by bebu 33 Replies latest jw friends
Bio-diesel is not 'explosive'... well, no more so than vegetable oil. I'd wager that if you're a cook, you have a bottle of vegetable oil in your kitchen. WATCH OUT!! It might 'explode'!! (not!) *wide grin*
rofl.. truer than you know. you'd be surprised by the damage i could do w. some oil. i just caught a tea towell on fire the other day, didnt notice, and nearly burnt the place down. waha-ha
I have been doing research into biodiesel. The part that's the kicker to me is that, currently...the only sedans available in the US are either the small VW models or a few Mercedes that are coming in. All the american stuff are trucks. I contemplated something the size of the new Chevy HHR with a diesel engine...using biodiesel...and running a green, efficient, and profitable taxi service. Having a real hurdle trying to find a vehicle that would do.
Evidently, at the moment, the most common here in the states is B20. A step in the right direction and easily produced. Also it requires NO engine modifications at all.
Ern
A definition here for those not knowing... B20 = a mixture of 20% bio-diesel with 80% petro-diesel B100 = 100% bio-diesel Ern, You might look into getting one of those bio-diesel processors that I've seen advertised in Mother Earth News (this month's issue). The last time I checked, they cost about $3000, and are capable of producing about 40 gallons of bio-diesel (B100) at a time. The cost of making the fuel is advertised at about 70 cents per gallon. Since I drive a small VW beetle, the payback cost of investing in one of these would be close to 4 years, even at today's high price of diesel at the pumps. I'm not ready to spend that kind of money - yet. However, in your case, if you're starting a business... it might be able to be factored in to your startup costs - as a business expense. Good Luck in your venture. Regards, Jim TX
This week we're going to get moving on the project. I'm making a parts list, and going shopping!
Instead of hauling waste vegetable oil (WVO) up and down the basement steps outside, I am hoping to get a particular set up so that we pour it into a funnel by a basement wall, which takes the oil into a large drum (it gets filtered as it goes in the drum). Let gravity do the work. We might also get a small pump to move the finished product up and out a window to a waiting can. No point lugging stuff up/down stairs if it's not needed. I'm not too keen on having slippery stairs, either...
Fumeless processing appeals to me. It allows us to not have to figure out where to put the setup in our garage, because it will be okay in our basement. We have a sump pump there, in case of oil spills, and if we discover we need to ventilate it will be easy to do. We'll have to move the cat box out of the way, that's about it.
Not everyone can do this, I know. But there are lots of restaurants and hospitals that are untapped for their waste vegetable oil, so those who can do it... might want to look into it.
bebu
I am following with avid interest the progression of the Thermal Depolymerization (TDP) process, commonly known as "Anything Into Oil."
Bebu,
Wow! Congrats on getting started making the bio-diesel.
For titration, I used a swimming pool PH tester - the kind with the liquid, and an eye-dropper.
I cannot remember where I located the hydrometer - for weighing the resulting fuel. This is a MUST have. If the fuel is good - it will weigh in the proper range.
When you filter your oil - be careful - the finer filters clog rather quickly, and can mean stopping while you either change or clean the filter.
You may want to only 'gross filter' the oil going in - to prevent french fries and other large debris from going into the tank.
Then filter it again after processing - prior to pouring onto the fuel tank.
Although... personally, I learned that if I got rather 'clean' oil, I didn't need to do much (if any) filtering at all.
You might want to try to supply an empty barrel to your 'oil supplier' - and see if they can just dump the used oil straight into it for you. It is also a way to ensure 'clean' (or cleaner) oil.
In any case... keep us posted on your progress. I wish I lived in an area where I could make the bio-diesel. Here in the mobile home park, I think they would frown on anything like that.
Regards,
Jim TX
We'll have to move the cat box out of the way, that's about it.
Maybe you can ad the cat poop, to make hi-test.. (methane)?
Hubert
This weekend I spent several hours putting the parts for the afore-mentioned biodiesel processor together. It was like a huge puzzle. It seems to have taken nearly forever to find all the various parts needed to get this to work, from start to finish (several months).
Don't let any of those biodiesel forum pages ever fool you--this isn't really as easy as it looks, unless you happen to have a lot of plumbing parts laying around, spare tanks and carboys, hoses and quick connects, etc, or live near a well-stocked dump. Nearly every solved problem created a new question to be solved. I had to look upon this as a sort of "hobby/project". Good news is, that every problem did get solved, and seems to have gotten solved in a very good way. I think...
So we are nearly done with all the mechanical end of it, and what remains is to test it for leaks with a run with water first; finish plumbing in the standing tank; and let hubby set up the titration center (I'm really clueless with the chemistry part). Then... we start our test batches.
I'm posting this just to update... and so I can be held accountable, I guess, to not quit! My hands are a bit busted up from all the work, but if it all works out this will have been a satisfying project. Time will soon tell. When we get some decent biodiesel, I photograph our outstanding achievement and post a pic.
bebu
Picture shows (L-R) a waste oil collection tank, a lot of quick-disconnect hoses for sending the oil into the processor or out to a standing tank, the water heater-turned-processor, and a pump with tons of piping below it. The black column is a stack of milk crates, upon which the pump is set. The water heater for our home is the thing with braces (it's not related to this project!). Then the standing tank. The jug on the waste oil tank is for adding methanol to the processor thru a special connection, though the jug will actually stay outside and never come downstairs. Talk about a project!
Good going!!! Keep us posted!
Swalker
Are you sure that's not a still?
I'll be looking to the west for a mushroom cloud.
Seriously, Good luck with it. (Can I buy some if it works)?
Hubert
