1. Maria Alovert “Girl Mark”
Biodiesel Homebrew Guide

2. What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources.
Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.
It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications.
Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

3. Why Use Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is better for the environment because it is made from renewable resources and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel.
It is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar.
Since it is made in the USA from renewable resources such as soybeans, its use decreases our dependence on foreign oil and contributes to our own economy.

4. How is Biodiesel Made?
Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification
The process seperates glycerin out of the vegetable oil.
The process leaves behind two products methyl esters (biodiesel)
2. glycerin

5. Biodiesel Feedstocks
In the United States, most biodiesel is made from soybean oil or recycled cooking oils.
Animals fats, other vegetable oils, and other recycled oils can also be used to produce biodiesel, depending on their costs and availability.
In the future, blends of all kinds of fats and oils may be used to produce biodiesel.

6. Feedstock's
Source of biodiesel fuel from plants or animals
Oil Palm
African palm
Palm oil and palm kernel oil
Extracted from fleshy outside
Coconut
South America and tropical areas
Coconut meat is peeled from the husk, dried in the sun, and pressed
Jatropha
Americas
A bush that produces a seed
Seed is crushed for oil
Rapeseed/ Canola
Canada, Germany, Russia – colder regions
Yellow flowering oil crop
Peanut
South America – warm
Sandy soil
Sunflower
North America
Squeezed from seeds
Safflower
India, Egypt, and Persia
Thistle-like plant
Yellow/orange flower
Soybean
East Asia and USA
High protein bean
Hemp
Russia, China, and Asia
Illegal to grow in USA
Corn
Use the oil and grain for food
Algae
NREL have cultivated algae to produce oil
Could provide enough oil to meet all of the diesel fuel needs of the US

7. Steps to Making Biodiesel Fuel
Gather Materials
Perform a Titration
Process the Biodiesel Fuel
Quality Test the Fuel
Wash the Fuel

8. Vegetable Oil Molecule
Triglyceride
3 Fatty acids (esters)
1 Glycerol

9. Transesterification Trans-ester-ification
Transformation of one ester into another type of ester
In the vegetable oil molecule we will remove the glycerin and replace it with an alcohol from methanol
Requires a catalyst to start the reaction
Thus, transforming it

10. Catalyst
A substances added to VO to crack the glycerin off the molecule
This catalyst initiates a chemical reaction

11. Catalyst Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) or Potassium Hydroxide (KOH)
A powdery or grainy solid;
Basic (pH)
Dangerous, can damage skin, eyes

12. Titration Must titrate is using waste vegetable
This process determines how much catalyst is needed to neutralize the free fatty acids in used vegetable oil.

13. How to perform a Titration
Procedure
1. Dissolve 1 gram of catalyst into 1 liter of distilled water
2. Dissolve 1 mL of VO into 10 mL of rubbing alcohol and add a pinch of Tumeric spice in a beaker (should be yellow color)
3. Put the catalyst/water solution into the medicine dropper
4. Place the 11 mL beaker of VO/alcohol under the medicine dropper
5. Drop 1 mL of catalyst/water into VO/alcohol very slowly
6. Continue to add drops of catalyst/water solution until the oil/alcohol solutions changes color * Add very slowly and carefully (from yellow to red)
7. Note how many ml of catalyst you added into VO/alcohol
8. Use the following equation:
X = the number of mL of catalyst/water solution dropped
L = the number of grams of catalyst necessary to neutralize and react one liter of used vegetable oil
What is X?________________
Add: L = X + 8grams

14. Grams of catalyst = X + 8grams
Titration Formula
Grams of catalyst = X grams

15. Titration Materials Isopropyl Alcohol Tumeric Spice KOH (catalyst)
Water
Waste VO
Toothpick
Medicine Droppers
Measuring cups
Balance

16. Titration Step 1 Collect Waste Vegetable Oil from a restaurant
Measure 1 liter of WVO
Put into a 2 liter pop bottle

17. Titration Step 2
Heat 1 liter of WVO before titration

18. Titration Step 3 Mixture of KOH + Water
You will put this in the medicine dropper or burette

19. Titration
KOH dropper
Use to draw KOH solution

20. Titration Step 4
Fill a syringe with 4 ml of KOH and water

21. Titration Step 5 Make a of warm Oil and rubbing alcohol 10 ml alcohol
1 ml waste VO

22. Titration Step 6 Wait until KOH is dissolved in water
Slowly add drops to oil/alcohol mixture
Wait for a color change

23. Titration
Starting color with tumeric spice is yellow

24. Titration Adding KHO solution to oil/alcohol mixture
Looking for color change

25. Titration Step 7
Keep adding KOH and water until there is a complete change to red

26. Titration Step 8 Color has changed from yellow to red
Tumeric is an indicator
The red color is indicating the solution is now basic
STOP

27. Titration Step 9
Determine how many ml of KOH/water was dropped into oil
Convert this number of ml into grams
Repeat 2 more times

28. Titration Step 10 Weighing out KOH
Must measure 8 grams + amount from titration

29. Titration Notes This was a test to look for FFA or free fatty acids
FFA react with catalyst to make soaop
We detect soap with an indicator, tumeric spice
We look for a color change

30. Indicator A pH indicator is a weak acids or bases.
When introduced into an acidic or basic solution, they may causes the indicator's color to change.

31. Indicator
Low pH color
Transition pH range
High pH color
Gentian violet (Methyl violet)
yellow
0.0–2.0
blue-violet
Leucomalachite green (first transition)
green
Thymol blue (first transition)
red
1.2–2.8
Methyl yellow
2.9–4.0
Bromophenol blue
3.0–4.6
purple
Congo red
3.0–5.0
Methyl orange
3.1–4.4
Bromocresol green
3.8–5.4
blue-green
Methyl red
4.4–6.2
Azolitmin
4.5–8.3
blue
Bromocresol purple
5.2–6.8
Bromothymol blue
6.0–7.6
Phenol red
6.8–8.4
Neutral red
6.8–8.0
Naphtholphthalein
colorless to reddish
7.3–8.7
greenish to blue
Cresol Red
7.2–8.8
reddish-purple
Thymol blue (second transition)
8.0–9.6
Phenolphthalein
colorless
8.2–10.0
pink
Thymolphthalein
9.3–10.5
Alizarine Yellow R
10.2–12.0
Leucomalachite green (second transition)
11.6–14