How to Make Your Own Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel made from renewable sources, like vegetable oil, and does not contain petroleum. Combining Biodiesel with petroleum allows it to run in all diesel engines, with the added benefit of lower emissions, making it much cleaner for the environment.

Biodiesel can be purchased from many locations around the country. The fuel is readily purchased from distributors or directly from available pumps nation wide. In addition, it is held to the strictest of standard to ensure proper performance, and must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Biodiesel is produced by a chemical conversion process called transesterification. Biodiesel is made with the ingredients of glycerin, vegetable, and methanol. The transesterification process is easily performed in a large drum in your own back yard if one had the proper certification. Just remember, to do so you will have to be approved by the EPA.

It is a surprisingly simple to produce Biodiesel. By pumping vegetable oil into a large drum and adding the lye, which bonds with the glycerin and oil, they bond and sink to the bottom, then add the methanol to the mixture. The vegetable oil and the methanol form a lighter mixture that floats on the top of the tank, what you see floating on the top is the Biodiesel.

An excellent advantage of biofuel is that it can be made from waste oil, like the oil used by some of your favorite restaurants. Can you imagine pulling around the back of your regular haunt and asking for their waste oil? I bet most establishments would be more than happy not to have to be concerned with properly having to dump their used waste oil. With this in mind, one could practically drive free of fuel cost.

Biodiesel has gone through many tests over the years and has been approved to run in all diesel engines with little or no modifications to the vehicle. A fantastic benefit to Biodiesel is its lubricating properties; it acts like a solvent to clean the engine.

If you are converting a vehicle that runs on traditional fuel, you may need to change your fuel filters to capture the sludge left behind by the petroleum fuel. It may be necessary to change the filter several times until the sludge from the old fuel is purged and you are running on clean biofuel.

The process is so simple you could even make it in your own back yard, but the EPA must first approve it if you ever think about using it in your own car or truck, so unless you can meet the rigorous standards it is better to buy your fuel from an approved distributor or from the pump.