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Biodiesel is easily manufactured and offers many
benefits. In addition to releasing environment friendly exhaust
emissions, it also improves engine performance. It’s so easy
to make that you can manufacture it in your own garage or kitchen.
Undoubtedly, biodiesel is a better fuel than the petro-diesel you get
at any gas station.
Production of biodiesel mainly consists of altering the molecular
structure of the organic oil with the assistance of a catalyst and an
alcohol. This process involves a controlled chemical reaction which
breaks down the individual oil molecules and with the presence of
alcohol, replaces the glycerine portion of the molecule with the
corresponding alcohol molecule.
The separated glycerine falls to the bottom of the furnace in which
biodiesel is being manufactured. Usually a pore is provided at the
bottom of this furnace through which glycerine is drained off and what
is left behind in the furnace is called Biodiesel. The chemical name of
Biodiesel is “Fatty acid methyl ester”. This
chemical name simply signifies the fact that a Biodiesel is made from
Methanol and organic oil with fatty acid chains in it. Now
let’s examine the entire manufacturing process in a little
detail.
First of all, the vegetable oil is simply heated to a designated
temperature. This is done because the chemical reaction will only
proceed once oil is heated to a specific temperature. Now once heated,
a mixture of alcohol and catalyst is added to the vegetable oil. It is
important to note here that without heating the oil upto a specific
temperature, no reaction will take place but rather a simple mixture
will be left behind.
This mixture of oil, catalyst and alcohol are then mixed for a period
of time after which they are allowed to settle down. It is important to
note here, that the catalyst does not play any role in the chemical
reaction but simply hastens the entire process. Hence the catalyst
simply plays the role of “speed enhancer” in the
entire reaction without “chemically” taking part in
the reaction itself. Without the catalyst, you probably have to heat
the mixture for several hours before glycerine is separated.
Now, if the above procedure is successful then the molecular reaction
between the oil, alcohol and catalyst will have broken down the oil
into several layers. Mainly three layers are formed. The top layer is
called the biodiesel, chemically known as Ester, the next layer will be
soap and the bottom layer will be glycerine. Since, biodiesel is
lighter than glycerine hence it raises itself to the top of the
furnace. Once different layers are formed, the glycerine and soap are
drained off.
This mixture of glycerine and soap is a waste product of the above
reaction. Hence, before forming biodiesel, this mixture is drained off
to remove any additional alcohol, soap or other impurities. The
biodiesel which is left behind is first washed. This washing can be
accomplished with a bubble-wash, mist-wash or both. Once washing is
over, it is dried to remove any additional water. After removing
additional water, it is filtered through fuel filters and is then ready
for use.
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