One of my kids is doing a bio-diesel project for a school service project. I took some pictures for them, from left to right are three samples. Far left is pure bio fuel from virgin oil, middle is a shot of virgin oil with the bottom layer of glycerin (soap) seperated from it, far right is a shot of bio from used oil which I burn all the time. The black stuff on the bottom is glycerin, top layer is unfiltered bio. After this is filtered it goes into my tank.

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Cool pix. Thanks for the info.

Is it worth the hassle making the stuff? And how regularly do you make it?

I'm thinking about going that way as I have four of these puppies.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

Is there any use for the glycerin?

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Jim

Worth the hassle?
Well sometimes it feels like it's not, other times it seems like a real deal. When I am using it I don't feel the need to add any additives and the car runs great on any mixture. Total cost not including about 1.5 hours of my time is around 60 cents gallon. At a mix as low as 15% the exaust smells like french fries and has no smoke even on hard exceleration. Car runs with much less diesel knock at idle, has more zip, and seems to run cooler in heavy traffic. Another advantage is bio has a lower flash point than diesel and is very safe to carry in the trunk as an emergency fuel supply. When on a road trip I always have 5 gallons in the trunk.
Get the bible of bio fuels, "From Fryer To Fuel Tank" if you are serious about doing it. The book shows you how to figure the PH of the used oil but I found it very worth while to buy a PH meter. I made a few batches of liquid soap before having the meter. Being off as little as 10% can mean the difference between good fuel and soap.
I make about one 20 gallon batch a week in hot months. (April to November) Cold weather has caused me some problems with the glycerin getting rock hard before I could drain it, fuel gelling and grease not mixing the way it should. This is when I question if it's worth it or not.
Uses for glycerin? Yes there are. It is actually a very raw form of glycerin, more like liquid soap. You can add more lye to it and make a hard soap, use it as it is to clean mixing equipment (what I do), or compost it for use in your garden.

Is this an easily-described process? Does one add lye to the oil? What actually separates out of the oil? Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere; I'm being lazy. Curious about this whole topic.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

Robert,

Do a search for any posts by username "fryerpowered". He seems to have posted more than anyone regarding the how-to on the bio-diesel.

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Dave
1995 C280
1999 Triumph Daytona 955I - my speed fix.
1982 300TD - Gone, but not forgotten.

three years later, I have the answer. You can use the glycerine to make soap and hand cleaner (better than fast orange) Also makes for a good degreaser. (cleaning up that engine bay)

Since this thread has been dug back up, I feel the need to mention that while "Fryer to the Fuel Tank" is a good book about biodiesel basics, I no longer recommend it for people wanting to make their own fuel.

In recent years a lot of development has been done in the world of homebrew, and modern reactors are safer, easier to use, cheaper to make and produce higher quality fuel than tickell's. Also, some of his chemistry isn't the best, like his recommendation of 3.5g of lye per liter of oil. Research is showing that numbers between 4 and 5g per liter produces better conversion, making it less likely that you'll gel or emulsify your fuel during washing. Things have come a long way recently, and Tickell's work, pioneering as it was, is becoming obsolete in light of new research.

If anyone wants to get into biodiesel now, it may be worth checking out 'fryer to the fuel tank' from the library, just for some good background, but I recommend the book by Maria "Girl Mark" Alovert, available on her website: http://www.localb100.com which is based on lots of experience, and good science.

Also, the forum: http://biodiesel.infopop.cc is where a lot of great stuff is being discussed. The state of the art for homebrewing has come a long way, and that is the forum that most of it gets discussed on.

peace,
sam

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"That f***in' biodiesel is makin' me hungry."

1982 300TD Astral Silver w/ 250k (BIO BNZ)
2001 Aprilia SR50 Corsa Red w/ 5.5k (>100 MPG)

www.veggieavenger.com

this girl knows bio cold. she is great and has posted pic on her site to make a processor.

making may seem a hassle but its usually 40 gal at a time. what is that a months supply or 6 weeks? speaking of that i have to go pick up my weekly oil.

cost at the pump is all over the place and up to 3.50/gal when diesel is dropping to under 2 bucks.

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currently
[1981 300 td tdidi 165500 dark brown/palamino-Brownie-mine-3k miles of ownership
1983 240d 162+++ Anthricite grey w/ henna red interior and hella lights-wifes car-Red

the above two cars are for sale
and can be seen on the cars for sale thread here. pix also available.


240d-144+ Manilla Yellow w/ palmino interior-greasecar kit-Blondie-the college kids car

23" gt 21 speed still on original tires-still got the nubs
21" khs tandem

Do not underestimate the health hazards of methanol. It comes under the twitchkitty chemical classification of methyl-ethyl-death. If you breath it or get it on your skin you are killing yourself. It cannot be made non-poisonous. You will not know it is hurting you until irreversible neurological damage has occurred. Last time I checked there is no manufacturer of breathers that will guarantee protection against the stuff.

Methanol is quite toxic yes, but not so much that an aware hobbiest can't handle it safely. There are several mL of methanol in every bottle of wine, and every shot of bourbon, for instance.

I'm collaborating with girl mark right now to write a new, cohesive biodiesel tutorial that includes all the recent advances in vaporless reactors and chemical safety.

You are right that no VOC respirators filter out methanol vapor. There are a few specialty cartridges that can, but they are veeery expensive, and only function for a few minutes before becoming saturated. In industry, delivered air systems are the only ones considered appropriate for methanol.

But in homebrewing, like industry, the method used for methanol safety is to not make the fumes in the first place. Sealed methoxide mixers (simple as an HDPE carboy that you rock back and forth), and sealed reaction vessels and storage containers mean very little methanol vapor.

We're also working on a more complete set of guidelines for handling disposal and spills of methanol and other chemicals.

Don't let the chemicals scare you off of biodiesel. Like I said, with care and education, anyone can safely handle the chemicals.

peace,
sam

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"That f***in' biodiesel is makin' me hungry."

1982 300TD Astral Silver w/ 250k (BIO BNZ)
2001 Aprilia SR50 Corsa Red w/ 5.5k (>100 MPG)

I am going to make Biodiesel and am perfectly comfortable handling methanol. When I see mention of school kids making it and there is no mention of safety precautions I can't help but say something.

Lye is also used in the manufacture of Biodiesel. Lye is also known as Sodium Hydroxide, it will eat holes in leather boots and living human tissues. If you get it on you, you likely will not feel any warning until damage has already been done. If you get Sodium Hydroxide in your eyes you have about 20 seconds to save your vision before it blinds you permanently.

Biodiesel is a good thing but if you want to make biodiesel do your homework first. I also can recommend the book by GirlMark that was mentioned above, it is a good start.