I am designing a plant which will adjust the rpm of the stirrer so that it keeps reaction rate at fastest and stop when reaction is complete. Raw materials are used filtered oil, KOH and methanol

The heating element will need to heat up to 110C and then cool down to 60C and maintain at that temperature. Instead of direct plug in to the domestic power supply, is there some way I can make this process optimized or draw power from an alternative source? The project is to develop a 50L biodiesel processing plant. My country is facing diesel shortages and limited power supply but with an abundance of waste oil. My objective to make fuel but using less fuel, this way it is more sustainable production.

I've heard mixed reviews, but mostly good stuff from those who tried it. Most said to also put in ~5% acetone or other thinning agent with a 15% RUG 80% WVO mix. Just wondering if anyone's tried this or something similar.

6.0 Powerstroke application. Not my first rodeo.

Study here

I got the idea by watching this PBS story. Could be a nice industry for Caribbean nations like Haiti.

I found them years ago. They are based in the Pacific Northwest from what I remember. They were doing biodiesel conversions on VW Passat wagons and really doing a full teardown restoration of the vehicles while they were at it. Claimed to get 900 to 1,000 miles on one tank. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, would you please link me to their website or other contact info? Thank you!

I have an opportunity to source large quantities of WVO for free to anyone that's within a reasonable proximity to me. Will detail specs if I get any bites.

I was messing around with some expired oil at home. I have never produced BD at scale but I have made some before. I used some coconut oil that smelled clean and titrated to 0.5 KOH and I was trying out the 80/20 method described here
http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/blog/the-8020-biodiesel-production-method/

On the first addition everything proceeded as normal. As the reaction was reaching the end, I decided to squirt in some of the isopropyl/turmeric indicator I made up before, as per here
https://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/biodieseltutorial/turmeric/

Literally just for the fun of it, to see it change to the red color. I only put in a few drops, i would estimate maybe 100-500 microliters based on the titrations I was doing. And now my beaker smells like.. Idk.. fruit loops? Its a powerful smell, it almost knocks you over (but maybe thats also residual methanol). I cant stop trying to take a big whiff of this smell. Its such a fun smell. I want to drink this beaker, no joke. Its like a tropical fruit I never had before.

I thought this was very remarkable. I tried to formulate a theory of what is happening but maybe someone here could chime in what they think. My theory is that the isopropyl alcohol reacted with the triglycerides to form a powerful isopropyl ester smell compound, and I have a candidate or three:

http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/data/rw1045561.html
Described as "fruity sweet winey" at 40ppm

http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/data/rw1450111.html
green vegetable woody oily fruity

http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/data/rw1040271.html
oily winey fruity floral
Wait - that last one comes from methanol! So is it just a whole lot of that? I cant find any references that say coconut BD smells like fruit, you'd think that would be common knowledge? Now I have to do separate smell experiments I guess.

all comments welcome

You can even produce it yourself

My family has some farm land and as rent we take a third of the crop grown which is usually corn. My question is, does it make more sense to sell the corn and just buy gas, or does DIY biodiesel make any sense.

Hello everyone. I find myself going down the rabbit hole and am trying to rid myself of consuming diesel because living In the Dominican Republic I find that the Diesel here is very “Dirty”. If anyone can help me with building a reactor I would gladly appreciate it.

Hi Guys. New to the sub. I run a fairly large real estate investment company and one of our major expenses is heating oil. I am investigating the viability of producing biodiesel at scale and was wondering if anyone has experience on this front? Of particular interest:

1. Makes/Models/Manufacturers of at scale bio reactors.
2. Experience acquiring used cooking oil at scale. Transportation, prep of oil if needed, etc.
3. Anything else that would be of use.

Thanks in advance.

Sorry if this isn't an appropriate question for this forum but figured I'd give it a shot.

I make skin care products and unfortunately have several gallons of oil (avocado, olive, borage, jojoba, sunflower) that went rancid before I had a chance to use them. I called an oil recycling facility near me but they said they only take used cooking oil, but it didn't sound like she was 100% certain.

These are all plant-based oils, although not food grade. Are these recyclable? What do you suggest I do with nearly 10 gallons of oil?

