Become Petroleum Independent, Make Biodiesel at Home.
In the wake of ever rising oil prices, it is no wonder alternative energies have finally become a serious issue on the world stage. Amongst the energy alternatives available, arguably one of the most important and sought after is biodiesel, or alkyl esters. Biodiesel is considered the alternative fuel of the future, since it can be synthesized from renewable organic oils as opposed to fossil fuels. Biodiesel is gaining popularity amongst many home handymen due to its ease of synthesis, and for anyone who is interested in not only saving money on ever increasing fuel prices but also saving the environment, making biodiesel at home is an option that is available to you.
What exactly is biodiesel?
While biodiesel was first synthesized over a century ago, before Rudolph Diesel invented his internal combustion engine that ran on peanut oil, it was only recently that the fuel industry and people at large have taken serious interest in biodiesel as an alternative fuel. Biodiesel is the product of the reaction between alcohol and oil in the presence of a catalyst. This reaction essentially involves the breaking of the triglyceride backbone of the oil, which is glycerol, and replacing it with an alcohol group. The main products of this reaction are alkyl esters, or biodiesel; and glycerin. This entire reaction is facilitated by mixing the oil of choice with the alcohol of choice, usually ethanol or methanol, in a large container with a means of heating the mixture as well as mixing it at the same time.
How can biodiesel be made at home?
The first step to making biodiesel at home is understanding the process. Once you understands the facets of production, then you need to find out if you have a source of either waste kitchen grease or raw vegetable oil that is cheaper than the present diesel prices. It shouldn't be difficult to find oil to convert into biodiesel even if you have to buy it fresh because petroleum prices are exceedingly high today.
The first step to a viable production process of biodiesel at home after you have looked into the availability of raw materials, such as vegetable or animal grease of some sort, methanol or ethanol, and a catalyst, then it is time to go about building a biodiesel reactor. Do not be intimidated, it is a very simple construct that anyone with basic tooling skills should be able to build over a weekend or two at the most. For the biodiesel reactor, you will need a large container to act as the body of the reactor, a mechanism to mix the mixture of oil and reactants, and a nozzle preferably at the bottom to make separation easy. Along with these components, installing a misting mechanism at the top of the reactor to facilitate the washing step of production will save you from having to use a separate reactor to preform the washing step. As far as a mixing mechanism is concerned, it is a good idea to use a simple water pump that is attached to the bottom of the reactor and then spills back over the top of the reactor to cause a circular flow of reactants that will thoroughly mix the mixture to facilitate a complete reaction. Also, installing a heating mechanism is also in order. The heating mechanism can simply be a water heater electrical heating element which you have installed in the bottom of the reactor. There are an abundance of resources concerning home biodiesel reactors available on the internet, and with a simple search you will be well on your way to tried and tested plans.
The process essentially involves dumping the oil along with the catalysts and alcohol into the reactor. You then will turn on the mixing mechanism, and after the reactants have been thoroughly mixed, you will heat them with the water heater element. After a period of time, the glycerol will begin to fall out of solution. Once the glycerol begins to fall out, you should be able to pour it off into another container. Once the a batch of biodiesel is finished reacting, you will allow it to settle, then pour off the glycerol. Once the glycerol and biodiesel have been separated, you will turn on the washing mechanism which will essentially mist water over the surface of the biodiesel. This water will fall through the biodiesel picking up dissolved impurities until it reaches the bottom of the reactor. Once washed, you will again allow the biodiesel/wash water mixture to settle, after which the wash water is poured off. Your completed biodiesel is ready for use.
Why is biodiesel a superior energy alternative?
Along with being cheaper than petrodiesel at today's market prices, biodiesel also has some special characteristics which make it a promising alternative for future energy needs. First of all, since biodiesel can be synthesized from organic oils which are completely renewable as well as ethanol of plant and bacterial origin, biodiesel is a completely renewable energy resource. Second, biodiesel has a neutral carbon dioxide blueprint. A carbon dioxide blueprint is the net amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere due to the combustion of a given fuel. All fossil fuels lead to a net increase in environmental CO2 because when petroleum is burned, it releases CO2 into the atmosphere which was sequestered millions of years ago. When biodiesel is burned, it releases no net CO2 into the atmosphere because the plants that form the oil that is used as feedstock for biodiesel production sequester the same amount of CO2 from the atmosphere that is then released when the biodiesel is burnt. In other words, biodiesel is the one of the only serious contenders for a sustainable clean source of energy that can protect the environmental future of mankind.
Biodiesel already promises to the be the fuel of the future. With many firms already constructing large scale algae oil plants, biodiesel will become readily available on the world market. By turning to biodiesel as opposed to petroleum products, we can not only save the environment, but can end many wars that are caused by the ever present need for control over the world's oil supply.