I believe not. I think that it’s better to use straight or waste vegetable oil, and not biodiesel.

Biodiesel is a fuel manufactured from vegetable oils or animal fats and methanol. You might say that this fuel is fully renewable, as both vegetable oils and methanol can be produced from plants: oils from soya, canola (rapeseed) or sunflower (or a lot of different plants) while methanol is a product of wood pyrolysis. The necessity of using sodium or potassium hydroxide as catalyst doesn’t change much.

But in my opinion it is better to use vegetable oil directly in the diesel engine, instead of producing biodiesel. Its production requires some energy input so that the oil can be transesterified into biodiesel. This makes the EROEI a bit smaller.

Of course to use the vegetable oil in engine you need some changes to the engine itself. This fuel has noticeably higher viscosity so that it is not easily sprayed by injection nozzles. Because of that, vegetable oil needs to be heated before it can be supplied to the injection pump.

Vegetable oil use in winter is very difficult, but biodiesel also gels in cold temperatures. Both those fuels are not suitable for colder climates and colder seasons.

Biodiesel is inexpensive.

This is not true in every case. In Poland you can buy petrodiesel for 4.29 PLN/liter (close to 7.4 $/gal!) and vegetable oil (in small amounts) for more than 3.00 PLN/liter (more than 5.1 $/gal). But to make biodiesel you need also methanol and some catalyst. So the price of biodiesel in our conditions will not be significantly lower than the price of petrodiesel.

If you can buy your vegetable oil cheap, your biodiesel will be cheap. If you made your own biodiesel processor (reactor), it’s price won’t add much to biodiesel cost. But if you bought your for a lot of money, and it uses a lot of electricity for pumps and mixers, your biodiesel will become more expensive. You have to take into account the cost of biodiesel processor and any other equipment you bought to make this fuel. In any other case you’ll be lying to yourself…

Biodiesel reduces the environmental effect of a waste product.

In most cases it’s true. But making biodiesel through transesterification gives also a by-product: glycerine. If you don’t dump it but use it for anything or sell to someone, you do reduce the environmental effect of diesel fuel. Hopefully there are some good ways to make use of glycerine.

Biodiesel is produced locally.

If you make your own, that’s true. If you buy your biodiesel from some industrial supplier, don’t expect he bought it near you. He probably made it where it’s convenient for him. Where he has his factory, but not necessarily where he has his vegetable oil supplier! Not only he has to drive the biodiesel itself to your gas station, but he also has to buy the vegetable oil from somewhere. This vegetable oil transport does lead to some greenhouse gases emissions!

But hey, I hope you didn’t feel discouraged to use or make your own biodiesel! If you have cheap source of vegetable oil and methanol and can use glycerine to do something good, be happy and make as much biodiesel as you can!

Now a quick reminder:
cloud point is the temperature when your biodiesel will become cloudy (because of some solid fuel crystals within the fuel),
cold filter plug point is the temperature at which there’s so much crystals in the fuel it can’t flow through your cold fuel filter,
pour point is the temperature below which you can’t pour your biodiesel or pump it from one container to another, because it is gelous.

This data comes from “Biodiesel: Handling and Use Guidelines” by U.S. Department of Energy.

Why is biodiesel gelling important to be avoided? At cold temperatures, biodiesel becomes cloudy. When temperature drops down more, the biodiesel it gels — it becomes solid. Somewhere at this point (perhaps a little earlier) your fuel filter will be clogged with solid biodiesel snots. Fuel will not be pumped to injection pump and your engine will not work.

So you better make sure your biodiesel doesn’t gel in your fuel tank, or you’ll have trouble starting your engine!

First most important thing you need to know is when (exactly) your biodiesel starts gelling. Unfortunatelly there’s no easy answer to that question. Some biodiesel batches become cloudy at 15°C (59°F), some at -5°C (23°F), depending on the oil used for transesterification (that’s a smart name for biodiesel making process — I’ll explain it in one of the future posts). Here’s a few examples of different biodiesels and cloud points.

• -15°C (14°F) – biodiesel made from low erucic acid varieties of canola seed [2].
• -5°C (23°F) – biodiesel made of some waste vegetable oil [1].
• 16°C (61°F) – biodiesel made from tallow [2].

