Biodiesel in a blender

With the right gear, you can make your own biodiesel from the comfort of your kitchen. Here are the basics on biodiesel production in a blender.

Biodiesel in 6 easy steps 1. Perform a titration to determine the amount of lye needed 2. Dissolve the lye into 200 milliliters of methanol 3. Mix the sodium methoxide with 1 liter of vegetable oil for 20 minutes 4. Allow the glycerin to settle for at least 8 hours. Most of the separation occurs within the first hour, so you will see immediate progress. 5. Separate the biodiesel from the glycerin, using a siphon or other method that allows collection without pouring, as this would undo important settling 6. Drive!

Titrations: Measurements 1. Dissolve 1 gram of lye into 1 liter of distilled water 2. Dissolve 1 milliliter of vegetable oil into 10 milliliters of isopropyl alcohol 3. Drop the lye solution, one milliliter at a time, into the dilluted vegetable oil while measuring the pH 4. When the pH rises to 8 or 9, the free fatty acids have been neutralized

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