Before you can use biodiesel, you gotta have a car (or truck) with a diesel engine. If you’re in the market for buying a new car: get a fuel-efficient diesel.
Some years ago, Big Johnny moved away from Los Angeles, its freeways, pollution, and all that sprawl, to enjoy the more peaceful climes of endless corn fields and summer tornados (Dorothy, where are you?). When I arrived, I was driving a sofa-on-wheels – a Lincoln Mark VII I bought from my friend Moose – and it came with the size and appetite of an oil tanker, which got about 12 miles to the gallon. It gave me a cozy ride across the country while I drove here. But soon after arriving, the old moose wagon soon became the property of the Easter Seals Auto Donation program and I was left as the proud owner of a car I had been researching and coveting for years: a VW Jetta with a diesel engine. (SEE PICTURE 2).
WHY GO WITH DIESEL??? (and other silly questions)
Many of you may ask the following questions:
“Doesn’t diesel smell when it gets on your hands?” Yes, it does smell. That’s why many gas stations provide those fashionable see-through plastic gloves to wear when you fuel up. Next silly question!
“Isn’t diesel expensive?” Maybe. Do the math. A few months ago, it used to cost anywhere from 5% to 20% more than regular gasoline. Now, with the 2007 mid-summer gasoline price hike, it’s the other way around. When you consider that a small diesel car gets upwards of 45-50 mpgIN TOWN (even if you drive like a maniac) – you are generally getting a 30% to 300% increase in miles-per-gallon efficiency. Most SUVs get around 20 mpg. This means my Jetta delivers more than twice (200% increase) as many miles for one gallon of gasoline. Maybe more expensive, yes – but do the math. It’s well worth spending more up-front because you are actually saving money in miles delivered to your wheels.
“Aren’t diesels slow?” They don’t accelerate from a start as quickly as gas cars do. But how many of us are actually pro race car drivers, huh? One thing: diesels have loads of torque (pulling power). Try towing a heavy load or racing a diesel up a steep hill against a gasoline car. The diesel will come out way ahead every time.
“Why diesel?” Here’s a nice, simple answer: NO! No spark plugs. No spark plug wires. No electric coil. No points. No timing adjustments. No tune-ups. On and on… A diesel has generally 30% less moving parts than a gasoline engine. Less to break down. Less maintenance. Easier to fix. Also, a gasoline engine usually wears out around 100,000-150,000 miles. Diesel? Try 300,000-500,000 miles. No small squeezin’s!
After I heard about biodiesel, my friends will recall me ranting about “bio-diesel” and how happy I was to hear that some of the public bus fleet is running on 20% soy oil (this veggie oil being the “bio” part of the diesel). The municipality found that the bus engines ran smoother, got better mileage, and exhibited a SIGNIFICANT reduction in exhaust pollutants. AND the oil they use is local-grown soybean oil – keeps the supply economy in the neighborhood.
NEXT… SET UP YOUR OWN FACTORY!
Soon after I got here I read up: I found that (for most diesel engines) you can use veggie oil straight off the shelf. I went to Sam’s Club and bought a 5 gallon jug and dumped it in the tank. Worked great! So… I went underground and experimented in the creation of my own biodiesel using a RECYCLED WASTE VEGETABLE OIL FACTORY.
Yep folks, we’re talking free fuel from a restaurant grease fryer.
Well, concept has become a reality and here it is… a picture of my ugly roommate (SEE PICTURE #1), who occupies a surprisingly small space within my one-bedroom apartment.
This guy does pay the rent, through cost savings…
So, how to do this?
STEP 1) Yum-yuk oil pickup. I go to the China Buffet down the street twice a month and collect loads of used brownish, smelly, goopy, fryer oil Mr. Wang uses for cooking those yummy egg rolls. YUMMY! They give it to me for free. Mr. Wang’s lovely wife, Mrs. Zhang, smiles very happily as she waves goodbye while I drive off with the precious juice: she’s smiling cuz she doesn’t have to pay that oil reclamation company to come out and haul this slop away.
STEP 2) Chemically purifying the oil stock. I get the oil and strain it through a cloth at the top of the 55-gallon mixing tank (see item 2 in PICTURE 1), then I dip a hot water heater element (item 1) into the brew for about 3 hours to heat it up to 120 degrees. I stir it up with a shaft-mounted propeller on my cordless hand drill (item 9). Afterwards, I open a valve (item 3) and the mix flows through a hose into the bottom of another tank (item 4) that filters out some of the sediment (down to 10 microns), and chemically purifies the oil, too. The oil (now not smelly any more after chemical purification) exits through another pipe (item 5).
