Brew Your Own Biofuel
(Page 3 of 5)
June/July 2008
By Derek Kanwischer
Making Our Own Fuel
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The PEAS farm also houses a biodiesel processor to convert used cooking oil to biodiesel for the Garden City Harvest tractor (and originally for our Kubota). The facility provides a safe location for students to make biodiesel and store the supplies used in the process. Since its arrival at the farm, several students (including me) have taken advantage of this resource to produce fuel for their own vehicles.
Last summer, I participated in my first biodiesel experiment. It was intimidating, but the process was relatively straightforward. Basically, biodiesel is produced by a chemical reaction involving vegetable oil, methanol and potassium hydroxide or another catalyst. Glycerol is a byproduct of the process.
We took 20 gallons of used fryer oil (from a local restaurant), strained out the food particles, and pumped the oil through a series of braided hoses and copper valves into a recycled water heater.
As the oil cycled through the processor, we took a sample and tested it to determine the amount of potassium hydroxide we would need to add to the used oil. We added the necessary ratio of methanol to the potassium hydroxide. When the processor brought the oil temperature to 130 degrees, we added the chemicals to the processor and allowed it to cycle for two hours. The chemicals and heat transformed the used oil into biodiesel. When the reaction was complete, we unplugged the processor. As the oil cooled overnight, a dense layer of glycerol settled to the bottom of the tank. The next morning we drained off the glycerol, which contains methanol and other contaminants that must be removed prior to composting. (Some people use it to make soap after it’s detoxified.)
The last stage of the process was to transfer the biodiesel to a separate barrel to “wash” it. The washing process is done by applying a light mist of water to the top of the biodiesel. The suspended impurities in the biodiesel adhere to the water drops as they percolate to the base and are drained from the tank. At this point, the home-brewed biodiesel is ready to use in any diesel engine. From 20 gallons of used fryer oil, we produced 16 gallons of biodiesel.
Fuel quality issues from incomplete reactions sometimes can cause problems with home-brewed biodiesel. At the PEAS farm, the process of brewing quality biodiesel has evolved through trial and error. Thanks to the careful attention of our home-brewers, we have not experienced any fuel related problems using biodiesel produced at the farm.
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