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Make Biodiesel at Home
Make Biodiesel at Home
Make Biodiesel at Home
Before we go into the details of producing small amounts of Biodiesel at home we must first stress
the importance of safety. The chemicals used in the process of making Biodiesel are dangerous
and if used without taking the correct measures to protect yourself can cause serious injury or
even death. Please, please be careful and make sure you are in a well ventilated area with access
to running clean water.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
1 litre of Vegetable Oil- new (SVO) or used (WVO)
NaOH (lye / caustic soda), at least 6g. This is often used as a drain cleaner and can often
shops
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
1 to 2 litre Plastic Bottle I often use an empty Vegetable oil container
A measuring cup
A scale
A teaspoon
OR
A container to mix the methanol and NaOH (methoxide) Not plastic. Heavy duty glass is
recommended
A Funnel
If you are using waste oil (WVO), take one litre and heat to at least 120 deg c to remove all water.
If water is present the oil will spit and pop, when the water is removed this will stop. Be careful
this can be quite a violent process. Then Allow to cool
If you are using new vegetable oil it should not contain any water so just heat to 55deg c when
you are ready.
MAKING THE METHOXIDE
WARNING Making Methoxide is dangerous. Methoxide is highly toxic. For this reason, the safety of
the design of equipment and workspace should be carefully considered before use, and protective
clothing and a respirator should be worn during handling. Only as much as is intended to be used
immediately should be created. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Take 250ml of Methanol and add 4g (about half a Teaspoon) NaOH.
If you are using Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) just use 6g- 7g NaOH (about 1 level teaspoon)
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.
After **ALL** the NaOH has disolved you may need to top up with fresh methanol as the process
may cause some evaporation
Another 500ml water and a bit more aggitation for about 1 min.
After seperation of water and biodiesel Drain as above.
5. Wash Five:
You should now be able shake fairly vigerously.
If the washing has been completed sucessfully the water should be almost clear. Be aware that in
your later washes you should be able to shake mre violently although it will take considerably
longer to seperate because the water forms tiny bubles in the biodiesel that take time to settle
out.
Your washed biodiesel will be VERY CLOUDY and much lighter in colour than the unwashed
biodiesel a. After a day or 2 settling and drying it will clear
6. Drying your Biodiesel
You must remove all that water from your biodiesel before using it in a diesel engine or risk
damaging the engine. The oldest method of drying is settling.
In this method the water settles to the bottom of the tank or container over time and can be
sucked out using a small pump or syphon. For small batches it can take up to a day for the water
and biodiesel to completely separate.
Over time the water will evaporate out of the biodiesel however if let in a muggy or wet
environment this may not be suitable.
Once the water has all be removed you Biodiesel is now ready for use! Enjoy!
Please feel free to refer back to the process chart below.