Cloud Point (CP) and Cold Filter Plug Point (CFPP)

CP is the temperature when some crystals of solidified fuels start to form. The fuel is still liquid, so it’ll go through your fuel filter and you can probably use it in your car even below this point. CFPP is the temperature when fuel filter in your car will become clogged by those crystals. The fuel is still liquid and can be pumped by your fuel pump (but has greater viscosity!), but will clog your fuel filter. This point is considered by some as a very good indication of low temperature operability [3].

How to overcome biodiesel gelling?

The first answer that comes to mind is: do not use biodiesel in winter. But that may not be as simple as that. If for some reason you need or want to use biodiesel in cold time of the year, consider:

• mixing it with winter petrodiesel,
• mixing it with kerosene,
• adding some anti-gelling additives,
• using two-tank system with heat exchanger to warm your biodiesel (exactly the same as kit for vegetable oil).

You’ll find some interesting tests here and here, and some additional info here.

If you have some good information or test result for your biodiesel batch, feel free to post it in comments. Very big thank you in advance!

[1] Biodiesel in winter, article from Journey to Forever.
[2] Biodiesel, article from Wikipedia.
[3] Biodiesel: Handling and Usage Guidelines, U.S. Department of Energy.

In todays society, Researchers in the United States and around the world are searching for ways to develop alternate forms of fuel. With the ever-rising fuel costs, developing alternate energy is a priority. Bio diesel was developed to combat the high gas and oil prices. It is especially made for use in bio diesel cars and trucks. Bio diesel is made from all naturalfoods that produce oil. Oils such as vegetable, canola, peanut, rapeseed, palm and olive oil can be used as bio diesel fuel.

Virtually all oils that you use in your kitchen everyday can fuel one of these cars. It does not matter if the oil has been used, it can be strained and filtered and then used in the fuel tank.

Biodiesel fuel is a better for the environment because it burns cleaner and does not pollute the atmosphere. It is non-toxic and biodegradable, making it the perfect fuel.

Biodiesel fuel has been road tested and will get up to twenty-five miles to the gallon. That is better than some conventional mileage ratings.

Many car manufacturers are realizing that the bio diesel automobile is becoming more popular, and are jumping on the bandwagon and developing their own version of a biodiesel vehicle. They realize that the need for these vehicles will increase, and predict that they will be ready for the onslaught.

If you are interested in purchasing a bio diesel and do not know where to start looking, call local dealerships and ask if they offer this type of vehicle. Chances are that they either have bio diesel cars or can place a special order for you. You can also do a Google search to find a dealer that is close by.

The least expensive biodiesel cars price starts at approximately $20,000 dollars. Depending on the style of car, it can range up to $60,000 dollars. The only reported differences in driving a biodiesel car is that in some cases, the mileage per gallon is greater than a conventional car.

If you want the convenience of a bio diesel car, and do not have the funds to buy one, there is always the option to buy a conversion kit. These kits allow you to convert your current vehicle into a bio diesel vehicle.

The kits are relatively inexpensive compared to a new bio diesel car. They start at $600.00. Although it is recommended that you have a professional mechanic do all the necessary work, full instructions and a help line are included for the do-it-yourselfer.

A car with a diesel engine does not need to be converted into bio-diesel. However it is recommended that the hoses be replaces on any diesel car that was made before 1990. When the diesel engine was created in 1892, it was designed to run on peanut oil before diesel fuel, making it the changes unnecessary.

It is however recommended that the engines of vehicles to be converted do not have rubber seals in them, as over time the oil will deteriorate the seals.

A biodiesel car is very easy to maintain. The only major problem that has been reported is that when the weather turns cold, the oil turns cloudy and in temperatures below 35 degrees, the oil can crystallize. The potential problem with this is that the crystals can plug the engine and not allow the fuel to flow properly. Special heating units are sold to keep the oil at a constant temperature.

The general public is being encouraged to purchase bio diesel vehicles. As an incentive, the government is offering special tax write offs for those who purchase bio diesel automobiles. In Hollywood, celebrities and activists who are earth conscience have made the commitment to drive biodiesel vehicles. At the moment, California has more biodiesel cars on the road than all other states combined.

