How To Design Biodiesel Equipment

How to design biodiesel equipment or more specifically how to produce your own biodiesel at home...

Biodiesel is a clean-burning fuel alternative which is produced from renewable, domestic resources that has no petroleum but can be blended with petroleum to produce a biodiesel mixture for use in diesel engines with no or little modifications.

Biodiesel benefits:

• higher lubricity

• engines will last longer

• burns cleaner compared to petro diesel

• renewable fuel

• will lessen the use of foreign oil

• less toxic

• biodegradable

• has pleasant odour

• saves you money compared to using petro diesel

Biodiesel starts out as waste or used vegetable-based oil, for instance, from restaurants, then is made by way of transesterification, a “chemical process” where glycerin is taken out from the used vegetable oil.

B100 is referred to pure biodiesel, while B20 consists of 20 percent biodiesel. Biodiesel require certain additives so that it will not “gel” in very cold temperature or weather.
Designing your own biodiesel single tank processor

Equipment:

• 45 gallon container or drum.

• 3/4 or ½ High power electric motor.

• 2 pulleys that will produce “250 rpm and a max of 750 rpm at” mixer blade.

• belt for the pulley.

• 12 inches steel rod, rolled.

• 2 shelf steel brackets.

• 38mm brass valve ball.

• a spring and hinge to operate as tensioned belt.

• 2000 watts “electric water heater element”.

• thermostat for water heater.

• steel pipe: 1 1/2 in diameter and about 5 inches long having “male threads” at one end.

• wood, angle iron, screws etc.

Assembly:

1. Cut approximately half of the top opening of the drum.

2. At the base of the drum, make a hole of 11/2 inches.

3. At the drum’s base, weld in the 1 1/2 inches diameter pipe.

4. Fasten the brass valve ball onto the pipe, to serve as the “drain valve”.

5. Measure your heater element and drill in a hole at the drum’s bottom side, to fit the heater element.

6. Fit in the “heater element” making certain that does not touch the side wall of the steel drum.

7. Wire the “heater element” securely.

How to build the chemical mixer:

1. Fasten one pulley unto the steel rod.

2. Likewise, you need to fasten the other “pulley” unto the electric motor’s spindle.

3. At the other steel rod’s end, weld and affix the propeller, making the shelf brackets.

4. Attach the pulley, propeller and rod assembly unto “one side of the hinge”.

5. At the drum’s top, weld an “angle iron” across it.

6. Solder the unattached hinge’s side unto the “angle iron” in order that the rod assembly and propeller sits at the drum’s middle and make sure the hinge will be able to swing the rod and propeller rod “back and forth”.

7. Set up the “electric motor” on the drum’s side.

8. Affix the belt unto the pulleys, tightening it by fixing in place a wood block to the hinge.

9. Form a wooden measuring pole having 10 liter increments.

Other materials you will need:

A hydrometer can be useful to have in order to measure the biodiesel’s specific gravity.
Take note that the biodiesel’s specific gravity must be 0.860 to 0.900, but normally it is 0.880.

The vegetable oil’s specific gravity is 0.920 so then the biodiesel’s specific gravity must be lower compared to the vegetable or used oil to produce the biodiesel.

There you have it, now you can start making your own biodiesel fuel at home.