Simple Process to Make Biodiesel Fuel - Foolproof Method from Aleks Kac- 1

Here I will give you some series of foolproof method to make biodiesel fuel which originally written by Aleks Kac. This guy from Slovenija will share you a basic to advance method to make biodiesel fuel at home. You could make your own biodiesel fuel in your living room!.

In this first series of the making biodiesel at home method will share you with the introduction.

This is a FOOLPROOF way to make biodiesel. No titration is required, and no extra equipment or special equipment -- a thermometer's handy, but NO pH meter!

This is a two-stage procedure, acid first-stage, base second-stage. It is based on the highest free fatty acid (FFA) content found in used cooking oil, but it can be used with any waste vegetable/animal oil or fat, whether or not it has a high FFA content. The process increases yields dramatically. Use it as your standard method.
Introduction

To make biodiesel fuel efficiently from used vegetable oils and animal fats we have to avoid one major problem: soap formation. Soap is formed during base-catalyzed transesterification (using lye) when sodium ions combine with free fatty acids present in used (and some virgin) vegetable oils and animal fats. The soaps diminish the yield because they bond the methyl esters to water. The bonded esters get washed out at the washing stage but make water separation more difficult and increase water consumption. This process takes care of the free fatty acids.

In one early test I used a mixture of 50% heavily used cooking oil and 50% pork lard. The result was a pure product with absolutely no trace of soap! The biodiesel looked nice, and smelt nice, as if made from virgin oil.

Aleks (background) and friend Matevz making biodiesel in Matevz's living room.
This is a simple procedure. The first-stage process is not transesterification, but pure and simple ESTERIFICATION. Esterification is followed by transesterification, but under acid conditions it's much slower than under caustic conditions and it won't do a complete oil-to-methyl ester conversion as the reaction is much more equilibrium-sensitive. Without methanol recovery, the alcohol overdose required would make the price of your fuel jump, and even with recovery it would still be much more expensive. Hence the second base-stage.

For the first stage you'll form a compound out of an acid and an alcohol. The alcohol is still methanol, but instead of using lye (sodium hydroxide), the CATALYST in this reaction is sulphuric acid ("battery acid"). It needs 95% sulphuric acid (battery acid is around 50%). Sulphuric acid is one of the commonest chemicals on Earth, just like lye. More concentrated sulphuric acid -- 98% and above -- costs more, but 95% works just fine if you follow these directions. Other acids won't work: it must be sulphuric acid. The second stage uses lye, as usual -- but it only uses about half as much as other methods.

The sulfate ion in the sulphuric acid combines with the sodium ion in the lye during the second-stage reaction to form sodium sulphate, which is a water-soluble salt and is removed in the wash. No sulphur remains in the biodiesel fuel product.

Will continue to the next step on making biodiesel at home using foolproof method of Aleks Kac.

Reference:http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_aleksnew.html
Note:I have got a permission from the owner of this article to copy and published here for educational purpose.

Basic Procedure for Making Biodiesel Fuel

Basic Procedure for Making Biodiesel Fuel. The very first patent for the procedure for making biodiesel fuel was granted to G. Chavanne in 1937. Biodiesel is a type of natural fuel that is made of oil and fats. This is mainly used for cooking and to propel vehicles. However, this is not used as 100% alternative for gasoline. This can only be used in blends with diesel. Procedure for making biodiesel fuel is not made or based on petroleum, as opposed to the conventional means of producing fuel.

Before, the procedure for making biodiesel fuel is known as alcoholysis. Now, it is known as transesterification. This is a process by which ethyl alcohol is mixed with natural oil from vegetables to produce biodiesel fuel. To begin with this process, one needs to make the alcohol stronger in the fatty acids found in animal and plant oils. What is mainly used in the production of biodiesel is virgin oil so it will produce a higher yield, on the average, the yield is 98%. This means it is much more economical. One needs to note, though, that if the biodiesel source is waste oil, it has to be purified first.

Next procedure for making biodiesel fuel is to mix the catalysts to neutralize the acids. After which, one may now proceed with the actual transesterification process. This involves adding the base—commonly used is sodium hydroxide to alcohol and dissolving it. This solution is then added to the virgin oil or waste oil. The oil should be warm so the mixture is perfect. And finally, the biodiesel is dried after the excess alcohol has been extracted.

Basic Facts on Biodiesel Fuel

In the United States, biodiesel fuel has soared to heights unimaginable when it was started to gain popularity in the early 2000s. It was reported that from 25 million gallons of biodiesel consumption in 2004, it ballooned up to 75 million gallons after a year. And in 2006, the amount of biodiesel fuel used is 1 billion gallons. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that more than 80% of the trucks found in the United States are diesel-powered. And since biodiesel will only work for diesel vehicles, one does not need to analyze that much.

Biodiesel fuel is a type of fuel that comes from oils and fats. It is natural but it is not made to be consumed 100% in cars or vehicles. It burns cleaner than the normal gas but this will require frequent changes of vehicle filters.

Biodiesel is commonly used in Europe. It is called as FAME, which is an acronym for fatty acid methyl. Biodiesel is produced when FAME is mixed with glycerol. Glycerol is made up of lipids and it is also known as glycerine and glycerin. Liquid in form, glycerol is colorless and does not possess odor. It is mainly a compound of sugar alcohol and is not that much toxic in humans.

Biodiesel cannot be used 100%. This should be used in blends and are factored by the letter B to identify the [percentage of mixture. For a diesel blend that has 20% biodiesel fuel, it is called B20. And so on.

What Is Biodiesel Fuel?

Biodiesel fuel is a fuel which made from renewable sources. Not like a petroleum gasoline which made from fossil energy or non renewable energy, biodiesel is a good alternative energy.

Biodiesel fuel become popular nowadays in most of countries. Petroleum oil price increase every day, and now the oil's price is over $127 per barrel. That oil price make many people become stress and depression. They will loss much money every day to buy high priced gasoline. So, people look at the another fuel sources like biodiesel fuel.

Biodiesel fuel is save for people and save for environment.Why? because biodiesel fuel are non toxic and its biodegradable, so iut won't be harm to our environment. Those advantages make biodiesel fuel popular nowadays because many people concern to environment safety and global warming issue.

In a big country like USA, biodiesel fuel is more cheap than petroleum fuel, but at another small countries, biodiesel fuel' price is a little bit high than petroleum fuel because not this alternative fuel not popular yet, and they do not have a good technology to make biodiesel fuel in a bulk. And I think their government do not give biodiesel fuel a priority. In my opinion, it's the right time for them (government) to give a high concern for alternative energy like biodiesel fuel to handle the craze of oil's price in the world.