Small Biodiesel Maker

[Yianie123.]

I am interested in making Biodiesel.  it seems easy enough, but can anyone suggest a set of plans or books that actually tells you how to put together a diesel processing unit.  I am a mechanical engineer, so I think I can handle putting piping, tanks, filters and pumps together.  Would like to make 40-50 gallon batches.  Thanks everyone

[Bruce S]

YEP;
 The very same one I started with.
http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html
This was on many levels the website the pros started with as well. You might even want to try the fool-proof method.
Start small like they say, get fresh oil, then used oil from your own kitchen, then venture out. There's still lots of free to cheap oil out there.
The Methanol is getting pricey in some places, but is still available.

Cheers
Bruce S

[Bytesmiths]

I am interested in making Biodiesel.  it seems easy enough, but can anyone suggest a set of plans or books that actually tells you how to put together a diesel processing unit.  I am a mechanical engineer, so I think I can handle putting piping, tanks, filters and pumps together.  Would like to make 40-50 gallon batches.  Thanks everyone

I posted an answer here, but it appears to have been deleted. So I think I'm not going to post any more.

Anyway, I wrote a fairly long reply including links, but I don't hang around sites that delete such things.

Short summary, google for "Appleseed Biodiesel Processor." I'm afraid to put a link in lest I be deleted again.

I'm outta here.

[Boss]

JTF site and forum is bad bad bad, I have first hand knowledge of the site owner. Well I won't go into it. Where you need to be is http://biodiesel.infopop.cc, these guys are good good good

[Bytesmiths]

JTF site and forum is bad bad bad...

Oh come on, now. I disagree with some of what is posted there, but they aren't "Fox News" bad!

I have first hand knowledge of the site owner. Well I won't go into it.

Careful. That's libel. You'd better either "go into it" in enough factual detail that can be proved (you can't be sued for libel for saying something that is true) or retract it.

Where you need to be is http://biodiesel.infopop.cc, these guys are good good good.

Yea, that's a good place to have specific questions answered if you already know enough to get into trouble, but it's a bulletin board, not a tutorial.

I think the best was http://www.biodieselcommunity.org with very complete directions for how to build Girl Mark's Appleseed reactor out of an electric hot water heater. But sadly, that domain seems to have gone off the air.

Here's a fairly good "how to" for a Appleseed processor: http://www.appropedia.org/Appleseed_Biodiesel_Reactor .

Please, mods -- at least read this posting before deleting it.

[d34]

Bytesmiths can u pm me the links that got deleted? 

[Bruce S]

JTF site and forum is bad bad bad...

Oh come on, now. I disagree with some of what is posted there, but they aren't "Fox News" bad!

I have first hand knowledge of the site owner. Well I won't go into it.

Careful. That's libel. You'd better either "go into it" in enough factual detail that can be proved (you can't be sued for libel for saying something that is true) or retract it.

Where you need to be is http://biodiesel.infopop.cc, these guys are good good good.

Yea, that's a good place to have specific questions answered if you already know enough to get into trouble, but it's a bulletin board, not a tutorial.

I think the best was http://www.biodieselcommunity.org with very complete directions for how to build Girl Mark's Appleseed reactor out of an electric hot water heater. But sadly, that domain seems to have gone off the air.

Here's a fairly good "how to" for a Appleseed processor: http://www.appropedia.org/Appleseed_Biodiesel_Reactor .

Please, mods -- at least read this posting before deleting it.

B:
I'm a mod too , and I can't see where your stuff got deleted. Only reason we would've deleted it would be if there was profanity or those types of stuff in the links. Even then we would've merely removed the links rather than remove any possible information.

I too am very well aware of Girl Marks'; unit.
I also agree with you about BOSS, that is just short of libel. BOSS IF you put stuff like that on here back it up with some sort of proof.
I've been using JTF for years and NEVER had any problems with the information posted there. IF you have information about them post it soon.

Bruce S
B: when posting make sure and hit the preview first, that helps to load the post, then press post.
I'll go digging around to see if there was a hiccup, but I can say pretty certain your posts did not get deleted.

[Boss]

JTF site and forum is bad bad bad, I have first hand knowledge of the site owner. Well I won't go into it. Where you need to be is http://biodiesel.infopop.cc, these guys are good good good

It will be quicker to retract than explain. I retract calling JTF bad bad bad. I can let bygones be bygones, Sorry everyone.
 biodiesel.infopop.cc used to have a tutorial, but I couldn't find it just now.

[Shadow]

I agree with Boss on this one, go with the biodieselnifopop one.
Ii've been making bio for about 4 years now, I make 150 liters at a time. usually once a week.(a Black plastic barrel is 205 liters). I'm getting setup now to make 150 gals at a time.

First thing is your supply of oil. Will it be consistant? Same supplier all the time? Makes things easier if it is. Same recipe used.

You'll need Methanol and either Sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide (lye) Will it be avaialable on a regular basis. I use potassium because your byproduct will stay a liquid and not turn to a hard jello. Makes it alot easier to store and handle.

You will need to learn how to do a titration on your oil. This will tell how much of each ingrediant you'll need to convert the oil. I checked mine a few times in the beggining and haven't checked or changed recipes for 4 years. Same oil supply.

I would make small hand shook batches at first to experiment then line up 3 metal barrells and build all your own processor. Can be done very inexpensive and work very well.To me the store bought processors are alot of money and dont work any better. And if you decide this isnt for you down the road, you can dismantle your whole barrel setup and salvage all your pipes and fittings etc.

