Biodiesel - How To Make It

Although it is relatively easy to make your own homebrew biodiesel, it is important to follow some common sense safety procedures. You will be working with heat and chemicals, so I highly recommend you invest in proper safety gear.

Homebrewing your own biodiesel is safe as long as you follow these sensible safety procedures. These are all common ingredients that many people already have in their homes, such as lye under the bathroom sink and methanol, which can be used as fondue fuel at the kitchen table. So don't let the process scare you, just take care in handling these and all chemicals.

You can start out making your own biodiesel with very inexpensive or even free equipment. For you handier types out there, you can even build your own equipment. Most people start with small batches so they can test out the process, the recipes and so on. Once you have a handle on how to do everything successfully, you will want to make larger quantities. At this point, it is wise to invest in proper equipment.

For small batches, you only need a blender, scales, measuring beakers, funnels, a couple of plastic containers, duct tape, thermometer and safety equipment. In any case, no matter what size batch you make, you must have proper safety equipment. At a minimum, safety goggles, gloves, protective apron and boots are a must.

Now, your spouse is probably not going to be too happy about you sacrificing the kitchen blender, but you can pick one up at a yard sale. Same with all the other items, though sometimes you can get stuff for free. As for the plastic containers, you can use 2 liter soda bottles. You will need one heavy duty plastic container, so you can purchase that one at your local hardware store.

After you have graduated to the bigger batches of biodiesel, your equipment needs will also be larger. If you decide to build your own processor, you should really be comfortable with DIY projects. Remember you are working with chemicals, so you don't want to build something that is not going to withstand some serious chemical reaction.

Transesterification is what the process of making biodiesel is commonly called. Fancy word, but easy process. There are basically three ingredients in the making of biodiesel - vegetable oil, methanol and lye. Here we will go into a somewhat simplified description of how homebrew biodiesel is made:

Step One We first start off by mixing the methanol and the lye in a heavy plastic container. Both of these ingredients are sensitive to moisture in the air, so it is important to measure quickly and accurately. Be sure that the container is capped tightly. Gently swirl the container until the lye is completely dissolved.

Step Two Preheat your oil in a metal pot on the stove. When it reaches 55 degrees, carefully pour into the blender while it is off. Still with the blender off, carefully add the methanol-lye mixture. Seal tightly and blend at low speed for approximately 20 minutes.

Step Three Using a funnel, pour the biodiesel mixture into another plastic container and cap it tightly. A clean, used 2 liter soda bottle works great. As the recipe cools, you may have to let air in, as the bottle will contract.

Step Four Now you will allow the mixture to settle overnight, or for at least 12 to 24 hours. After the settling period, you will notice a layer of sediment on the bottom. It is now time to pour the biodiesel into a fresh container, however you will need to be careful not to get any of the sediment in the new bottle.

Step Five Well, the time has come to see if you have done everything correctly so far. You need to draw off a small sample to perform what's commonly known as a "wash test" on the batch. This is to check the quality of your biodiesel. Don't panic if you don't pass the test, chances are you can still reprocess and save the batch.

Step Six Once your sample has passed the wash test, you can now proceed to washing the entire batch of biodiesel. This will strip any left over impurities that may still be in the mixture. Basically, in this step, you will add water to the biodiesel. It will then get mixed vigorously. After that, it is just a matter of letting the mixture settle once again. As you know, oil and water do not mix, so when the mixture is finished separating, you will drain off the water.

Step Seven At last, we arrive at the final step in making biodiesel before it is ready to use. This is really the easiest stage. All you have to do is let it dry. The batch may still be a bit cloudy from the washing stage so just let it clear and any remaining water will evaporate from the mix. Congratulations! Your homebrew biodiesel is now ready to use.