Co-op Group Shot

Our Co-op, Mike Brown, Nate Perry & Rusty Holt not present

Hanging out with Willie Nelson and the Piedmont Biofuels folks

Click image to enlarge

1 2 3 4 5 6

 Our Bio-Diesel story

The above samples have started with waste vegetable oil, French fry oil, from Zack's Hot Dogs.  

1) Waste vegetable oil (WVO) from area restaurants.

2) What the sample test looks like that separates the bio-diesel from the bottom darker layer of glycerin, i.e. the perfect crack.

3) Bio-diesel byproduct, glycerin, that can be used to make soap and is both biodegradable and compostable.

4) What happens when you add too much sodium hydroxide, lye, to the waste oil, i.e. soap.

5) Water wash, separates the bio-diesel from anything else that did not process out of the reaction.

6) 100% bio-diesel, 0% petroleum, ready to go.
 

Eric pouing the first biodiesel in his VW

 










Bio-Diesel Recipe (93 gallon batches)
Revised
10/26/2006 Water wash free system
  • Heat the 93 gallons of WVO (pre-filtered and dried earlier) to about 110F. 
  • % of Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is determined prior by the titration test and by running a sample batch. Typically in the 9 to 12 grams per liter.
  • Mix 20 gallons methanol to the KOH and increase the KOH 2 grams per liter of what the titration results were.
  • Mix WVO with 17 gallons of methoxide for 1 hour.  
  • Add 1% water about 1 gallon and mix for about 10 minutes.  This helps pull the methanol out of the biodiesel
  • Let set for at least 24 hours hours then drain the glycerin off.
  • Add the other 3 gallons of the methoxide
  • Exhaust the methanol by bumbling via an air line in the tank and circulating the biodiesel with the top off the reactor for 8 hours.
  • Let settle again and then drain a little more glycerin.
  • Add 70 ml of glacial acetic acid.  This is a percentage of the KOH so as the KOH increases the acetic acid is increased the same percentage.  Mix for one hour.
  • Add 460 grams of Magnesol Mix for one hour and let set for 8 hours, then drain the sludge from the bottom of the tank. 
  • Pump through an internal 200 micron sock filter for 1 hour then change to a 25 micron sock filter for another hour
  • Pump to 55 gallon plastic drums via a 2 micron Racor filter. 

Our goal was to be able to make a finished batch of bio-diesel in 3 days and the above recipe gives me those results with about 3 hours of actual time invested.

Bio-Diesel Informational Links

www.veggievan.org
Home of the veggievan and a really good book to get you on the road to grease burning. Be it biodiesel in an unmodified vehicle or SVO in a convert.
http://biodiesel.infopop.net/2/OpenTopic
Biodiesel and SVO discussion group.
www.journeytoforever.org/
Lots of good information about lots of different things. Tons of Biofuel info.
www.biofuels.coop
Good friends doing good things in Chatham county
www.uidaho.edu/bae/biodiesel
Pioneers in Biodiesel Research
www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel
UNH Biodiesel Group
www.biodiesel.org
Good info.
PDF - Biodiesel emissions testing
Goat Industries
Investigation into bio-fuels derived from vegetable and animal oils suitable for road transport and their impact on the environment
www.nrel.gov
NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Triangle Biofuels Industries
TBI is a Raleigh, North Carolina based biodiesel producer that makes premium biodiesel from virgin and waste vegetable oil (WVO) obtained from local sources.
www.grease-works.com
Corvalis Biodiesel Co-op
PoweredGenerators.com

VegBurner
Darren Hill in the UK. Lots of juicy vegetable diesel info.

For more information contact Eric Henry  336.229.6426 x201  cell:  336.675.6266 eric@burlingtonbiodiesel.org

2004 © LocalAction.Biz
Web Space Provided by Sites Computer Resources, Inc.