How To Make Biodiesel

Does your Land Rover that sports an “Earth-first” sticker on its bumper run on leaded petrol or grimy diesel, leaving you sheepish about the contradiction? Well, if yes, then it is time your upgraded your four-wheeler with an eco-efficient biodiesel that is worth your car and the environment too. This grow-your-own home-made fuel, absolutely made of renewable and locally available resources, isn’t just a cleaner and greener option for your car, but is equally good for the health of the environment too. Biodiesel isn’t just a cost-effective solution against expensive petrol and diesel, but it is a more viscous lubricant than these standard diesel fuels. Made from renewable materials, this eco-friendly non-toxic alternative to pricey petro-diesel is more or less a mixture of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids. It is perfectly safe for your car too! So, if you are bogged down with the price hike in fuels, biodiesel can be your answer to better and cleaner fuel. Read on to learn how to make your own biodiesel fuel in the section that follows.

Making Biodiesel At Home

• Cooking Oil
• A vessel for making the fuel in
• A Settling Tank
• A Filtering System
• 95% Pure Sulfuric Acid
• 99% Pure Methanol
• Prepared mixture of Methoxide
• Measuring Beakers and Pipettes

• Using filter screens strain the oil to cast off particulates like fried food remnants and more. To avoid this process, you can use fresh unused cooking oil to serve your need.
• In a vessel, heat the oil to 60 degrees centigrade for 10 to15 minutes to remove all traces of water in it, if any. Pour the oil in a settling tank and allow it to stand for twenty-four hours for the oil and water to separate. Drain out the water and keep the oil aside.
• Accurately measure the oil in measuring cups and pour it in a vessel. Make sure that the oil is correctly measured so that you can use all other ingredients in right proportions. Heat the oil until the solids melts.
• Add methanol to the oil. Make sure that you only use a ratio of 8% of the total amount of oil. The methanol should be 99% pure. The purer the methanol, the better the results.
• Blend the methanol properly, stirring the oil for five minutes, until it looks cloudy.
• Take 1 ml of 95% pure sulfuric acid for every 1-liter of oil and add it to the methanol-oil mixture. Make sure you take appropriate safety precautions as dealing with sulfuric acid can be extremely dangerous.
• Stirring continuously, heat this mixture up to 35 degrees centigrade. Remove it from heat and stir it gently for the next 2 hours. Once you are done, leave the mixture undisturbed for about 8 hours.
• After eight hours, the mixture might solidify. Reheat it lightly to relax its consistency and add 12% volume methoxide mixture into it and stir for 5 minutes. Your biodiesel fuel is ready for use.