You Can Make Fuel at Home

The process of homemade biodiesel production is similar to making
soap.  Vegetable oils and animal fats are triglycerides, containing
glycerin. To turn vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel you must first
eliminate the glycerin. When fat or oil is separated from glycerin
it is considered to be 'esterfied'. 
 
During both homemade and professional biodiesel production, alcohol
(either methanol or ethanol) is added to displace the glycerin so
that it becomes a waste product. The chemical reaction for this
process is triggered by the addition of lye.

When you purchase Methanol you might notice that it is also
marketed under a lot of different names. Among them are alcohol,
wood alcohol, wood naphtha, wood spirits, methyl hydrate (or 'stove
fuel'), carbinol, colonial spirits, Columbian spirits, Manhattan
spirits, methylol, methyl hydroxide, hydroxymethane,
monohydroxymethane and pyroxylic spirit. The bottom line is that
all of these nicknames and brands describe one product - methanol.
 
Be careful when buying something called methylcarbinol as this name
can be used to describe both methanol and ethanol. Check the
ingredients to make sure that it is methanol you are buying and not
ethanol. Ethanol is harder to work with when it comes
to creating homemade biodiesel.
 
Another mistake would also be to substitute Methylated spirits
(denatured alcohol) or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) as
neither succeeds in creating biodiesel fuel. You can also buy large
amounts of methanol from bulk liquid fuels distributors who supply
to biodiesel production.

Check out The Biodiesel News for complete information on the latest developments.

It is lye that changes the glycerin into biodiesel fuel (or the fat
to soap in the soap making process. The lye catalyst can be either
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda, NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH).
Sodium hydroxide is often easier to obtain and it's cheaper to use.

If you use potassium hydroxide, the process is the same, but you
need to use 1.4 times as much. You can get both NaOH and KOH from
craft stores, soap makers' suppliers and from chemical suppliers.
Other chemicals that are necessary for biodiesel production, such
as isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) for titration, are available
from drug stores and chemical suppliers.

Of all of the chemicals used in biodiesel production, the lye is
the most dangerous. Don't get it on your skin or in your eyes,
don't breathe any fumes, keep lye away from food, and keep it away
from children and pets. Lye also reacts with aluminum, tin and zinc
so don't use any of these metals as a vessel or container for
holding your biodiesel.
 
By the end of the biodiesel production process the glycerin will be
sitting at the bottom of a container in two floating layers. The
bottom glycerin layer will clearly separated from the biodiesel.
The biodiesel at the top can then be removed or siphoned off and
used as is in a diesel car or diesel engine or blended with
petroleum-based diesel fuel. I recommend blending, but it is your choice.

You can read more about making your own fuel at The Biodiesel News.