Bio-Diesel

[Starbuck]

Well, it all started today I put the finishing touches on a 1977 Mercedes that I have been experimenting on. I changed some hoses that were not compatible with biodiesel and filled the tank with my first batch of fuel that I made. The car seems to run fine maybe just a little smoother on the biodiesel. The process for making it was not to hard and I found several restaurants who gladly gave me the cooking oil. I am experimenting with the glycerin that is left over from the making the biodiesel on my compost for my garden. I tried making some soap out of the glycerin but the wife and kids didn't like it. The car's exhaust smells like a grill sort of pleasant in a way. I will update this adventure from time to time to let others who may be interested in making their own fuel know what is happening. I am also documenting it for my students in my automotive class. In case anyone is interested biodiesel is 100% biodegradable unlike petroleum and the exhaust is much much cleaner than petroleum with the exception of Nox, but I am going to experiment with an oxidizing catalyst to eliminate or lower Nox output. Biodiesel is also carbon neutral so it doesn't contribute to global warming C02 gas like petroleum. I had a colleague who has been studying the global warming issue much harder than I have and he explained it like this. Petroleum comes from decayed plants and animals that formed under the right climatic and geological conditions. The energy from petroleum is from the solar energy that plants and the animals that ate the plants and the animals that ate the animals had stored in their cells,the C02 used by the plants has been out of the atmospheric loop for millions of years now we extract the oil and burn it in many different forms also from coal we find a similar condition. When burned the C02 emissions are reintroduced and as of the last few centuries we are starting to put out more than the current trees and plants can absorb for photosynthesis. Bio-fuels take the plants stored C02 energy and release it back into the atmosphere thereby the are considered neutral. - Starbuck

 

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[warsawdaddy]

Oh,glad that is cleared up.

 

[lucky1777]

I don't buy into the man made global warming thing, but I do like the idea of saving money on fuel costs. How much does it cost to produce a gallon of bio diesel. Do you notice any reduced MPG? How long does the process take?

 

[Hoosier Kingfisher]

How much did you invest initially? Thanks

 

[warsawdaddy]

Willie Nelson has purchased several truck stops and is providing Bio-diesel to the long haulers.

 

[Starbuck]

Well, it has been about a week running on the Biodiesel fuel that I made. The car is a 1977 Mercedes 300D non-turbo 5 cylinder diesel. I went one week on petroleum diesel and got about 39 mpg the mileage on bio is about 37.8 mpg a slight reduction and I tried to make sure I drove the same standards and distance to work lunch and back each day the way I usually would. The engine seems to have gotten even quieter after a couple of days of highway driving. I am still operating on the fuel filters that were on the car when I got it, I have read that the biodiesel will clean the fuel system and the filters will become restricted rather quickly, so far after about 300 miles I don't feel any change in performance, I may be prejudiced but the car feels better than it did on petroleum diesel. I will keep updating this as I go along. I bought the car in not running condition and fixed it up so far about $750.00 in cost of the car and repairs to make it run and roadworthy. The reactor for making the biodiesel cost about $250.00, the tank is a salvaged 52 gallon saddle tank from a Mack semi. The pump is a 1,450 gph trash water pump with a cast iron impeller from Home Depot. The hoses and valves and steel pipe came from Lowes. I have a few pictures I will post now more later. I will share any info I have if anyone wants to try this on their own. The cooking oil is currently free from a couple of restaurants that I have made friends with, they normally have to pay to have the waste oil removed so it is a win win scenario, big chain restaurant's won't even talk to you about letting you anywhere near their waste tanks one even threatened to have me arrested if I tried to go near their waste oil tank. I would highly recommend you read Joshua Tickell's book "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" it has a lot of details," Biodiesel Power" by Lyle Estill is another less technical more political and overall look at the biodiesel issues.- Starbuck

 

[Starbuck]

I forgot the cost to make the fuel for lucky1777. If you get your waste cooking oil for free and the methanol is 4.00 per gallon and 1 gallon of methanol will make 5 gallons of biodiesel and the Lye costs about 3.00 for a 20 gallon and you include the electricity used to run the reactor you are at about 97 cents to 1.00 per gallon. - Starbuck

 

[Starbuck]

I can't figure out how to reduce my pictures of the car and the reactor if you want them e-mail me and I can send them to your e-mail. My e-mail is gadget001@clearwire.net. - Starbuck

 

[wolfmanjoe3]

A guy I work with is about to invest in a bio-diesel setup. He already has agreements with a couple of small grocery stores to take their waste oil. They pay $150 per month to get it hauled away, so they are very interested in having someone pick it up for less. They also offered to buy as much bio-diesel as he can make. He estimates his cost will be $0.70 / gallon and he can sell it easily for $1.70 or $2.00. You won't get rich on that, but he can make a few bucks and it is an environmentally friendly hobby.

 

[lucky1777]

Thanks starbuck for the update, looking forward to learning some more....

