigue.


Despite all this his name is carried on with the diesel engine. The only difference is that the fuel companies capitalized on his name. BIODIESEL is a clean burning alternate fuel. It is the name for a multiplicity of ester-based fuels (fatty esters) commonly defined as the monoalkyl esters made from vegetable oils. Such as soybean oil, canola or hemp oil, or sometimes from animal fats through a simple process termed as transesterified. This renewable source is as capable as petroleum diesel in powering diesel engine without requirement of any modification. Thus biodiesel an alternate for diesel is now present and making biodiesel from cooking oil is the simplest process available that can be easily done at home also.


One can go through very simple steps to make biodiesel from cooking oil. One would need the following –





  • Cooking Oil (WVO)




  • Lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) to act as the catalyst.




  • Alcohol (Methanol or Ethanol) 15% by volume of the cooking oil.




  • Heat (any type of burner)




  • Reaction vessels (perhaps oil drums)




  • Thermometer




  • Blender




  • Isopropyl Alcohol (use 99% IPA)




  • Eyedropper




  • pH paper (litmus paper) to check for alkaline percentage




The make up of the free fatty acids present in cooking oil changes when it been heated which is why one should use cold pressurized oil. Oil, which has been used in cooking, will require more of the reactive agents than fresh oil. It is necessary to determine the exact amount of lye needed to neutralize the acids otherwise more amounts of glycerin and less biodiesel as a result which would be an ultimate loss for you. Making biodiesel from cooking oil though looks like a compicated process, but is not.


A step by step guide to make biodiesel from cooking oil is as follows -





  • Measure a quantity of oil into a suitable container and heat to 120 which would be the optimal temperature.




  • In separate container mix Methanol with lye. The lye must be added slowly as it will become extremely hot. The resulting mixture is Sodium Methoxide.




  • Add the mixture to the heated oil mix vigorously for about an hour. You may want to set up some kind of mechanical aid to do this, perhaps using cycle power or any motor, which would help, and you will not have to strain yourself.




  • Stop mixing when it appears that the separation has stopped. Leave the mixture to cool and settle over night. Patience is a must in this process.




  • The free fatty acids (glycerin), will sink to the bottom forming a cloudy layer. On top will be your biodiesel (methyl esters)




  • Separate the methyl ester or biodiesel into a separate clean container and add water.




  • Now finally separate the methyl ester into a separate clean container and add water. When the water has separated from the methyl esters, drain the water out from the bottom of the container.




Finally after some time of back breaking labour, biodiesel from cooking oil is now ready for use.

Monday, February 16, 2009

The Basic on Making Biodiesel

Before one wants to know how to make biodiesel one must know what it is actually. In layman’s words; Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel consisting of short chain alkyl (methyl or ethyl) esters, made by transesterification of vegetable oil or animal fat, which can be used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles.


One can divide the production of biodiesel into three simple and basic steps -


Ilseed Crushing (Basic Process)


An oil mill is designed to efficiently, mechanically extract by full pressing the oil from canola. The efficiency and performance of oil extraction with screw presses is highly dependent on the condition of the raw material.


Crude Oil Degumming/Neutralizing (Basic Process)


Crude oil obtained from the canola seed pressing operation contains a number of impurities that have to be removed before the transesterification (biodiesel) process. The impurities are moisture, gums, free fatty-acids and soaps.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Convert Your Car to Run on Water

The continued rise of gasoline prices is a global phenomenon that is affecting many countries around the world. With the continued increases in oil prices, more and more motorists are looking for ways to cut down on their gasoline expenses. However, while vehicle owners are powerless in putting a stop to these oil price hikes, there are however some ways for them to cut down on their gas expenses.
One of the best ways for vehicle owners to protect themselves from the continued rise of gasoline prices is to convert their cars into hydrogen fueled vehicles. This is a technology that allows a car to be transformed into a hybrid type which can run on water.
While this technology may seem like something taken straight out of a sci-fi movie, cars running on water is indeed a reality. What vehicle owners should realize is that water does not necessarily run the vehicle. Rather, the car makes use of a combination of water and gas in running its engine.

