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.