Bio-Diesel!

[fasteddie]

Anybody else cooking up some? I've started, in my garage. It's easy!

If I had the space, I'd be brewing up 100 gallon batches. And, come next winter, fuck you, heating oil man.

 

[Belisarius]

How are you making and using it? Are you using filtered, used cooking oil?

 

[fasteddie]

How are you making and using it? Are you using filtered, used cooking oil?

Yes. I'm developing a screening method for feedstock. Free fatty acids make this ugly solid "soap cheese" that's useless, as is. That's why I don't like stuff that's way spent, or that has beef tallow in it.

 

[duck_racer]

I have a friend who takes barrels of the stuff to festivals in England..

Of course he pays the tax on his bio-fuel

 

[RainbowDrops]

Should be some news about this in the Nationals on Monday
(not my story, but from our mag)

Something along the lines that it could lead to MORE emmissions...

Watch this space!

 

[fasteddie]

Should be some news about this in the Nationals on Monday
(not my story, but from our mag)

Something along the lines that it could lead to MORE emmissions...

Watch this space!

While I am no expert on IC engines, it's hard for me to see how this could be. Since it's an ester, it has two atoms of oxygen per molecule. This makes it a fuel oxygenate, it helps combustion along.

I could quite easily be mistaken. I await your magazine story with great interest!

 

[RainbowDrops]

Here we go:

http://www.firstscience.com/home/ne...el-won-t-drive-down-global-warming_21199.html

I think the emissions were calculated overall, ie including production & processing, transport etc.

 

[Kul69]

I'm not a big fan of bio-fuels as a replacement for everyone because I think we'd run into a lot of the same or new problems because of it. However, I can still support people who are just sick of supporting the oil industry and want an easy alternative.. I just don't think it's a good idea for a total replacement.

 

[echo off]

at my work i throw out around 2 litres of oil from the chicken ovens... its oil mixed with fat... could it be turned into bio-deisel?

 

[fasteddie]

Not so good, I understand. Animal fat has lots of free fatty acids, that turn into
this useless soap "cheese". Best is french fry oil, spent or not.

 

[fasteddie]

Bio-diesel feedstock

Check out www.biodieselsolutions.com. They've a spiffy document on there called "application note AN-1" which outlines some really helpful info about selecting feedstock.

 

[blissfulMenace]

i dunno if this fits the topic, but my father was tellin me about when he was in high school one kid converted his engine to run on greasel

then when in high school my precalc teacher of all people also told me that you can buy things online to convert diesel trucks into greasel trucks...

http://greasecar.com/ check that site for information on it, i find it rather interesting

 

[fasteddie]

The only conversion required is to replace all the gaskets, seals, rubber doohickeys, etc. that come in contact with the fuel with materials that will stand up to the bio-diesel.

 

[blissfulMenace]

ah so replace half the engine seals... sounds easy enough

/sarcasm

i think i would do it if i had a practice car or something... just like i have an extra computer to learn unix

it would be a blast to take on a project like that... not to mention i could awe my family/friends

 

[fasteddie]

Hey, I never said I was a mechanic. If you are, bless your heart. That's about the most underpaid and underappreciated profession there is, considering what goes into it.

 

[kidamnesiac]

actually you really just need to replace the hoses, which is cake

 

[fasteddie]

actually you really just need to replace the hoses, which is cake

Hmmm. Again, I'm no mechanic, but aren't there seals, gaskets, something like that, in the fuel injector pump?

 

[phuq you]

im guessing only Diesel taking cars can run on Bio-diesel?

or would my gas taking car be able to?

<~ No0b

 

[Crimethink]

Re: Greasecar / conversion

Because the flashpoint of vegetable oil is so low when running a diesel car off veg oil you need two fuel tanks one for regular & veg. Before shutting down the car and immediately after starting the bypass valve must be switched to the smaller (more flammable) reg. diesel.

For the non-mechanics out there (myself incl.) recall that diesel engines run on glow plugs not spark plugs, they essesntially use heat and extreme pressure to induce combustion.

Because of the vastly different properties biodiesel (transesterified oil) and much more volatile (and complex!) gasoline one prob can't be used with the other.

Anyone designing a biodiesel blend for commercial use needs to have micron level filtering, plus samples stored from each new batch, as well as gel/flow point extenders and bacterial growth inhibitors. (And maybe a few more I'm forgetting, I once considered this but need sources for feedstock.)

BTW the first diesel engine by Rudolf (?) Diesel ran on peanut oil.

 

[blissfulMenace]

yea somethin tells me if it was as easy as kidamnesiac was making it out to be then everyone would have done it by now