The process that is applied on this technology is called electrolysis, where an electrical current is applied on water in the generation of a special gas called HHO gas. This gas is a combination of equal ratios of hydrogen and oxygen. It is similar to water although the molecules of hydrogen and oxygen have been separated.

Hydrogen-fueled cars have been proven to improve on the gas mileage of vehicles of up to 80%. This is a very enticing technology given the ever-increasing prices of fossil-based fuels. With the help of a hydrogen generator and a conversion device, a vehicle can produce hydrogen gas which fuels and powers the car.

These hydrogen generator kits are available even online. It can be installed by anyone just by following the guidelines printed on the user’s guide. A typical hydrogen generator kit can fetch around $200 for those who want to put the generator set by themselves, or around $800 for those who want to purchase the entire system.

While this may sound costly to some, the benefits of a hydrogen generator system far outweigh the expenses. The most obvious advantage that these generator kits provide is the reduction in gas expenses. According to estimates, a typical traveler can save up to $1000 in gasoline expenses in a year. Those who are more frequent travelers meanwhile can generate savings of up to $1500. These estimates also vary according to the age of the car and the type of hydrogen generator kit used. Also, running a car that is fueled by hydrogen allows the owner to double their miles per gallon, which also means cutting in half their gasoline consumption.

With the continued increases in the prices of gasoline, it has become an urgent matter for many motorists to consume lesser fuel as much as possible. With the advent of these hydrogen generator kits, it has become a lot easier for motorists to decrease their consumption of gasoline. As technology further advances, look for more vehicle owners to convert their cars to hydrogen-based engines that would allow their vehicles to run on water.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Cars Run on Water - The Facts

If someone is to say to you that cars can run on water, would you believe him? Or This water Fuel Car is Just Myths?

Yes, you should believe him. The fact is, technology has afforded us to run our vehicles on water by harnessing the mechanical energy of hydrogen which composes water. Since water is an abundant resource, this means that the suffering motorists have endured from the continuous increase in gasoline products.


However, the technology of hydrogen fueled cars is still a couple of years away from being completely rolled out into the mainstream. There are still many issues that need to be worked on before we see the mass production of hydrogen fueled cars. For now, nations have to be content on the use of hydrogen generator kits in maximizing the use of gasoline.


The hydrogen generator kits apply the same principle behind hydrogen fueled cars, although to a lesser extent. These devices do not completely run vehicles on water alone, although they produce a gas known as HHO gas which is mixed with gasoline, resulting to better engine efficiency and lesser emissions.


How do these hydrogen generator kits do this? They apply the principle of electrolysis, wherein hydrogen atoms are separated from oxygen in water through application of electric current. The HHO gas produced is then mixed with gasoline. In effect, the engine does not have to use gasoline, it can make use of, say, 70% gasoline and 30% HHO gas. In effect, it results to more savings on the part of the vehicle owner since the engine does not have to use that much gasoline in order for the vehicle to move. Aside from greater savings, the use of a hydrogen generator kit also results to lesser emissions.




These hydrogen generator kits are actually available in the market. They can even be purchased online. Hydrogen generator kits can be had for around $200 up to $800, depending on the type.

Cars that are 100% run on hydrogen make use of the same principle of electrolysis. Hydrogen is harnessed inside a fuel cell, which in turn produces the needed electricity in powering the engine. However, this technology is a couple of years away from being completely developed, until major issues on hydrogen are addressed.


First, the fuel cells needed in tapping the mechanical energy of water is quite expensive. It is also too large and fragile to be installed in a vehicle. These fuel cells are not hard enough to withstand the bumps normal in long trips. Another concern is that a fuel cell is not good enough to withstand freezing conditions, and it would be difficult to start up an engine on cold environments.


Still another problem posed by the use of cars that run on water is the distribution infrastructure. Unlike the distribution network of gasoline companies, there is no network of refilling stations for hydrogen fuel. It would take tons of money for a hydrogen fuel refilling network to be established, although some countries are now investing on it.