Daimler Chrysler will introduce its version of the biodiesel vehicle in the 2007. The Jeep Grand Cherokee CDR will be the first biodiesel SUV to hit the market. It will run on soybean and vegetable oil, as well as grease from fast food restaurants. It is a little humorous to think that you will be able to order dinner and fill your fuel tank in the same place, but that may possible in the not too distant future.

With the growth of the biodiesel automobile, biodiesel fuel manufacturers are needed. Currently in the United States, there are sixty-five biodiesel producing plants and about eight hundred and fifty biodiesel service stations. Experts predict that a lot more will be opening over the next few years.

Daniel Roshard is an interior designer and environmental activist, studying the integration of traditional house appliances to gardens and outdoors. Daniel writes articles for http://biodiesel.zupatips.com/
Article Source: Article Directory

Here’s a simplified list of what this guy does for each batch of biodiesel fuel.

1. Gets his used cooking fat.
2. Pours it through a cloth to filter the food left-overs.
3. Pumps the oil to the biodiesel processor.
4. Heats the oil to about 130°F (55°C).
5. Prepares methoxide by mixing methanol and lye (sodium hydroxide).
6. Adds the methoxide to the cooking oil, circulates it in the biodiesel processor for about 2 hours using the pump.
7. Lets the mixture to settle.
8. Removes the glycerine from the bottom of the processor.
9. Pumps the biodiesel to the washing tank filled with some warm water. Water is supposed to remove any soap or glycerine that remained in the biodiesel.
10. When the water and biodiesel are in one tank uses aquarium bubbler to mix the water with biodiesel. After some time he pours the water out of the tank, if it’s clean, the process is done. If not, it needs to be repeated (water is shown in this white tank, the white substance filling most of the tank is the dirty water, the darker thin layer above is some biodiesel).
11. Warms the biodiesel to 140°F (60°C) to make it more clear.

I told you making biodiesel is easy!

First of all, I must say, that most vehicle manufacturers won’t guarantee trouble-free operation if you use fuel blends of more than 5% biodiesel. I believe that they’re just afraid. Biodiesel is somehow standardized in EN 14214 and ASTM D6751. But biodiesel made at home may not fulfill the requirements stated in those documents. So engine manufacturers aren’t sure if biodiesel won’t harm your engine. If they don’t want to be sued, they need to inform you that adding more than 5% biodiesel to your fuel is forbidden. It’s as simple as that.

You shouldn’t be surprised that many drivers all across the world use biodiesel succesfully. Some of them even use the B100 blend with no trouble at all. Did they convert their engines somehow?

No, they didn’t!

The biodiesel is very similar to petrodiesel. It has similar viscosity, heating value, density and so on. The only important difference is its cold resistance. At low temperatures the biodiesel solidifies. The exact temperature at which biodiesel will make your fuel filter clogged depends on what the biodiesel is made of. It’ll start earlier (in higher temperature range) if the biodiesel is made of animal fats (which are solid in room temperature!). Put some biodiesel sample to your freezer and observe how it reacts to the cold temperature. If it becomes cloudy, you probably can use it in that temperature. If it becomes solid, you can’t.

Biodiesel is also much better solvent than petrodiesel. Because of that it dissolves many impurities that gathered along fuel lines during the time you used petrodiesel. So soon after you switch to biodiesel your fuel filter will need to be replaced with a clean one. Biodiesel will also degrade gaskets and fuel hoses made of natural rubber! This is especially dangerous in cars made before 1992 or so. But you may not have to worry – those parts also degrade by themselves, so they need to be replaced from time to time. If they were replaced in your car, they might be replaced with parts made of biodiesel-resistant material, like FKM.

There are also people who call vegetable oil the biodiesel. Using vegetable oil in your diesel engine indeed does require some engine modification. I wrote about it in the article Vegetable oil engine modifications.

I read today a nice article about 15 Unexpected Uses for Biodiesel. While I was surprised that biodiesel can be used for so many different purposes, I must say that some of them IMHO don’t make sense…

The very first use is to produce hydrogen from biodiesel (or any other liquid fuel). I think, that at this moment, the use of hydrogen as a fuel is not justified. There’s only one device that justifies it — the fuel cell (also mentioned in the article). But the fuel cells aren’t popular yet. If you’d like to fuel the fuel cell with some biofuel, try biogas. Some fuel cells (I believe that SOFC – Solid Oxide Fuel Cells) can use the biogas with no trouble at all. And let’s be honest — it’s easier to find some biodigestible matter than vegetable oil required for biodiesel production…

Third idea — use biodiesel to produce electricity. This is nothing very exploratory, the diesel engine fueled by biodiesel can be used for powering a car or a genset. What difference does it make? My comment is the same as above — use biogas instead!

