How to Create Your Own Homemade Biodiesel

There is nothing more satisfying than finding a way to cut out an expensive, seemingly unnecessary part of your budget. And nothing is more expensive or seemingly unnecessary than the cost of gas
right now.

So, there are many people who have started making home made biodiesel to take advantage of all that vegetable oil laying around, save some money, and not cause so much destruction to the environment.


Why Homemade Biodiesel?
Biodiesel fuel is something else if you think about it. Biodegradable, non-toxic, and about the same as sugar or salt, biodiesel fuel breaks down four times faster than petroleum and it stores just as well if it is kept full, dark, and cool. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 100%, sulphur dioxide by 100%, soot by 50% and carbon monoxide by up to 50% with dozens more emissions cut back by 10-97%. Fossil Fuel releases three times as much CO2 as what is burned while biodiesel goes beyond that and only releases what was put into the creation of the plant matter being used. In short, biodiesel is a great solution for the environment.


What You'll Need to make your own biodiesel
There are a few other things you'll need to make your homemade biodiesel, including:
Petri Dish
Beakers - 20 ml, 1500 ml, 500 ml
Isopropyl Alcohol
Eye Dropper
Litmus Paper
Blender
Methanol
Your Used Cooking Oil
Sodium Hydroxide


Making Your Home Made Biodiesel
The first step in creating homemade biodiesel is to complete titration. Simply put, titration is the measurement of how much of the reagents in the fuel you'll need to create the necessary reactions when you craft your fuel.


Start by putting 1 gram of Sodium Hydroxide on a petri dish, 1 liter of water in your 1500 ml beaker and then mixing them together. Put 10 ml of isopropyl alcohol in the 20 ml beaker and add 1 ml of vegetable oil to the alcohol. Label all of the beakers as you fill them to ensure safety.


Use your eyedropper to add 1 milliliter of Sodium Hydroxide and water to the oil and alcohol. Check the pH next. You will need to continue adding bits of the oil/alcohol mixture until the pH get to between 8 and 9. The final equation you need is (x+3.5)=N.
X=milliliters of sodium hydroxide/water added into the oil/alcohol
N=Number of grams of Sodium Hydroxide needed to neutralize 1 liter of vegetable oil - usually between 4.5 and 6.5.


Next, measure out 12 liters of used oil and 200 ml of methanol. Have N grams of Sodium Hydroxide set aside as well. Dissolve the sodium hydroxide into the methanol carefully (clean spills immediately) and then add it to the vegetable oil. While doing this, ensure you don't put your face or skin anywhere near the mixture. Use your blender of processor to mix everything together and then carefully add the vegetable oil. Blend them together for 15 minutes on high


It takes about 8 hours for the glycerin to settle, so wait it out. The methyl esters that form on top are the biodiesel. Move the materials to a beaker and cork it, then clean everything up.


In the end, the process of making homemade biodiesel can be complex and at times unsafe, so be very careful, research what you need to remain safe including goggles, gloves and a jacket, and always exert special caution. If so, start enjoying the fruits of your labor and the cheaper, safer fuel you just made.