Getting Started Making Biodiesel
by Graydon Blair

Welcome to the wonderful world of Biodiesel. It is a fun and rewarding hobby in which you can make your own fuel to run in diesel engines.

Biodiesel is most commonly made by chemically altering an organic oil through the use of a catalyst and an alcohol, typically Methanol. The chemical reaction that occurs through this process breaks down the oil molecules and replaces the glycerine portion of the molecule with an alcohol molecule. The glycerine falls to the bottom and is drained off resulting in Biodiesel.

The Biodiesel is then typically washed, to remove any extra impurities and is then used as a fuel in a diesel engine without making any modifications to the engine.

Biodiesel is known chemically as a 'fatty acid methyl ester'. Which is just a fancy way of saying it's a product made from Methanol and an organic oil with fatty acid chains in it. It is easily made and has many benefits, including environmentally friendlier tailpipe emissions and improved engine performance.

To get started making Biodiesel, there's a few things you need to know.

Biodiesel And Your Vehicle:  Very Frequently Asked Question: "Can I use biodiesel in my car?"  Answer: If it's a diesel, yes. But there are a few things you need to know. …

Bio-Diesel From Used Kitchen Grease Or Waste Vegetable Oil:  Mike Pelly lives in the US North West. "I live for renewable energy projects," he says. Mike's been making his own biodiesel fuel from waste cooking oil for the last five years, using it in several different cars. He finds it "far superior" to fossil-based diesel fuel....

KVV Biodiesel Alternative Fuels Pages:  I am using waste fryer oil (WVO) to make bio-diesel (methyl esters), and am using that to run my Datsun diesel pickup!! …

Make Your Own Biodiesel:  Anybody can make biodiesel. It's easy, you can make it in your kitchen -- and it's BETTER than the petro-diesel fuel the big oil companies sell you. Your diesel motor will run better and last longer on your home-made fuel, and it's much cleaner ….

Making Your Own Fuel:  Making fuel isn't just for the big oil companies. You CAN make your own! Hydrogen gas, Alcohol and Methane gas can be made at home for fun and profit. Well... its not very much fun and there isn't much profit in it, but it can be done….

Mike Pelly's Recipe For Biofuels:  Mike Pelly lives in the US North West. "I live for renewable energy projects," he says. Mike's been making his own biodiesel fuel from waste cooking oil for the last five years, using it in several different cars. He finds it "far superior" to fossil-based diesel fuel....

Straight Vegetable Oil As Diesel Fuel:  Vegetable oil can be used as diesel fuel just as it is, without being converted to biodiesel. The downside is that straight vegetable oil (SVO) is much more viscous (thicker) than conventional diesel fuel or biodiesel, and it doesn't burn the same in the engine -- many studies have found that it can damage engines....

The Foolproof Way To Make Biodiesel:  This is a FOOLPROOF way to make biodiesel. No titration is required, and no extra equipment or special equipment -- a thermometer's handy, but NO pH meter!…

The Two-Stage Adaptation Of Mike Pelly’s Biodiesel Recipe :  For some time now a growing group of people have been trying and succeeding to make diesel fuel out of used cooking oil (waste vegetable oil, WVO) by themselves. There are many magnificent articles on this subject on the Internet that can teach you how to get started....

Use This Single-Stage Base Transesterification Method For Making Biodiesel:  For methanol, you can use "DriGas" fuel antifreeze from an automotive store. One type of DriGas is methanol, another is isopropanol, make sure to get the methanol one. Also try "stove fuel" from hardware stores or home centres (but check the contents to make sure it's pure methanol, it could also be "white gas", which is gasoline and doesn't work), or try a chemicals supply company....

Veggie Power:  All you need to know about making biodiesel at home….