biodiesel?!
Conundrum, Thu Jan 24 2008, 10:59AMhi all.
Interestingly, the Government restrictions on using biodiesel for automotive use only apply to conventional engines directly driving the wheels.
I looked into this, and it seems that an electric vehicle with a small (bio) diesel powered electric generator in the boot to charge the batteries is not actually restricted at all.
Also very handy in the event of a power cut- just hook the generator to your home system and you have lighting back as needed.
Which brings me to:- How the heck do you make bio diesel in the first place? There are articles on the WWW but the chemical knowledge required is fairly complex, titration and filtration being the main headaches.
1) Filtration via centrifugal pump :) powered by the generator.
2) Real time analysis of fuel, using ultrasonics/etc with reserve tank to ensure continuous power.
Any ideas? feel free to comment.
-A
Re: biodiesel?!
Electroholic, Thu Jan 24 2008, 05:19PM
All you need is oil, NaOH/KOH, ethanol and a way to seperate the glycerin and the biodiesel.
you only need to do the titration if you use waste vege oil.
Coz the fatty acid from the fat will neutralize you catalyst.
Electroholic, Thu Jan 24 2008, 05:19PM
All you need is oil, NaOH/KOH, ethanol and a way to seperate the glycerin and the biodiesel.
you only need to do the titration if you use waste vege oil.
Coz the fatty acid from the fat will neutralize you catalyst.
Re: biodiesel?!
Bored Chemist, Thu Jan 24 2008, 05:50PM
A quick and dirty answer is that you can use the oil directly in a diesel engine.
However, the law certainly used to require that duty is paid on fuel used for "power or lighting". I see you are on Guernsey and things might be different there, but I'd check with a lawyer before I changed over to biodiesel.
Bored Chemist, Thu Jan 24 2008, 05:50PM
A quick and dirty answer is that you can use the oil directly in a diesel engine.
However, the law certainly used to require that duty is paid on fuel used for "power or lighting". I see you are on Guernsey and things might be different there, but I'd check with a lawyer before I changed over to biodiesel.
Re: biodiesel?!
Steve Conner, Fri Jan 25 2008, 11:44AM
Huh, what restrictions?! As far as I know, all you need to do is pay some Road Fuel Duty if you use a lot of biodiesel or waste oil in your diesel vehicle.
Steve Conner, Fri Jan 25 2008, 11:44AM
Huh, what restrictions?! As far as I know, all you need to do is pay some Road Fuel Duty if you use a lot of biodiesel or waste oil in your diesel vehicle.
Re: biodiesel?!
Carbon_Rod, Mon Jan 28 2008, 07:09PM
Oil crackers can be made for under $100. Automating such a setup should be fairly simple.
Those vegetable oils can also damage older rubber based seals (before 1990's it is hit and miss.) A fuel line pre-heater also increases the performance of the fuel somewhat too (a 300watt ceramic nicrome based power resister, self resetting thermal-breaker from a MOT extraction, and stainless steel tube.)
Skimming the contaminants from a sedimentation tank while running may prove elusive.
Just make sure your engine does not have fuel injectors -- they seem to fail without clogging the filter for some reason (I posted this issue with water content last year.)
Warning: your vehicle will smell like French fries and chicken while running.
Carbon_Rod, Mon Jan 28 2008, 07:09PM
Oil crackers can be made for under $100. Automating such a setup should be fairly simple.
Those vegetable oils can also damage older rubber based seals (before 1990's it is hit and miss.) A fuel line pre-heater also increases the performance of the fuel somewhat too (a 300watt ceramic nicrome based power resister, self resetting thermal-breaker from a MOT extraction, and stainless steel tube.)
Skimming the contaminants from a sedimentation tank while running may prove elusive.
Just make sure your engine does not have fuel injectors -- they seem to fail without clogging the filter for some reason (I posted this issue with water content last year.)
Warning: your vehicle will smell like French fries and chicken while running.
Re: biodiesel?!
Bryan, Thu Feb 21 2008, 09:48AM
good post we use an oil cooler in the engine bay and stick it where it will get hot to preheat the oil. We have used a race car square gastank mount it in the back of the truck with three sizes of filter screen then it goes through the screen into the tank to the pump. Then it goes from the pump down the steel braided lines to two very large oil filters that are changed every two weeks then it goes into the engine bay where is is preheated and only after the diesel truck is up to full temp we flip a toggle switch and it shuts off the fuel pump and pumps in the biodiesel oh the french fry smell. truck been running like this for 40,000 some odd miles with no major issues or headaches. We found the secret is annoying filtering and preheating the biodiesel. I agree oil crackers work well we haven't had any seal issues yet but I will keep an eye on it if a problem arrises in the future I will post. However for the money I am saveing I can change some seals if need be. the coolest technology I have seen recently is automotive shops installing heaters that run off used motor oil with very low emmissions and they will cook you out of a shop fast. Lots of heat.
Bryan, Thu Feb 21 2008, 09:48AM
good post we use an oil cooler in the engine bay and stick it where it will get hot to preheat the oil. We have used a race car square gastank mount it in the back of the truck with three sizes of filter screen then it goes through the screen into the tank to the pump. Then it goes from the pump down the steel braided lines to two very large oil filters that are changed every two weeks then it goes into the engine bay where is is preheated and only after the diesel truck is up to full temp we flip a toggle switch and it shuts off the fuel pump and pumps in the biodiesel oh the french fry smell. truck been running like this for 40,000 some odd miles with no major issues or headaches. We found the secret is annoying filtering and preheating the biodiesel. I agree oil crackers work well we haven't had any seal issues yet but I will keep an eye on it if a problem arrises in the future I will post. However for the money I am saveing I can change some seals if need be. the coolest technology I have seen recently is automotive shops installing heaters that run off used motor oil with very low emmissions and they will cook you out of a shop fast. Lots of heat.
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