This article is for those who are a little more experienced at making
biodiesel at home and who wish to progress from using straight
vegetable oil to waste oil. As users of biodiesel fuel know vegetable
oil will react very similarly to diesel fuel in a diesel engine. Like
diesel fuel, biodiesel will ignite when compressed causing air in the
engine cylinders to expand. This is the energy that pushes the engine
pistons into motion.
The reason you must make biodiesel is that if you burned straight
unprocessed oils in the diesel engine it would simply congeal and then
clot your fuel injectors and engine like cholesterol hardening human
arteries.
Read more on how to Make Your Own Biodiesel There are many biodiesel
recipes for removing the fatty acids from oil. Here is a very common
and reputable recipe for making biodiesel at home from waste oil.
You will need:
Used or fresh vegetable oil
(that has been strained so that it is free of particulates such as food
crumbs)
Lye
Methanol
Isopropyl Alcohol (99% IPA)
eyedropper- or other type of 1
milliliter dropper
PH paper (to test for acidity )
an old blender
plastic or glass measuring cups
or beakers, with metric measures-- and/or a gram scale plastic, glass
or stainless stirrers and spoons,
plastic buckets
And the process is as follows:
1. Dissolve 1 gram NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide- Lye) in 1000 ml. of water.
This is your NaOH solution. 2. Dissolve 1ml. of wasted vegetable oil in
10 ml. Isopropyl Alcohol(IPA).
3. With an eyedropper, drop the diluted NaOH into wasted vegetable oil
mixture a milliliter at a time.
Count the drops. After each drop check the ph level of the WVO solution
with standard ph paper-- you will see an eventual rise in the ph level.
Continue to add the NaOH solution into the WVO solution, a drop at a
time, until it reaches a ph of 8-9. To determine your proportions,
figure: The number of drops of NaOH needed for the WVO solution to
reach a ph of 8-9 1 ml. plus 3.5 g. NaOH to catalyze the oil.
Then go ahead and prepare a larger batch in your blender. Don't forget
to clarify, settle and bubble wash this mixture as usual and remember
to follow the usual safety precautions for making biodiesel at home.
Ash Ried is the author of numerous guides and articles on Biodiesel.
You can find articles on How To Make And Use Biodiesel on his website.
Click here to get free access http://NewBiodiesel.com/articles.html
