Biodiesel Production Waste - Everything You Need to Know
9:11 PM | 
Posted by
Dr Hil
Since fuel has become a part of everybody's lives, there is no way we can do without. Biodiesel is now the in thing when it comes to biofuel or alternative sources of energy. But then, the biodiesel production waste created in the manufacturing of biodiesel is becoming an issue for environment-concerned groups. This biodiesel waste contains mainly glycerol and methanol which are made up of carbons.
Just recently, it was explained that certain bioreactors which are needed for mine water treatment for the sulfate-reducing bacteria they contain. These sulfate-reducing bacteria feed on certain carbons, particularly glycerol. Thus, a theory sprung that it may be possible to utilize the biodiesel glycerol byproduct to feed the sulfate-reducing bacteria in order to reduce the sulfate found in mining waste. If this is possible, not only is the liquid from mining drainages treated but biodiesel waste will also be consumed. Both of these wastes will therefore be reduced and consequently, the environment will have less pollution.
So, a project was carried out to prove the theory. A number of laboratory columns containing sulfate were fed with reagent-grade glycerol while the rest of the laboratory columns were fed with the glycerol from biodiesel waste. The goal was to reduce fifty percent of the sulfate in the columns. The project proved a success since the glycerol from biodiesel waste reduced fifty five percent of the sulfate while the reagent-grade glycerol reduced fifty percent. This proved that the glycerol from biodiesel production waste was more effective. Aside from this, the biodiesel glycerol byproduct is cost-efficient since it is technically waste material and hardly costs anything at all. Other tests show that biodiesel waste is also capable of reducing concentrations of acetic, formic, lactic, and propionic acids and the organic carbon found in the biodiesel waste was even converted to carbon dioxide.
Biodiesel production waste may be rubbish but it serves as a wonderful component of decreasing one of the largest sources of pollution.
For more FREE information on biodiesel production, please visit our blog at http://www.BiodieselCorner.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=May_Stewart |
The Chemistry of a Biodiesel Titration With Utah Biodiesel
We're now going to talk about doing a titration. When you collect waste vegetable oil from a restaurant or from anywhere that they use the oil, the oil is typically going to be well used, it's going to be somewhat acidic, and it'll be important to find out how acidic it is so that we can neutralize that acid with excess lye.
We're going to talk about how we do it here on the board.
First of all we need to make a known amount of base. In theory what we're doing is we have an unknown amount of acid, and we can make a known amount of base. We're then going to take a sample of oil, we're going to add a pH indicator into it, and the one that we choose to use is called phenolphalene. It's very popular and the industry views it as the most scientific one. You can actually use phenol red, or tumeric, or pH strips, but the one I like to use is this phenol phaylene.
So I'm just going to label it phenol because it's a really long word, and if you want to know what it is look up on my site and I'll show you spell it. So, phenol is our pH indicator. Kay so basically what we're going to do is take some oil, we're going to add it to some alcohol, and the alcohol is neutral, so the alcohol is just going to be a solvent to put that we can put it in so that we can dilute it. So we've got an oil, alcohol and we're going to put a few drops of our pH indicator in there, and then we're going to add known amounts of our base solution in there. We're going to do that in milliliters at a time. What we're doing, what we're watching for is this pH indicator to change, or indicate a pH higher than about 8.5.
So what we're going to do is, as we add known amounts of the base, our goal is to figure out how much base solution it's going to take to neutralize that acid. You remember on a pH scale you've got zero to about fifteen, lower is acid higher is base. We're going to add known amounts of base to an acid until our pH indicator indicates that we've neutralized that acid. That known amount that we get is, I don't know, let's say about four milliliters. We're than going to plug into a formula to tell us how much lye we're going to use per liter of oil. If you remember from before, our formula for making biodiesel was O (oil) + 20% (methanol) + 7.5 g C (calalyst) if we're using potassium hydroxide.
If it's sodium hydroxide it was 5.5. Well, for a titration we're going to have something called our base, in other words, our starting amount. That starting is always 7.5 if we're using potassium hydroxide. So I know it's going to use 7.5 grams per liter of potassium hydroxide to react brand new oil with 20% methanol into biodiesel, which is what we do when we make a small batch. For titration, I'm going to add a known amount of this base solution until I get it to neutralize, and I measure that, then I add that amount to this base figure. So let's say that we got 5, so that would equal 12.5 (7.5 + 5 = 12.5) grams per liter. That means that I'm going to add an additional 5 grams of potassium hydroxide to neutralize the acid in that oil, so that I have enough lye left over, or potassium hydroxide to make biodiesel with, and that's all we're doing when we do a titration.