However, the good news is that the future of cars that run on water is almost upon us. Experts cite that they are a couple of years away from fully rolling out hydrogen cars into the mainstream. With the expected influx of cars that run on water, motorists are sure to heave a sigh of relief.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Making Biodiesel from Waste Vegetable Oil

Day by day fuel is getting expensive and inflation is hitting new highs across every country across the world. Everyone has started looking for cheap substitutes for every thing in the world. So why should diesel fuel stay behind. Making Biodiesel from waste vegetable oil is an upcoming way of preserving energy and meeting your own requirements without depending on anyone.

Vegetable Oil is commonly available everywhere and there at every home and most households dump the waste oil rather than utilizing that. Making biodiesel from waste vegetable oil is one of the most productive ways to utilize waste vegetable oil.
Biodiesel is a diesel fuel that is made by reacting vegetable oil (cooking oil) with other common chemicals that are easily available in the market. Biodiesel may be used in any diesel automotive engine in its pure form or blended with petroleum-based diesel, so need not worry about anything. No modifications are required, and the result is a less-expensive, renewable, clean-burning fuel.

Making biodiesel with vegetable oil has two different cases one is that with fresh oil and other is with waste oil. Making biodiesel from waste vegetable oil is totally a different case from that of fresh oil.

Waste vegetable oil will have been reheated several times during the course of its usage and therefore needs to be treated differently. The reheating will cause some of the fatty acids bonded to the glycerol to break away and float freely in the vegetable oil hence make them free and then known as Free Fatty Acid (FFA). There are two ways of dealing with free fatty acids and solve the problem –
•    Esterify the Free Fatty Acids creating methyl esters then proceeding with the transesterification.
•    Increase the amount of catalyst in the single transesterifaction process so that the additional catalyst neutralises the FFAs creating soap as an additional by-product.
In the process waste vegetable oil is made to react with methanol and a catalyst. The catalyst would either Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide. The additional catalyst would react in turn with the free fatty acids and as a result give out soap. Now one has to separate the soap from the biodiesel. After that is done we have to wash the biodiesel fuel and filtrate it to 5 microns through a machine process, which is not feasible by hand. Then the fuel has to be dried again and the biodiesel has to be extracted from it.
If we try to classify the steps we can do it in the following way –
•    Filtration of inbound waste oil
•    Drying the fuel (i.e. removing water content, especially in the case of used oils)
•    Transesterification (specifically, the separation of the methyl esters from the glycerol)
•    Settling period
•    Separation of the biodiesel fuel from the soap
•    Washing the biodiesel fuel
•    Filtration to 5 microns
•    Drying the fuel again
•    Final products of biodiesel fuel and the by-products.
Though over here it may seem as very process, it is not easy, as it seems. But nonetheless one can always try.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

What are the Different Types of Alternative Fuels?

The price of oil just refuses to come down and this is posing problems for millions of consumers all over the world. There are many people who are looking out for alternative types of fuel to drive their cars. They are just not able to cope with the increase in prices of oil and they also know that it shall not be too long before the natural oil reserves of the world will get exhausted.


So, what are the different types of alternative fuels that are available to us? There are many such fuels and they are, biodiesel, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, pure plant oils, electricity, methanol, ethanol and hydrogen. Of all these liquefied natural gas has been used by most of for ages and yet we do not know about it by its chemical name, propane. This has been used for a long period of time and the cooking gas that you use in your kitchen is propane.

There are some cars too that are running on this fuel. However, this fuel is not so cheap and it too has its limitations, since it also comes from natural resources and one day or the other, its supply will get depleted. In such circumstances, biodiesel seems to be the best alternative. It is relatively cheap and it has been successfully tested on many cars. There are many types of alternative fuels, but one should look at the future before deciding which one to adapt to.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Which Biodiesel Stocks to Watch?