Fourth idea — burn biodiesel in your furnace / boiler instead of heating oil. Cool idea, I must say, but it is also possible to use straight vegetable oil for this purpose (I’ll write an article on this subject in future (if I forget, don’t hesitate to rush me via e-mail)), so why bother to produce biodiesel from vegetable oil first?

Seventh idea — mix biodiesel with petrodiesel to improve fuel lubricity. Very smart idea. Reducing sulphur content in petrodiesel reduces it’s lubricity, so you need to add something to improve it. Biodiesel is a nice suplement, since it’s biodegradable, non-toxic and so on.

The other ideas aren’t worth mentioning, but I encourage you to read the article. Perhaps you’ll find some new use for your biodiesel left-overs.

Biodiesel is made of vegetable oil. It can be a straight vegetable oil, found on a shelf in your local supermarket. It also can be a waste vegetable oil, used for frying fries. You can easily purchase full set of devices and tanks required for producing a biodiesel fuel.

To make biodiesel you need: vegetable oil, methanol and catalyst. As the catalyst you may use KOH (potassium hydroxide, known also as caustic potash, potassa, potash lye, and potassium hydrate) or NaOH (sodium hydroxide, know also as lye, caustic soda or sodium hydrate).

First you need to determine the acidity of vegetable oil. Oil from different batches may contain different amounts of free fatty acids. To make good biodiesel you need to know, how much catalyst you need to add, so you need to precisely determine the acidity of the oil. You take small amount of oil, and perform a litmus test. You will know the acidity of the oil and will be able to calculate the exact amount of catalyst to be used on your batch of vegetable oil. This part of biodiesel making process will be described here in more details in future.

The common proportion of all the stock needed to make biodiesel is: 1,000 liters (264 US gallons) of vegetable oil, 150 liters (40 US gallons) of methanol and 22 kg (48.5 lb) of KOH. This will produce 1,000 liters of biodiesel.

When you determine the proportions of biodiesel, methanol and catalyst, the process is somewhat automatic. You pour the vegetable oil to the biodiesel processor. You mix the methanol and catalyst (some biodiesel processors are able to mix those two substances automatically, in some cases you need to prepare the mixture by yourself). You add the methanol-catalyst mixture to the vegetable oil. You start the pump or whatever mixing device the processor is equipped with. The mixing process takes about an hour or so, depending on the processor.

After mixing, biodiesel needs to settle. The time required at this stage is close to 16-20 hours. The more time you give, the better fuel you get. This time is required for the glycerine to gather at the bottom of the tank. The glycerine is waste and needs to be separated from the biodiesel. Since glycerine’s density is greater than density of biodiesel, the most common way of separating those two substances is letting them settle and separate. You pour the glycerine in some tank and think of disposing it (I’ll post here an article on glycerine uses some time later). The proportion written above gives about 200 liters (53 US gallons) of glycerine.

At this time some biodiesel manufacturers wash the biodiesel. They wash it with water with some additive (helps to remove all the impurities from the fuel). You put the water into some closed tank with biodiesel inside, mix it thoroughly and let it settle. The water with all the impurities gathers at the bottom of the tank. You pour it somewhere and repeat the washing procedure until the water is clean. I posted a photo of biodiesel after first washing in article about biodiesel.

If you wash the biodiesel manually in some small batch, you may use a plastic bottle to do it. If you do it in your biodiesel processor, the process requires only some attention and is done automatically.

At this moment you may use the biodiesel fuel in your diesel engine.

If you’d like to see how biodiesel is made, take a look at the video on making biodiesel.

The video describes how to make biodiesel at home. You’ll be surprised that you need no complicated hardware and no special ingredients. Just vegetable oil, methanol and potassium hydroxide. The complete manufacturing process takes couple of hours to produce one batch of biodiesel from waste vegetable oil.