Now, to build our known amount of base we're going to make a .1 percent solution of KOH and distilled water. So we're going to add one gram of KOH to one liter of water, and this makes a .1 percent solution, and it's what we use to titrate with, or to add to our acid. This is our known amount. So with that, let's go ahead and we'll make our solution, and we'll do a titration.
The Bullydog Diesel Products & Diablosport Diesel Performance Parts are both fully compatible with biodiesel- Nathan Young |
Homemade Biodiesel Kits Are Used by First Timers to Make Biodiesel Fue
The cost of fuel has gone up again that people are thinking of alternative ways to save up on other things just so they can still continue to make use of their vehicles. Actually, there is a better way by which we can save up on fuel without having to let go of other necessities or luxuries that we have in our life. Sometimes we need all this to keep us going. When you take away one or two, you may take away your only source of happiness. So think twice before cutting off hobbies or things that you are already accustomed to.
One thing by which we can save gas is if we make it ourselves. It is possible since homemade biodiesel kits are available for consumers to buy them. There are instructions online and there are even step-by-step videos on how to make biodiesel fuel. These are especially useful for people who prefer to see it than reading about it. The great thing about seeing how it is made is you can actually see the equipments that are being used. So you can always pattern your equipment with what is being shown.
Since you will be doing it yourself, there are a couple of things you have to watch out for. You have to watch out for methanol and lye because it is dangerous. Aside from that, since you will be making use of heat and vegetable oils, fire is always a possibility. First time makers of biodiesel fuel should be extra careful when proceeding and like any other endeavor it takes practice to perfect it.
BioDiesel Conversion - Starting a Biodiesel Business
BioDiesel conversion can be a very profitable business for young entrepreneurs looking to start a new business or for seasoned entrepreneurs looking to add a new resource to their empire. In the U.S., there are over 30,000,000 gallons of waste vegetable oil that restaurants and fast food joints dispose of annually. Most pay to have their oil disposed of!
A few entrepreneurs that I know have made a lot of profit simply by charging the restaurants to collect their waste oil. They in turn, convert the oil to biodiesel after they charge the business to get the oil. Once they successfully convert the oil, they are able to receive both state and federal tax incentives for producing alternate fuel sources. The federal government pays up to $1.50 per gallon and the state incentives vary from one state to the next.
After this is done, they sell their biodiesel to both individuals and businesses generating another $1-$1.85 per gallon profit. They are producing 2.3 million gallons annually so after all of the overhead involved, they are successfully making $4-5 million in profit every year!
How does one get started in the business? The first step is to find a good commercial biodiesel processor. There are many of these on the market, however, you would want one that includes warranties and instructions to make your first batch of biodiesel.
Business startup costs and facts:
You can get a great commercial biodiesel processor that has an annual capacity of 2.3 million gallons for less than $50,000!
If you intend to collect your own oil, you will need a good truck to haul the oil in. You can get one of these for very little as well if you go to an auction or even check ebay.
Your raw materials needed for the conversion can be purchased cheap as well, however, you will need to buy the chemicals in bulk. This is also rather easy, simply contact the manufacturer and if they won't sell the products to you direct, they will refer you to a distributor who will. You will need both methanol and NaOH or KOH.
You will need a building or structure of sorts to setup the equipment in. Keep in mind that the methanol and NaOH mixture (methoxide) releases a very harmful vapor. It is best to have the area well ventilated. A lot of entrepreneurs set their equipment up in a container trailer to start with. This provides a stable shelter without costing a lot of money and gives the owner a lot of flexibility for moving the business in the future. Is this method recommended? For just a little more, you can purchase a metal building that provides more room and durability for your business. It also provides you the extra room if you decide to expand.
What about the tax incentives that biofuel producers get? Though it is commonly known that the government gives large tax incentives to alternative fuel manufacturers, the process to get approved can be strenuous. You must file paperwork with EPA to get approved as a clean producer. It isn't hard to be approved by the EPA if you dry wash the biodiesel. This essentially means that you have no waste water! Whenever you dry wash a batch of biodiesel, you are using a chemical (purolite) to wash the impurities out. This also allows for production of ASTM standard biodiesel.