 

[Starbuck]

I have now logged almost 750 miles on the biodiesel that I have been making. The car seems to perform as well if not better than it did on petroleum diesel. I have added a couple of more restaurants to my oil suppliers list. The owners think I am a little weird but are happy to not have to pay for their waste oil to be removed and think it is pretty neat that I am recycling a waste product that many times ends up spread in a landfill as a compost helper to something far more beneficial. I checked the emissions on a gas analyzer and they are almost non-existent in parts per million and grams per mile as compared to regular diesel. I am going to try adding some to some 2 cycle engines and mixing it with gasoline like you would 2 cycle oil. Biodiesel has excellent cylinder lubricating properties and should be much cleaner than the two cycle oil. I have been an auto technician all of my life and even though I don't necessarily buy into all of the blame being placed on the automobile and other mobile vehicles as to our environmental problems I think if there is something better for the environment and cleaner than whats out there, and it can help our farmers and economy I will continue to experiment with it and use it. I think that alternative fueled vehicles will definitely be a good percentage of the vehicles we will see available in the near future by car makers. I would love to see the day when the Arabs and other who just happen to be lucky enough to be sitting on oil will not be in control and have industrialized countries over a barrel plus without a big need for all that oil they will not have the huge economies that allow a few to be filthy rich while their people live in poverty. -Starbuck

 

[Starbuck]

I have almost reached 1,000 miles on the biodiesel I have been experimenting with. I had to change the fuel filters a couple of days ago I started noticing a slight power loss. I cut open the filters and sure enough just as I had read about the biodiesel is like a solvent it has loosened up sludge and deposits in the tank and fuel lines and they have ended up in the filter. I installed a clear glass in-line pre-filter so I can clearly see what is showing up. The original in line filter is opaque and really looked just a little dark until I cut it open and could see the particles that had almost completely stopped the filter up. The secondary spin on filter was O.K. but it got replaced anyway they were less than $10.00 so I decided to replace them both. The see through filter was a purolator 5 micron with a replaceable element. The car is still running great after the filter change. I have noticed that my engine oil is much cleaner than you would typically see in a diesel engine. I think that the oil being cleaner is due to the fact that vegetable oil doesn't create much soot in comparison to petroleum diesel. I am going to send a sample of the oil off for analysis at a chemical lab when I reach 10,000 miles on biodiesel to see how much affect it is having on the internal components. The lab we use can tell if there is specific metals in the oil and their percentage. I should be able to determine if bearing, piston ring, or block wear are occurring more than what is normal. I will keep updating this as I go along. - Starbuck

 

[lucky1777]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Wardster]

I have logged over 30,000 miles on my Duramax diesel using B20 that I get locally. The number of times you have to change the fule filters is the biggest variable since you have no idea how dirty the internals of your fuel system are. I know I went through two or three in the first 10,000 miles then it bacame less frequent. Straight B100 willl obviously have more of a cleaning effect and I would guess that you will be changing filters again before you know it.

-Wardster

 

[Starbuck]

Wardster, You are probably correct the older the fuel system the more buildup from years of service will be present. I am hoping that like your situation after a few filters the system will be clean and then I will be able to operate on a normal filter maintenance schedule. I am interested to know how does the Duramax perform? Do you notice any performance change? (Better or Worse) Is the biodiesel made commercially or is it a co-op or small batch producer? Is the biodiesel being made from waste oil or virgin oil? What is the biodiesel costing per gallon? If you have time I would appreciate any information you can provide. I am trying to get enough information to be able to write a paper for my automotive program that has some actual user experiences to back up the information. If you have any interest at all you know there is a ton of misinformation on the internet about vehicles and how to get performance and fuel economy using everything from biofuels to spark plugs and other gadgets that will increase your fuel mileage and reduce emissions and boost performance, most of the items are just rip offs that don't do anything but make the seller more wealthy. It is really a shame but when things like the cost of fuel rise people are easily lured into the promise of adding this or bolting on that will make your fuel mileage increase. A neat site is http://www.carbibles.com/ this guy actually tests some of the gimmick items and even though it is not scientifically documented he does some real world tests. - Starbuck

 

[SomeGuy]

I'm attaching these photos for Starbuck, as for some reason he kept getting the message that the file was to large even though all of these files are well below the limit.

To quote Starbuck

"The first couple of pics are: the car, my son Gregory with the car, the reactor, a closeup of the fuel color and clarity in the standpipe and then cruising speed at 60mph just as smooth if not smoother than with petroleum."

 

[EDDE]

funny me and the neighbors were just talking about bio-d
ill show them the thread

 

[Wardster]

You are probably correct the older the fuel system the more buildup from years of service will be present. I am hoping that like your situation after a few filters the system will be clean and then I will be able to operate on a normal filter maintenance schedule. I am interested to know how does the Duramax perform? Do you notice any performance change? (Better or Worse) Is the biodiesel made commercially or is it a co-op or small batch producer? Is the biodiesel being made from waste oil or virgin oil? What is the biodiesel costing per gallon? If you have time I would appreciate any information you can provide.

I have found that the frequency of fuel filter replacement hinges on two things; the current condition of te fuel system in the vehicle and the current condition of the tank at the fuel station. I am convinced that I probably changed the filter in my truck a couple of times because the tank itself was being cleaned. This would have been a moot point had the station installed a new tank.

The truck performs as if I were running regular pertro, but I am convinced that there is a reduction to the internal components because of the higher lubricity of the biodiesel.

The biodiesel is made commercially using virgin oil, so it qualifies for the $.01 per 1% federal tax credit. This keeps the price of B20 in line with te price of petro, at least where I live.

I run this same fuel in my Kubota ZD-21 zero-turn diesel mower with the same results.

-Wardster

 

[Starbuck]

Thanks Wardster!!!!! If anyone is interested here is a link to a google video. If you have seen Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" you need to see this one. It is a series that has been done by the BBC. It makes a lot more sense than Gore's movie, and also I now understand why when I attend any meetings on alternative energy and ask a question that may contradict something about man made global warming that I catch the third degree. It is fairly long video, a little over an hour, but worth watching in my opinion.
- Starbuck [video=google;4499562022478442170]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4499562022478442170&q=the+great+global+warming+swindle[/video]

 

[Starbuck]

Here is a link that makes you feel pretty good about the future of alternative fuels and American ingenuity. - Starbuck
http://biopact.com/2007/05/biofuels-becoming-headache-for-opec.html