Vegetable Oil and Biodiesel Melissa Brian

Vegetable Oil vs. Biodiesel Biodiesel uses mostly soybeans because it is more efficient than corn No converting is necessary to run biodiesel, because it acts exactly the same as petrodiesel To use straight vegetable oil, it first has to be mixed with another fuel then a second tank must be added to the vehicle

Vegetable Oil: Advantages Disadvantages Reduces dependence on foreign countries Oil can come from anything that is or ever was a plant Clean burning Extremely cheap once the conversion tank is added Can be made at home We would become dependent on plants, so a famine would be devastating In vehicles, vegetable oil does not burn in a regular engine (heating tank is necessary) A lot of pre-heating required (less net energy yield)

Advantages Disadvantages Biodiesel: Advantages Disadvantages Reduces net CO2 emissions by 78% compared to petroleum diesel Same power and fuel economy as petroleum diesel 47% drop of particulate matter 67% decrease in unburned hydrocarbons Reduction in Sox gases Can make it yourself or find a nearby biodieselpump Freezes and clogs up fuel filters at 28° F 10% increase in Nox gases If biofuel were grown on every available piece of farmland, it would still only replace 20% of the energy we currently use from crude oil

HowSVO(straight vegetable oil) work? Vegetable Oil can be used for vehicle transportation in 4 ways Put it in and go… and hope it works. Mix with diesel fuel (or kerosene), heat to lower viscosity, and put it in and go. Blend with organic solvent additive or 20% gasoline (petrol), heat to lower viscosity, and put it in and go Install 2-tank system where the oil is pre-heated.

Home Recipe for Biodiesel: 1 liter of new vegetable oil 3.5 grams sodium hydroxide 200 milliliters of methanol Pour methanol into a glass blender, turn on blender to lowest speed and slow add the sodium hydroxide. Blend until dissolved (2-3 mins) then add in the vegetable oil and blend for 20-30 mins. Allow the mixture to settle for a few hours. The lower layer is glycerin and the top layer is biodiesel. You can normally use biodiesel in any unmodified diesel engine.

citations http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/a/makebiodiesel.htm http://www.springboardbiodiesel.com/biobasics/svovsbio http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/ http://grist.org/cities/umbra-bdvssvo/ http://annadannfelt.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/80399721861.jpg