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Introduction
Chemically, biodiesel is a mono-alkyl ester of a long, fatty acid chain.
That simply means that the fuel is a long connection of organic material
similar in combustibility to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is produced by
a chemical process (transesterification) that reacts 'neat' vegetable oils
(soy, corn, canola, cottonseed, peanut, sunflower, rapeseed) or used frying
oils (yellow grease) or animal fats (beef tallow, poultry fat, pork lard)
with methanol and a potassium hydroxide catalyst (lye/caustic soda). The
oil’s triglycerides react to form biodiesel and glycerol, a byproduct
of biodiesel process. The process itself is not complicated and there is
plenty of material available to help the amateur biodiesel producer. There
are many people have investigated the feasibility of this alternative fuel
and concluded that it is efficient to setup their own small-scale facilities
to manufacture their own diesel fuel! |
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