So I've purchased a seed oil expeller and am having great success at getting oil for biodiesel feedstock from various commodities, however I'm not sure what to do with the meal byproduct. I've been told that it is a great source of protein for various animals, but some of the vets are telling my potential cow farmers to avoid it. I understand that cow food is not just one thing. Some mixing of distillers grain (corn minus the starch) is required and silage. Anyone who does on farm feed care to chime in and educate a farming novice?

Exploring the realm of biodiesel manufacturing for if times get a little rough. Plenty of information online about Methanol based biodiesel and the production and purification processes but I'm finding little to none about ethanol.

I'm assuming with the ethanol it doesn't require the same washing process as methanol but just finding no information online to follow. Wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction or if they have experience in using ethanol themselves.

So you have to drive a pre 2006 engine in a diesel? Time to research.

Just bought my first diesel; a 2015 VW Touareg TDI. I want to start running b50 and up, anyone have any experience with it in the 3.0L V6 TDI?

Have heard one of the easiest ways to run WVO in an older diesel motor is to filter it well, then mix it 50/50 with off road diesel. Has anyone used this method?

What is the current cost per gallon to refine bio diesel from used vegetable oil?

So my most recent batch of biodiesel (50 gallons) gelled up after washing it once. Gel has never happened to me like this before. It's legit almost the consistency of Jell-O. This is like the 10th (lye-methanol-wvo) batch I've made and only did three things differently this time...

1. mixed 130g of lye (520g total) in 4 half-gallon blenderfuls of methanol, later adding half the (now/then) meth-oxide to the remaining 4 gallons of methanol, letting them sit and react for around 20 minutes each before combining the 10 gallons of meth-oxide with the 40 gallons of oil. I normally do the meth-oxide mix in smaller batches.
2. The weather was colder this time. I cant remember exactly how cold it was that night but I think high-50's...first time I needed long sleeves to be comfortable while making biodiesel. I mix this stuff in an open-air barn in Northeast Georgia. My wvo is a mix of peanut and canola oil.
3. After mixing it thoroughly with my corded drill for a solid 5 minutes, I let the batch sit for 24 hours before washing it. It seemed to have mixed well (no separation, gelling, etc). While washing it, the spray coming out of the hose nozzle caused an abnormal amount of suds to bubble up upon contact with the biodiesel... Like if I didnt stop spraying the vat would have overflowed with suds.
4. There was slightly more unfiltered sediment in this wvo than usual. I had just gotten about 110 gallons of new (used) oil that day, and added it to the 300 gallon tote I keep behind the barn. Later that evening (right before mixing), I got the oil from the bottom nozzle of the tote, where/when I assume shit had settled. 24 hours after washing it, I siphoned off 7-ish gallons of waste sludge-water from the bottom of the batch. Only had added 5-ish gallons of water to wash it a day before.

Sorry for the long post. What have I done wrong and how can I fix it? Any/all input appreciated.

Just picked up a 92 Hilux with a 2L-II, joined the group to learn more about making my own biodiesel from WVO without cratering my engine.

Have heard filtered WVO mixed 50/50 with off road diesel runs well, any truth to this?

Alright. Say hypothetically I wanted to run bio in this. It would also have a FASS fuel system, and have undergone the weightloss program (hypothetically), and a CAI~ not sure if any of that is even a factor.

What else would one have to do to reliably run biodiesel? Like home made stuff.

Thanks again, appreciate the input.

My question is mostly, what kind of adulterants and additives do I not want to have when processing. I plan on doing some small scale tests to try my hand before I venture into a larger production, so what is easily available to me at the moment is preferred. I've found Klean Strip Denatured Alcohol Camp Fuel to be my best option at the moment. The SDS shows a concentration of 30%-40% ethanol and 50%-60% methanol, will this mixture work or should I try to use purer non-mixed alcohols?

Also, I am having a hard time finding proper ratios online, do you have any set ratios oil-lye-ester.

I’ve got a VW TDI and looking for tips on getting started with the conversion. Anything specific topics or processes I should research first?

How much did it cost to convert your vehicle? Do you have a hard time finding any specific thing?