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Biodiesel General Description

History

Biodiesel has been around for over 100 years in one form or another. Today’s biodiesel was
actually the primary fuel for the original diesel engine that was designed by Dr. Rudolph
Diesel in 1892. The first prototype was a single cylinder engine that produced 20hp at only
172 rpm! Dr. Rudolph Diesel literally disappeared in 1913. There is still some question over
the cause of his death, because the petroleum industry bought up all of his patents.

Benefits:

  • Cheaper than petroleum-based diesel (current average of $.80-90 per gallon to make)
  • Kits are manufactured in the U.S.A.
  • Supports farming economy
  • Requires NO engine modifications
  • Easy and convenient to make in your garage or shop.
  • Made from renewable resources
  • Helps reduce dependency on foreign oil
  • Reliable engine performance
  • Increased cetane rating (like octane rating to gasoline; burnability)
  • Dramatically increased lubricity
  • Safe, non-toxic
  • Can be mixed at any ratio with petroleum-based diesel (even 100%)

Emissions from vehicles are becoming worse, largely due to the massive increase in vehicle numbers, both in developed and developing countries. As China changes from the bicycle to the internal combustion engine, we can expect hundreds of thousands of extra vehicles in use, with very few enforceable emissions controls.

Both biofuels and fossil fuels are ultimately derived from living things. The distinction between biofuels and fossil fuel is essentially one of time. Fossil fuels come from plants
(making coal) and tiny sea creatures (making oil and gas) that died millions of years ago, and were laid down in coal deposits, and in oil and gas fields. The key difference is that because of the time scale involved in the creation of fossil fuels, they are in effect finite—i.e. not renewable in our lifetimes (or indeed a million lifetimes). When they’re gone they’re gone.

Biofuels on the other hand, are renewable. We can just plant more, and if we plant them as
fast as we use them, they are a sustainable resource.

Biodiesel is a fuel for conventional Diesel engines…

Diesel engines are compression-ignition engines similar to the type most successfully developed by Rudolph Diesel. The fuel which we are used to calling “diesel fuel” is just one
of the possible fuels for this type of engine. Petroleum-based diesel is made from ancient plants, mostly algae. Diesel engines have been made which will run on milk powder, coal dust, or straight vegetable oil. However the most common form of diesel engine is designed to run on petroleum-based diesel. This is the type of engine in most trucks and commercial vehicles.

It is possible to make a diesel engine that will run directly on many plant oils. In fact, one
of Rudolph Diesel’s first engines was demonstrated at the Paris exhibition of 1902 running on pure peanut oil. Conventional diesel engines will not generally run well on pure vegetable oil, but will on vegetable oil that has been converted into biodiesel. The reason for this can
be summed up in one word: viscosity. Viscosity is the “stickiness” of a fluid or its resistance to flow. The best way to overcome this “viscosity” issue is to chemically transform the oil to make it thinner. Vegetable oil is viscous because its molecules are built on glycerol. If you chemically alter vegetable oil to replace the glycerol with something less viscous you get a fuel which fits the specifications of conventional diesel engines. The chemical process is known as transesterifcation. The glycerol is replaced by a simple alcohol such as methanol or ethanol to produce a product known as alkyl esters. This process produces biodiesel.

Using WVO (waste vegetable oil) is the best way to maximize the potential of biodiesel as a greener and cheaper fuel. Utilizing a waste resource saves energy and reduces pressure on landfills. Previously, waste cooking oil has gone to make cattle feed, but it meant that cattle were eating some beef residue in the oil that could transmit BSE (Mad Cow Disease). The transformation of waste oil into biodiesel is an economical alternative in which diesel-running truck owners can benefit.