How Biodiesel is made
Biodiesel today is the best and most eco friendly alternative energy
source. It is a clean burning substitute to petroleum based diesel fuel.
The process through which biodiesel is produced is called
transesterification. In this process the naturally occurring carbon
chain molecules, which are called, triglycerides, are converted into
methyl esters, which is the chemical term for biodiesel. Triglycerides
are found in things such as feedstocks like seed oils and animal fats.
Let us now look into the process of manufacturing biodiesel from
vegetable oil – a process that is sometimes called ester interchange. To
carry out this process, the oil has to be mixed with a little amount of
Methanol and then put in a little amount of alkaline catalyst. The
triglycerides in the oil are made up of a compound of trivalent alcohol
glycerin with three fatty acids.
The glycerin molecules are then separated from the fatty acid molecules,
through this process and are replaced by three methanol molecules. What
emerges from the process is 90% Biodiesel and 10% glycerin byproduct.
The byproduct of glycerin can also be used in the chemical process in a
number of industries. This fact entails that the production of biofuel
virtually produces no waste products at all!
There are a number of large manufacturing facilities being built
throughout the world, where biofuel is extracted and produced. These
factories are built in the same fashion as other oil refineries. They
are meant to manufacture hundreds of thousands, if not millions of
gallons of fuel. The good news is that, unlike the standard mineral
based fuels, biodiesel can be manufactured even at home, or a farm – in
small quantities.
The whole process of producing biodiesel at home is same as that of
producing biodiesel in factory – only difference is that the oil is
produced in a smaller case here. You can also make biodiesel at home
with the help of used oil that are gathered from restaurants, chips
factories and so on. However, the oil must be cleaned of all impurities
before it can be converted to biodiesel.
 |
Guest Book |
|
|
