These guidelines can be obtained from your local Department of Environmental Protection. Apart from following the rules and regulations, the availability of feedstock is crucial for the process. One gallon of biodiesel requires at least one gallon of feedstock oil. To reduce production costs and to prevent food for fuel conflict, using inedible oils as a major source for biodiesel production is advised.
Usually, feedstock and feedstock oil are difficult to obtain, hence pre-planning is the key to produce the required amount of biodiesel on a regular basis. New users usually underestimate the time requirements for proper and regular biodiesel production. While planning your biodiesel plant, make sure you allocate enough time to maintaining the equipment since improper maintenance lead to accidents. Feedstock collection and fuel processing also require a lot of time. Other time-consuming tasks include handling and securing chemicals, air drying and water washing the fuel, testing the duel quality, and disposing of by-products.
Even though the cost requirements per gallon of biodiesel fuel process are much lower than the commercially sold diesel, there are a few things you need to take into consideration beforehand. A detailed analysis of input costs versus the resultant value of fuel produced needs to be performed. The analysis should also include labor costs. Investment in equipment and facility, feedstock transport and acquisition, chemicals, energy used and by-product disposal costs need to be accounted for as well.
During the production process, a considerable amount of crude glycerol is produced. Other processors that use water for biodiesel purification produced two gallons of waste for every gallon of biodiesel. But it can be dangerous. And electrical pumps unattended in the presence of hundreds of gallons of flammables will make your local fire marshall understandably nervous. In addition, poor-quality product will damage your very expensive diesel-injection pump.
Our advice? Research biodiesel production properly before doing the mad-scientist routine. Next we need to titrate to see how acidic the oil is. Add a small amount of phenolphthalein indicator dye to a carefully prepared mixture of methanol and sodium hydroxide. Add a sample of the acidic waste oil to the mix with a calibrated pipette. Trickle in a prepared basic reagent until the mixture stays purple for 10 seconds of swirling.
It takes some simple math or a look-up table to calculate the amount. There's quite a bit of chemistry involved in transforming vegetable oil into biodiesel, in a process known as transesterification.
Vegetable oil VO is made up of chains of fatty acids held together by glycerol molecules. Methanol breaks those chains of fatty acids apart. The corrosive, alkaline lye sodium hydroxide, although you can also use potassium hydroxide breaks the glycerol a heavy alcohol off those chains and the methanol a light alcohol in turn takes the place of the glycerol, leaving shorter, lighter, more combustible molecules.
The result is an oil that burns well as a direct replacement for petroleum-based diesel fuel, with 12 to 15 percent glycerin left over at the bottom of the tank. The lye acts only as a catalyst in this case, and isn't consumed in the process. On the other hand, waste vegetable oil WVO , like we get out the back door of restaurants, is somewhat acidic because it has free fatty acids, which are produced during heating and cooking.
Fortunately, that acidity is neutralized by the extremely alkaline lye essential to the transesterification. Adding lye converts free fatty acids to a form of soap, most of which will drain out with the glycerin. The remaining soap is removed in the wash. Of course, we have to be sure that the amount of alkaline lye is just enough to counterbalance the acidity, or we wind up with poor-quality fuel.
Drain the glycerin from the bottom until you get lighter-colored, thinner biodiesel pouring from the valve. Methanol and NaOH do not easily mix. Start with the methanol at body temp not warm. NOTE that as you mix the two chemicals the temperature will increase.
Do not panic… is normal. You will need to ensure all the NaOH is disolved in the Methanol, this could take over ten minutes. Ensure the container is sealed securely then shake vigerously for about 15 seconds.
It will take a day or two for the Biodiesel to completely separate. You will see two defined layers — the Biodiesel and the glycerine. Typically the glycerine layer is about the same or a bit more than the amount of methanol used. Now remove the Biodiesel from the container leaving the glycerine and you are ready for the washing…. Please do not violently shake your unwashed Biodiesel as it will form an emulsion that may take days or evn weeks to fully seperate.
The gentle approach is whats needed. Pour 1 litre biodiesel into a a clean and dry plaric bottle. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors.
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Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph. Chemistry Expert.
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