What does it take to create your own bio fuel?

Question

average 3% of vehicles roam the roads internationally using bio fuel. What if the government would help citizens create their own bio fuel in their basement?

Answer 1

Bio-diesels are the most common 'home-made' bio-fuels on the road today. The 'simplest' process involves a base-catalyzed transesterification of vegetable oils. All you need is some used fry oils (think Taco Bell, McDs or BK), some base (NaOH, KOH), and some Methanol (MeOH, CH3OH). Make sure to mix in a separatory funnel (large enough to not make the batches tedious) so you can remove the worthless glycol phase that settles near the bottom of the container. Now, if you plan to use this as a 100% fuel in a vehicle that has been running on traditional petro-diesels, you'll want to check/change your fuel filter after the first few days (the bio-diesels are excellent solvents) and you'll want to monitor your fuel consumption as bio-diesels are naturally non-toxic and tend to develop molds and fungus. I can give you some references from the chemical literature if you feel it would help.

-nmtc