Making biodiesel at Home, in Your Kitchen

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Making biodiesel in your kitchen is intended as an overview of the biodiesel process. While this method is perfectly safe, you are strongly encouraged before undertaking this activity, or any activity involving chemicals, to read the biodiesel safety information here before attempting this at home. Improper use of these chemicals, or any others, can be dangerous. This is presented for educational information only and assumes you are taking full safety precautions. This method of making biodiesel is perfectly safe. You do need a brain though. If I haven't scared you off...Keep reading.

If you can make barbeque sauce, you can make biodiesel. Chemistry is a lot like cooking, measure and mix the ingredients and wait for a reaction. It is entirely possible to make enough fuel at home in a safe, easy, professional manner for all your own needs. You can do this for less than $1.00 a gallon. This will enable you to have enough to run your cars, or trucks, even heat your home in the winter. There is no reason you cant be saving money on your energy needs in a very short time. Everything you need to know is presented on this web site below.

This "homebrew" kitchen method is good for NEW vegetable oil ONLY. Try it to get your feet wet, without getting soaked financially, to see if making biodiesel is a good alternative for you. Keep reading...

Here are the materials you'll need making biodiesel...

1 liter of clean/new vegetable oil. The cheapest you can find.
Lye (AKA "caustic soda") you are going to need a least 4 grams. You can find this at the supermarket in the cleaning section around drain cleaners. Check the contents; it should say "caustic soda" (DO NOT use Drano) For you chemical types, NaOH is the chemical compound.
Methanol. You can find this in Auto supply stores. It usually lives in the gas line antifreeze section. For this recipe you can useHEET gas line anti-freeze, the one in the yellow bottle.

Here's the equipment you'll need making biodiesel...

(One) 2 liter plastic bottle. It should be clean and dry.
A funnel that fits the bottle above
A dry, sealed container to mix the methanol and lye. It is important that it be able to seal securely and tightly. If you were to turn this container upside-down, nothing should leak out.
A measuring cup with metric to measure out the methanol
Metric scales are also helpful. (To measure out 250ml of lye) or a teaspoon measure

You could also add to this list...

Plastic safety gloves.
Plastic lab apron.
Face shield and/or eye protection.

OK, for the last time, read the biodiesel safety instructions. Making Biodiesel is not a science project or a family activity. When mixing the lye and methanol together, DO NOT breathe the vapors! The resulting mixture, "methoxide," is a poison. It's nothing to get alarmed about, but it is something to be informed and knowledgeable about. Be careful and be cautious.

.Here's the recipe...

Open the windows, turn on the fan. In a well ventilated area, measure 250 mL (a little more than a cup) of room temperature methanol into a one pint mason jar.
Measure out 4g of NaOH (lye) (about half a Teaspoon) and add to the methanol in the jar screwing the lid down tightly to prevent any leaks.

Swirl the mixture by hand until all the lye is dissolved.

As you start mixing the temperature will increase. Don't get nervous, and don't panic. This is what is supposed to happen and may take 10 minutes or more.

Here's what you are going to do...

Heat 1 Liter of unused clean, vegetable oil, 60 C/140 F (these directions do not work for waste oil)
Using a funnel, pour the liter of oil into a DRY 2 liter plastic container. The bottle should now be half-full. Be careful not to overheat the oil or it may melt the plastic.

In a well ventilated area, pour the mixture of methanol/NaOH (methoxide) on top of the oil using the same funnel. DO NOT breathe the vapors.

Remove funnel.
Put the the top back on the bottle and screw it down TIGHT. You want no liquid to be able to escape.
Shake vigorously for about ten seconds or twenty seconds, 30 or 40 good shakes

Put the bottle on a table and let it settle. In about 10 minutes or so, the oil will change color from a chocolate-coffee color to a rich, darker brown. Then the by-product (glycerin) will start to settle out and separate on the bottom of the bottle. You should see a clean line of separation between the two liquids. The biodiesel will be on the top.

Within an hour, most of the glycerin (bottom layer) will be settled out. This is called separation.

You should now have a bottle containing lighter amber-colored (or clear, if youre lucky) biodiesel on top and a layer of darker glycerin on the bottom.

At this stage of the making biodiesel process, the biodiesel will be very cloudy, (so don't panic) it will take a day or two more for it to clear completely. Put it in a cool, dark place and let it do its thing.

Usually the glycerin layer is about the same as the amount of methanol used.

Once the it is completely settled, open the container and using your thumb drain the biodiesel out, leaving the darker layer (glycerin) behind.

Depending on your expertise at doing this, the mixture is technically ready to use as a fuel. What you have done is thinned the vegetable oil for easier intake into your diesel engine and made it more combustible for use as a fuel.

I told you making biodiesel was easy.

Almost finished...

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