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Usually derived from vegetable oils-soy is very popular these days, but animal fats can also be used-biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification which essentially splits the oil into two parts: alkyl esters and glycerine; the esters are the fuel, while the leftover glycerine is often used to make soap and other beauty products. Both virgin and waste oil (often collected from restaurants) can be used in this process with equally good results.
A common misconception is that engine modification is needed to use biodiesel. This is simply not true: any diesel engine can burn biodiesel without any modification; it's a straight fill-up-and-go affair. Unfortunately, it isn't available at every gas station and truck stop in America just yet, but there's something you can do about that: make your own.Courtesy of Willie Nelson, country singer and biodiesel booster extraordinaire, this recipe is featured in Willie's new book, On the Clean Road Again: Biodiesel and the Future of the Family Farm.
Caution: Making your own biodiesel can be a dangerous process; please, be extremely careful and wear safety glasses or goggles, a face mask and heavy-duty gloves.
Willie's Blender Biodiesel
Prep time: 20 minutes
Materials needed:
1 heavy-duty blender that you don't need for cocktails or smoothies any more. Glass is the best way to go, as the plastic might melt after repeated uses.
Keep a fire extinguisher and the phone handy.
Ingredients:
200 ml (about 6.7 ounces) methanol (caution: methanol can cause blindness. Be careful!)
3.5 grams (about .12345 ounces) lye
1 liter (about 1.056 US quarts or .264 gallons) oil -- if it's reused, you'll need to filter it and heat it to at least 215 degrees F, to remove any water
Instructions:
Place methanol and lye in blender. Blend. Stop. Blend some more. You have now created sodium methoxide. The sides of the blender should be getting hot. At this point, the mixture can eat through your skin and the fumes are explosive and dangerous to inhale. Don't let that fire extinguisher and telephone get too far out of reach.
Pour vegetable oil in with the sodium methoxide. Blend for 15 minutes. Cheaper blenders can and will fall apart during this process of continuous blending. I like to sing to the mixture right about now. Any good country song will do-something with a good beat. Stop blending and singing after 15 minutes. If done correctly, two layers will form. The bottom layer is glycerin, a by-product of the procedure, and the other layer is biodiesel. The glycerin can be safely composted or made into soap to clean up the mess in the kitchen.
Yield: 1 liter biodiesel
The biodiesel can then be poured directly into your car, provided it has a diesel engine. Congratulations; you may never have to buy fuel again!
Difficulty level: Advanced
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