It is recommended to purchase additional storage tanks. You can purchase a good tank with a 15,000 gallon capacity for your biodiesel for about $15,000. It is probably a good idea to get a storage tank for your fuel.
Who can you sell the biodiesel to? Check with local gas stations to start with. I recently read about this gentleman who started his business in September 2008. He has already exceeded $1,000,000 in sales in less than 4 months, not including the tax incentives! He talked with a few local trucking businesses and was able to offer the fuel to the trucking companies that save the truckers thousands of dollars weekly. The trucking companies were able to offer more competitive rates to their customers which in turn got them more business. The more business they picked up, the more fuel my client was able to sell. He actually just purchased his second commercial processing kit to keep up with his customer's needs!
BioDiesel is the way of the future. It is a natural resource, burns much cleaner than petroleum based fuel, can be produced for much less, and breaks our dependency of the very pricey crude oil.
If you are looking for a commercial biodiesel processor or just home biodiesel conversion kit, visit http://www.greenfuelconversion.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Daugherty
A few entrepreneurs that I know have made a lot of profit simply by charging the restaurants to collect their waste oil. They in turn, convert the oil to biodiesel after they charge the business to get the oil. Once they successfully convert the oil, they are able to receive both state and federal tax incentives for producing alternate fuel sources. The federal government pays up to $1.50 per gallon and the state incentives vary from one state to the next.
After this is done, they sell their biodiesel to both individuals and businesses generating another $1-$1.85 per gallon profit. They are producing 2.3 million gallons annually so after all of the overhead involved, they are successfully making $4-5 million in profit every year!
How does one get started in the business? The first step is to find a good commercial biodiesel processor. There are many of these on the market, however, you would want one that includes warranties and instructions to make your first batch of biodiesel.
Business startup costs and facts:
You can get a great commercial biodiesel processor that has an annual capacity of 2.3 million gallons for less than $50,000!
If you intend to collect your own oil, you will need a good truck to haul the oil in. You can get one of these for very little as well if you go to an auction or even check ebay.
Your raw materials needed for the conversion can be purchased cheap as well, however, you will need to buy the chemicals in bulk. This is also rather easy, simply contact the manufacturer and if they won't sell the products to you direct, they will refer you to a distributor who will. You will need both methanol and NaOH or KOH.
You will need a building or structure of sorts to setup the equipment in. Keep in mind that the methanol and NaOH mixture (methoxide) releases a very harmful vapor. It is best to have the area well ventilated. A lot of entrepreneurs set their equipment up in a container trailer to start with. This provides a stable shelter without costing a lot of money and gives the owner a lot of flexibility for moving the business in the future. Is this method recommended? For just a little more, you can purchase a metal building that provides more room and durability for your business. It also provides you the extra room if you decide to expand.
What about the tax incentives that biofuel producers get? Though it is commonly known that the government gives large tax incentives to alternative fuel manufacturers, the process to get approved can be strenuous. You must file paperwork with EPA to get approved as a clean producer. It isn't hard to be approved by the EPA if you dry wash the biodiesel. This essentially means that you have no waste water! Whenever you dry wash a batch of biodiesel, you are using a chemical (purolite) to wash the impurities out. This also allows for production of ASTM standard biodiesel.
It is recommended to purchase additional storage tanks. You can purchase a good tank with a 15,000 gallon capacity for your biodiesel for about $15,000. It is probably a good idea to get a storage tank for your fuel.
Who can you sell the biodiesel to? Check with local gas stations to start with. I recently read about this gentleman who started his business in September 2008. He has already exceeded $1,000,000 in sales in less than 4 months, not including the tax incentives! He talked with a few local trucking businesses and was able to offer the fuel to the trucking companies that save the truckers thousands of dollars weekly. The trucking companies were able to offer more competitive rates to their customers which in turn got them more business. The more business they picked up, the more fuel my client was able to sell. He actually just purchased his second commercial processing kit to keep up with his customer's needs!
BioDiesel is the way of the future. It is a natural resource, burns much cleaner than petroleum based fuel, can be produced for much less, and breaks our dependency of the very pricey crude oil.
If you are looking for a commercial biodiesel processor or just home biodiesel conversion kit, visit http://www.greenfuelconversion.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Daugherty
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