Vegetable Oil and BiodieselMelissa Brian

Vegetable Oil vs. Biodiesel Biodiesel uses mostly soybeans because

it is more efficient than corn No converting is necessary to run

biodiesel, because it acts exactly the same as petrodiesel

To use straight vegetable oil, it first has to be mixed with another fuel then a second tank must be added to the vehicle

Advantages Reduces dependence

on foreign countries Oil can come from

anything that is or ever was a plant

Clean burning Extremely cheap once

the conversion tank is added

Can be made at home

Disadvantages We would become

dependent on plants, so a famine would be devastating

In vehicles, vegetable oil does not burn in a regular engine (heating tank is necessary)

A lot of pre-heating required (less net energy yield)

Vegetable Oil:

Advantages Reduces net CO2 emissions

by 78% compared to petroleum diesel

Same power and fuel economy as petroleum diesel

47% drop of particulate matter

67% decrease in unburned hydrocarbons

Reduction in Sox gases Can make it yourself or find

a nearby biodieselpump

Disadvantages Freezes and clogs up

fuel filters at 28° F 10% increase in Nox

gases If biofuel were grown

on every available piece of farmland, it would still only replace 20% of the energy we currently use from crude oil

Biodiesel:

HowSVO(straight vegetable oil) work? Vegetable Oil can be used for vehicle

transportation in 4 ways Put it in and go… and hope it works. Mix with diesel fuel (or kerosene), heat to

lower viscosity, and put it in and go. Blend with organic solvent additive or 20%

gasoline (petrol), heat to lower viscosity, and put it in and go

Install 2-tank system where the oil is pre-heated.

Home Recipe for Biodiesel: 1 liter of new vegetable oil 3.5 grams sodium hydroxide 200 milliliters of methanol

Pour methanol into a glass blender, turn on blender to lowest speed and slow add the sodium hydroxide. Blend until dissolved (2-3 mins) then add in the vegetable oil and blend for 20-30 mins. Allow the mixture to settle for a few hours. The lower layer is glycerin and the top layer is biodiesel. You can normally use biodiesel in any unmodified diesel engine.

citations http://

chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/a/makebiodiesel.htm

http://www.springboardbiodiesel.com/biobasics/svovsbio

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/ http://grist.org/cities/umbra-bdvssvo/ http://annadannfelt.files.wordpress.com/

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