Make Your Own Biodiesel

Transesterification

How to make biodiesel from vegetable oil? It is by 'transesterification', a chemical process to produce biodiesel. The process basically involves separation of glycerol from vegetable oil by reaction with alcohol using a catalyst.

Equipments Needed

If you are interested in how to make biodiesel, you must first collect the required ingredients and equipments. The ingredients are the vegetable oil, 95% concentrated sulfuric acid, 99% pure methanol and sodium methoxide derived from mixing antifreeze and lye. Among the equipments are a vessel for making biodiesel, a settling tank, filtering system and beakers and pipettes for measuring.

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The Steps

We now summarize below the steps on how to make biodiesel:

1) Remove any trace of water from the oil by heating it for around 15 minutes up to a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Allow the oil to separate from water by keeping it in a settling tank for minimum 24 hours. The water may be drained out from top or below of the tank.

2) Measure the quantity of the oil for mixing right proportions of other required ingredients and heat the oil to melt the solids in it. Add pure methanol to the oil in the proportion of 8% of the quantity of oil. Blend the methanol in the oil for 5 minutes to get a cloudy mixture of methanol and oil.

3) Add 1 ml of sulfuric acid for each liter of oil. Heat and continually stir the mixture to 35 degrees Celsius. Then remove the mixture from heat and continue to stir for further 2 hours before allowing it to settle for at least 8 hours. If you see solid in the mixture after settling, pour some methoxide in it and stir for 5 minutes. Your biodiesel is ready.

Note of Caution

Now that you have the answer to how to make biodiesel, note the precautions to be taken so that your first experience about how to make biodiesel does not prove bitter. Start with only making a small quantity of biodiesel and remember to handle the hazardous substances with utmost care.

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This is an excellent ebook with a step-by-step blueprint for making biodiesel at home.

The problem of high viscosity in biodiesel fuel can be resolved by adopting four techniques. The processes are known as transesterification, pyrolysis, dilution and micro-emulsification. One of the best solutions to the problems of viscosity is converting the vegetable oil through chemical process to ester form (fat) for producing biodiesel. Transesterification is the name given to this process.

The process of transesterification whereby vegetable oil is transformed to biodiesel is not as complex as the term sounds. In this process, chemical reaction takes place between ester of one alcohol with another alcohol to form ester in the other alcohol. By the process the ester of the original alcohol also goes to form another alcohol. For example, methyl acetate (ester) and ethyl alcohol (alcohol) react chemically forming ethyl acetate (ester) and methyl alcohol (alcohol).

In terms of chemistry, the process involving neutralization of the free fatty acids in a complex fatty acid or a triglyceride molecule and removal of the glycerin to form alcohol ester is 'transesterification'. In this process, sodium methoxide liquid is first formed by mixing sodium hydroxide with methanol and this liquid is thereafter mixed with vegetable oil. When the mixture settles down, glycerin is left as residue with the biodiesel (methyl esters) formed remaining over this residue of glycerin (byproduct). Methyl ester is separated from the solution by washing and filtering and the other numerous byproducts including glycerin separated for making soaps.

Transesterification of vegetable oil for getting fuel was first conducted way back in 1853 by the two scientists Patrick and Duffy. The biodiesel made in this way was used for running the engines of heavy vehicles in South Africa in the 1930s.