We are off grid so run a Lister engine on a generator. So that Lister runs its coolant lines through a 200 gal tank of veg oil so we always have 200 gals of hot oil to start making bio.

I just use a sewer/effluent pump just like a jet pump only handles thicker stuff. That is my mixing pump. Never missed a beat in 4 years. Then I use a small gear pump to circulate the finished product through wood chips. I used to wash with water and it was the happiest day of my life to go with wood chips instead of water. I'll never water wash another batch of bio ever!

So if you experiment and things work out and you want to go  ahead I can gladly show you how my setup works and you can go from there.   Good Luck

[troy]

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/cfrm/f/498605551

It's the best.

I have found the JTF information to be unreliable, particularly the "foolproof" method.

Quite a number of us who had problems or questioned the efficacy of that method got banned in short order from the JTF site.

Those are verifiable facts.
 
Please carry on.

[Bruce S]

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/cfrm/f/498605551
It's the best.
I have found the JTF information to be unreliable, particularly the "foolproof" method.
Quite a number of us who had problems or questioned the efficacy of that method got banned in short order from the JTF site.
Those are verifiable facts.
Please carry on.

That's very interesting. Thanks for the heads up.
"infopop is a very good one as well. I do like the cold upflow method, makes my settling of the WVO a whole lot easier
Cheers;
Bruce S

[Boss]

Keith would always trash the person before he banned them (us)
It was just rude and mean, no call for it at all
I wouldn't wish JTF on anyone. Best to stay clear.
In the early days of my research somehow JTF had top ranking for search engines, thank goodness better sites come up these days.
My poor old Isuzu Trooper turbodiesel died last week, I'm heartbroken.
Pretty neat site I found this morning for installing Isuzu NPR engines in many US made SUVs and PUs
http://www.isuzudieselswapper.com/
Once you get your biodiesel process down you'll want to find an appropriate vehicle to burn it in.
It has always been my opinion that even though we make our own energy, our first and foremost concern should be conservation of this energy

[zap]

I've never seen this question answered to my satisfaction (and trust me... I've looked for the answer... a lot!):
Why go through all the process of biodiesel when you can run heated wvo?

I understand running straight wvo requires more upfront costs/work but it would seem to me that the continued costs for converting to bio would eventually overtake the upfront costs of straight wvo.

[Boss]

Honestly, this has been addressed to a great extent, but it still comes down to a matter of preference. Both systems work as well as the person operating each. For example one guy may make incompletely cracked or wet biodiesel (like me when I'm in a hurry), which can cause problems in the engine, same is true with WVO (waste) and SVO ((straight) veggie oil.) A crappy installation or improperly filtered WVO and ya got problems, right?
I'm a processor, in part because that is what I learned, and at considerable effort, I have my effort at stake. I have mastered many technical fields in my day, one such study was DOS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS, I can't afford to let any more efforts on my part go obsolete.
In summary, it isn't so much about which is better, more about with what the user is comfortable.
I ain't scared of potassium hydroxide, I am very careful with this extremely toxic substance though. I suggest building an outbuilding for the processor, to be safe and keep this stuff away from your family.
I've got some information on my site http://outfitnm.com/alt-energy/biodiesel
Well perhaps more than a little info
Those that know Brian know he hasn't a short story in him
My sig on biodiesel.infopop is: Home of the biodiesel eating bears

[troy]

If you go read up on Fred's TDI website, there are a scaggle of stories about VW diesels that died after the owners converted them to heated SVO.

Now maybe, all of those stories are attached to people who just didn't do a perfect job.  Or maybe, modern high pressure automotive diesels don't deal well with the very large molecules in veggie oil, with a big glycerin molecule still attached.  I don't want to bet my $3,000 engine to find out.  I have 120K miles on it now, and it keeps humming along on biodiesel.

Then there's the problem of multiple vehicles.  To burn SVO, I would have to convert my:

VW
Dodge/Cummins truck
Chinese diesel tractor
Listeroid stationary diesel engine(s)
My Kuma Oil stove in the kitchen
My Kuma Oil stove in the shop

That could easily run a thousand bucks a vehicle, or much more for a clean commercial job.

Oh yeah, and you're pretty much guaranteed that a "normal" diesel mechanic won't work on your vehicle now.

Or, I could convert the fuel and run it in all of those things without changing anything on the vehicles or affecting resale value.

By the way, veggie oil conversions positively suck for short trips in cold weather.

That's why I make biodiesel vs SVO.

HTH,

troy

[zap]

Thanks troy... with multiple vehicles I see where it could make sense.
My question had more to do with cost comparison and your example certainly shows how a fleet would probably save money by going bio.

[dnix71]

Bytesmiths  the forum you mentioned is still around. It's been moved here. http://www.make-biodiesel.org/

Very straightfoward layout and all the legal links for safety. Using veggie oil is much easier and safer if that works for what you need to do.

A best practices free download PDF is here: http://make-biodiesel.org/images/pdffiles/agrs103.pdf from the College of Ag Sciences at Penn State. It's only 819 kb.

[fabricator]

I make bio 350 gallons at a time in a 500 gallon LP tank standing on end, we have a 400 gallon centrifuge tank to preheat and dewater the oil, we use the acid/base method to increase yield, with this method you need VERY dry oil but you generally get over 95% yield.
We distill the methanol left in the bio for use in the next batch then use wood chips to get the soap level to ASTM standards, so far since the end of March I've made about 1100 gallons.
I originally found the JTF site that got my attention, eventually I found the biodiesel/svo forums infopop site and there is really no comparison, JTF has a lot of information that is badly dated.