How Algae Biodiesel is Made  

Biodiesel is the latest way to obtain fuel from alternative sources that is both renewable and safe for the environment. Popularly known as the green fuel, biodiesel is all set to hit the country as the savior that releases us off the dependence on foreign imports of fossil based fuels. As people come to realize just how dangerous it is to place our need of energy on a foreign unstable source, we have realized how important it is to find an alternative source of energy we can produce ourselves and depend fully on.  Not only can we produce biodiesel in our country we can even produce it right in our own backyard!  This is where the idea of making algae biodiesel at home comes right in.  

Let’s look at one simple way how you can create biodiesel, especially algae biodiesel right in your own home. You would need to get the right equipments to get this right though. If you are a newbie, then start with ready made oil such as vegetable oil you can easily buy from the stress.  Once you develop the skills to make your own biodiesel, you can move on to other stuff 

When you are ready to start, get one liter of vegetable oil or even used oil and a spoonful of sodium hydroxide or lye (about 3.5 grams), and one fifth of a liter of methanol or methyl alcohol.  Now get a glass blender.  Do not use a plastic blender as these may react with methanol. Now use a digital scale to measure 3.5 grams of the sodium hydroxide.  Once you get this right measure the methanol gain just to be sure you get the right amount in, precision is the to getting the results you want.  

You should be wearing safety glasses, apron and protective gloves before you attempt doing this. Methanol or sodium hydroxide can burn your skin upon contact so make sure you have a glass of clear clean water near you to be safe. In some cases, the chemical reactions will produce fumes so be sure you are at a safe distance away. Now mix the solution well in a blender.  This would produce a solution that needs to be used immediately.

Now you can mix the vegetable oil to this mixture. Leave it for a few hours.  You will get a solution that would be divided into two parts. The top part is the biodiesel and the bottom part would be glycerin. You can use glycerin for other purposes while you save the top part for fuel purposes. Now that you know how to make biodiesel from home, you may be interested to know that there is very low cost way of getting oil as raw material for your biodiesel fuel. The source is from biodiesel algae which can be cultivated right at home in your own backyard. You may be happy to learn that there are complete manuals which would help you build your own algae cultivation pond plus the best way to make biodiesel from algae.