People are extremely shy of the stock markets of late. Increasing fuel prices, spiraling costs of essential commodities mixed with some other situations has created a phobia in the minds of people. Add to that the crashing of many financial institutions due to the mortgage finance loans that have gone bad and it is clear why people are not interested in investing any more money that they have in the stock market.

As it is spare money is hard to come by nowadays and whatever little people have in their hands is being deposited in banks. While the price of fuel is increasing there is one strong glimmer at the end of the tunnel. Biodiesel has proved itself to be quite successful and it is the fuel of the future. There is no doubt that a few years a head into the future, organizations that are researching and are manufacturing biodiesel will be striking it rich. This is an assurance, since the earth’s reserve of natural fuels is getting depleted at a rapid pace and the only alternative is biodiesel.

If these companies strike it rich, and they will, one can be rest assured that the prices of their stocks too will soar sky high and when they do so, people shall not be able to purchase them because of their high prices. Instead of thinking which biodiesel stocks to watch, you should keep an eye out for most leading manufacturers of this alternative fuel and, if possible, invest a bit of your money in them.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Where Can I Get Biodiesel?

Many people are planning to switch over to alternative forms of fuel for their car and trucks. The global money crunch combined with the spiraling fuel prices is making its presence felt and is putting a crunch on their wallets. Most of these people have heard about biodiesel and are seriously thinking about purchasing conversion kits that will permit them to run their car on biodiesel.


However, most of them have a question. They want to know more about biodiesel fuel stations and want to be sure that there are a sufficient number of them before they go in for conversion. After all, there is no use switching over to an alternative means of fuel, if one cannot purchase that fuel. At least with diesel they have no problems in procuring it. There is good news for such people. Most fuel stations are setting up alternate tanks in which they can store and then supply biodiesel.

These fuel plants know that there is no alternative if they want to remain in competition. The future belongs to biodiesel and if they are not ready to meet the requirements of their clients, they might as well shut shop. Check out your favorite fuel outlet and chances are that they are already providing biodiesel. If they are not, it shall not be long before they too shall have a storage tank for the same. You can safely convert your car for running on this alternative fuel and be assured that there will be no shortage of supply points.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

How to Make Biodiesel? Another Simple Tips

Biodiesel has a number of benefits, but one of the most exciting things about Biodiesel is that anyone can make it at home. Let us imagine: Being able to make your own fuel for your vehicle or even to create energy for your home? That spells a lot of savings for you.

It can be quite easy when it comes to making Biodiesel. Making your own Biodiesel is a great idea if you can do it because you get to save more money when you use Biodiesel that is made from your home.

Supplies to Making Biodiesel

To make a small batch of Biodiesel at home, you only need to comply with few input requirements The production of Biodiesel requires the actual ingredients alcohol, lye and vegetable oil. Mixing the fuel requires some input supplies: empty plastic bottles, duct tape, a blender and measuring cups. Be sure anything you use to make your Biodiesel is only used for that purpose and throw such inputs away for cooking ingredients.

Once your supplies are in place, you are ready to begin learning how to make Biodiesel.

Safe Procedure on Making Biodiesel

The production of Biodiesel is nothing risky. Fire or explosion is remote to happen. Infact your only major concern in terms of your safety, is burning yourself. Just be careful and realize the mixture does get hot.

You will go through the easy process of making Biodiesel which entails mixing the ingredients, letting it set, breaking up the byproduct and Biodiesel and then sanitizing the Biodiesel. The whole process can take a few days to a few weeks. That depends on how clean your vegetable oil was to start with.

Low Volume or High Volume

The production of a Biodiesel can be in a small scale or a large scale basis. Biodiesel kits are great if a few gallons of diesel production is what your expect to achieve at a time. If you depend on your lawnmower or similar equipments then A Biodiesel kit would be perfect. It is practical to use and will need a small level of inputs.

If your mindset is to produce more Biodiesel for the instance for running your automobile, you have to operate a Biodiesel processor. This makes the process much more efficient, thus you can generate a higher volume of production. The presence of a processor requires more inputs but you can find ease in making Biodiesel since the processor does most of the work for you.