Does any one make their own biodiesel from grease from McDonald's or a place like that?

Question

I want to make my own biodiesel fuel from the leftover grease from a McDonald's nearby my house. Can any one give me a recipe to go from here?

Answer 1

The answer to the question is: yes.

OK, a little more information would be nice: You can use the WVO (or SVO) in a modified Diesel engine, or you can process the oil to Biodiesel, so you can use it in just any Diesel motor.

With SVO (straight veg. oil) you can use a one step reaction by mixing 1 litre dry  veg. oil + (200ml methanol + 3,5 g NaOH) NaOH=sodium hydroxide or lye. You have to mix the methanol with the lye first, and then add it to the oil.

Making biodiesel from WVO can be a little bit more complicated, since there is a lot of free fatty acids, which is bad if you try a one-step process. With WVO it would be better to do a 2 step process:

1st Step, acid esterification of free fatty acids,

2nd Step: basic (alkaline) trans-esterification with NaOH.

Mix 1 litre dry WVO (at about 35 degrees celcius) with 80 mL methanol, then add 1 mL H2SO4 (sulphuric acid min. 95%) Let it rest overnight. Before going to bed, mix 120 ml methanol with 3,5 g NaOH, so the lye dissolves during the night. Next day, heat the acid-methanol-oil mix to about 50 degrees C, and then add the 120ml methanol/lye mix, shake vigorously for a few minutes and then let it rest. Next day you will see two layers: the upper containing biodiesel (and some methanol) and the lower with glycerol, methanol and lye.

Much more information here:

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel.ht...

Be very careful with methanol and lye !!! use eye protection.

Answer 2

Go to the Veggie Wheels or Lovecraft website. They will convert your diesel car to run on straight vegetable oil.

Answer 3

I hear you can buy soy oil from Costco and burn that in an older diesel without much computer controls.

Answer 4

System uses two tanks

Converted vehicles using Greasecar have two gas tanks. Drivers pour diesel into the regular tank and vegetable oil into a separate tank. In the Beetle, for example, that tank is in the trunk.

A switch installed in the cab allows drivers to alternate between the two fuel systems. When Tomey starts his Beetle he activates the diesel tank to warm the car and heat the vegetable oil.

"If I didn't heat it in this weather, it'd be too thick to run through the engine," he said from inside his running car. "After it heats up, it gets to the same consistency as the diesel."

At that point, Tomey flipped to the second tank and the car pumped pure vegetable oil into the motor.

"If I filled both tanks with this stuff, I could go 1,500 miles without ever stopping for gas," he said. "I've already gone 600 miles and used only a couple of gallons of diesel."

Purge process a must

Before shutting down the vehicle for a prolonged time, Tomey switches back to the diesel tank to purge the oil from the motor. That prevents vegetable oil from hardening in the fuel lines.

The entire conversion cost about $1,350 per vehicle — $795 for the kit and $550 for the installation. Tomey will recoup that cost in about eight months with the money he'll save on diesel.

Answer 5

It takes good filters to remove all particles so they will not stop up your injectors. To drive it on the road without paying state & federal tax is illegal.

Answer 6

There is a recipe for bio diesel here

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_mi...

This is site is pretty thorough. If you have trouble with your test batch, the problem is most likely Coconut essence added to the cooking oil. You can filter this out if required.

Definitely start with small batches first (couple of pints/litres)

Answer 7

Buy a pre 1985 mercedes diesel,and you can mix fuels to save money.