Biodiesel is simply making diesel fuel out of biomatter. The great thing about using biomatter to make diesel fuel is that it’s renewable. Essentially, you need more fuel, you just grow more! The fact that diesel vehicles tend to get better fuel economy (not gas mileage) than their gasoline powered counterparts is just icing on the cake.

Currently there are several ways to make biodiesel. The different methods use varying materials and different processes to produce the biodiesel fuel. In a second I’ll take a look at the different ways of synthesizing biodiesel and what is needed to do it.

Can some of these be made in your garage? Ya, sure, you betcha! In fact there are complete biodiesel reactors you can buy (well, you might be able to buy them, but at around $3K, they’re still a bit too rich for me) as we speak.

Although they sound like the two aunts you had when you were a kid, methyl and ester are actually the foundation of biodiesel. Biodiesel begins as a natural plant or animal based oil. The precursor for biodiesel can be from many different sources, such as used restaurant fryer oil or plant-based oils. Crops can be grown specifically for use in producing biodiesel or waste products can be recycled to make biodiesel. Many seed or bean crops yield high quantities of oil that are suitable for making biodiesel.

The actual chemical process used to create biodiesel from these base oils involves replacing the glycerin in the base oil with alcohol through the use of a catalyst. The oil is combined with the catalyst and methanol, then heated. The catalyst is used to accelerate the reaction and speed up production. Used oils are completely filtered before being mixed. This can be avoided is virgin oils are used, although pre-filtering is still a good idea.

After the reaction is complete the mixture will stratify. The top layer will be the biodiesel. The original glycerin that was replaced by the alcohol will be on the bottom. There will be a layer of soap in the middle. The unwanted soap and glycerin are discarded, leaving only the fresh biodiesel.

One of the big attractions of biodiesel is that so many different materials are suitable to use for creating the base oil. One that is holding great promise for commercial applications is algae. Some algaes contain high quantities of high quality oil that makes great biodiesel.

Unlike many other base stocks, algae uses no agricultural land, so using it to make biodiesel doesn’t impact crop availability or prices. It also has high yield and algae can be genetically manipulated to increase efficiency even further. As an added environmental benefit waste CO2 from various industrial sources, such as that created by coal fired power plants can also be consumed in the process of growing the algae.

Here are some of the other benefits to using algae as the bas stock for biodiesel.

1. Algae can be grown on many types of land, such as deserts or near industrialized areas. This land is often unsuitable for housing or agriculture and would otherwise be unproductive.
2. Algae produces orders of magnitude more oil per acre than any terrestrial crop
3. Algae utilizes less water than traditional crops
4. Algae can grow in fresh water, brackish water, salt water and even polluted water. In fact it can be used to clean polluted water during the course of it’s growth.
5. Algae will not drain the earth’s potable water supply
6. Algae can help reduce global warming by sequestering atmospheric CO2. This in addition to above described benefits of using waste CO2 from industrial processes.

Several commercial ventures are well underway to commercialize what’s termed algecal biodiesel. Some of these are GreenFuel Technologies, PetroAlgae, Solayzme, and Redmond, WA based Bionavitas. Bionavitas uses special technology to ensure light reaches throughout the vessel used to grow the algae, compensating for the fact that as the algae grows, it tends to disrupt light infusion into the vessel.

What about making your own biodiesel? Many people do this, and the basic process as is described above. If you are trying to save money on fuel, making your own biodiesel could be just the ticket. You have to be the do-it-yourself type and be willing to play Mr. Wizard, but it is definitely possible. Depending on the source you use for the biodiesel base, it can be made for under $1.00 a gallon, certainly an attractive proposition in this day of $4.50 gallon petro diesel.

If you are ready to start making your own backyard biodiesel fuel, you first have to secure a reliable source of base stock. You can get to be good friends with the local burger joint owner and try and weasel him out of their used fryer oil, but many of these relationships have already been made.

A word of caution when making this stuff.

You can kill or injure yourself when making biodiesel, so be very careful. You’ll be using nasties such as lye and methanol. These are hazardous chemicals, and you can easily be blinded, burned, or otherwise scared for life if things should go awry. You need to wear a face shield, a respirator and gloves all rated for protection against hazardous chemicals before you begin the process of making your won biodiesel. Saving $3.00 a gallon isn’t worth losing your hand, an eye, damaging your lungs, or ending up shot to hell un dyin’.

The above cautions are one of the attractions for using self contained biodiesel reactors such as the Fuelmeister II, the $3,000 unit I spoke about at the beginning of the post. Using a commercial, self contained biodiesel production unit will give consistent results, and make the process easier, faster and safer than doing it yourself. The Fuelmeister II can make up to 40 gallons per day, which should feed all but the largest crew cab dually for a week or so, even when towing your boat.

When making your own biodiesel you’ll use a little more than a ½ oz of lye and less than a quart of methanol for each gallon of biodiesel. The largest cost variable comes from the material used for the base oil. At the beginning, if you’re making your own, you should start small, with virgin base stock, and make small batches. After you’ve had some practice, you can start making larger batches.

There are some tings to consider when using biodiesel in your own vehicle. For instance, in vehicles made before 1990, you may have to replace the fuel lines because biodiesel can corrode the lines used these older vehicles. There are also warrantee concerns to think about. In low concentrations such as B-5 (5% biodiesel / 95% petro diesel) the warrantee will be unaffected, but check with your manufacturer before using biodiesel in higher concentrations if your vehicle is still under warrantee. It can also gel in cold weather if an additive is not used, or a fuel heater isn’t installed.

Biodiesel can be a great way to save money on fuel. If you’re prepared to put up with a little more hassle than simply pulling up to the pump with the green handle, making your own biodiesel might just be the ticket.

Please Stumble My Post!