The oil at this stage is chemically cleaned of glycerol, but it is still dirty with food sediment particles that can quickly clog a car’s fuel filter. So, comes next a simple yet high-tech solution: a small pressure-driven turbine centrifuge… (SEE PICTURE # 3)
What’s the deal with centrifuges? Click here for my scoop on how these puppies work with biodiesel.
What a centrifuge does at home is…
STEP 3) Remove sediment from the oil. I recycle all the oil back into the mixing tank (2) swith a pump and open a valve (6) to run the oil through two pumps (7) in parthat ram the oil into the air-pressure regulated (8) industrial-grade centrifuge (9) that was originally designed for use under the hood of Mack trucks. The centrifuge has a turbine (one of the parts on the wooden table) which subjects the oil to about 2000 G forces, literally spinning out all dirt particles down to about 1/10 of a micron. The centrifuge processes all 55 gallons in 1/2 hour, and collects the spun-out dirt as a crusty deposit which looks like the muck that my buddy is holding up here.
After the oil exits the centrifuge… Oila! Free fuel for Skippy!And into the tank it goes!
MORE QUESTIONS
“Isn’t burning veggie oil bad for your car?” My answer: look up “Rudolf Diesel” (the inventor) on the Internet and you will find that a diesel engine was originally designed to run on… veggie oil. Go to the Internet and see that upwards of 70,000 people (or more, by now) are doing this all across the globe.
“Isn’t this equipment expensive?” Yes and no. I fronted a lot – about $1300 – for everything. BUT…
A big incentive for doing all this is because I deliver medicine to sick folks at their homes all over the state. So I drive upwards of 5000 miles per month. That’s about 111 gallons of fuel per month – which is at least $300 dollars per month (at the time of writing) if I bought all my fuel at the pump. No small savings!!!
Considering during the summer I can run 100% recycled veggie oil through my car, this equipment pays for itself in as soon as 4 months. After this, all those miles I drive is like getting $300 cash back every month! And the more that these crazy fuel prices go up, the more I save in value for fuel dollars not spent.
MORE STUFF
* Great for the environment: Recycled veggie oil yields an overall 80% reduction in toxic pollutants. The fuel is also actually a lubricant for your engine: so the car runs smoother, quieter. Higher ignition point: delivers more power in most engines than regular diesel = better mileage. Local grown: Most of this waste oil comes from soybeans or other seed stock grown in the USA.
* Winter Chills: Unfortunately biodiesel needs to be diluted with a solvent during the winter because it will freeze. Some folks do a 50/50 blend with real diesel. But hey, half price ain’t bad either! Myself, I use 5% paint thinner, and this seems to keep my fuel from freezing down to about 0°F. No, I don’t use a heater of any kind.
* Fun For The Geek in the Family: If you’re into science and being a mechanical geek, it’s loads of fun to do all this!
* Enhanced Social Life: Makes for great conversations and pick up lines in the bars.
* Help Ronald sell more Burgers: The exhaust fumes smell like french fries (or egg rolls when you get the oil from a Chinese restaurant), and makes everyone thinks there’s a McDonald’s nearby.
* Bukawwk! Research finds one can also use beef and chicken fat, too. The Tyson chicken factory is selling all of their chicken fat to a biodiesel producer.
* Ummm, that green stuff in your pool: Soon biodiesel can be made from algae.
* If you’re a vegetarian: You and your car will be great buddies.
So, take it from Big Johnny:
Yes, you can make your own free fuel! Go with biodiesel!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Melendez worked several years in Hong Kong and Shanghai for A/S Det Østasiatiske Kompagni (EAC), a Danish trade company with offices worldwide. John served as Regional Manager for a EAC’s cargo transport JV established with Beijing City Planning Commission.
Recently John has worked among the ranks of the world’s largest software providers and IT education companies. Former Managing Editor for Computer Associates’ Windows Tips & Secrets, a monthly technology newsletter with a circulation of 35,000 subscribers, John now works as a technical writer and industrial consultant for Cibola International. His knowledge specialties include: business with China; biodiesel centrifuges; and overseas procurement of industrial goods.
An alumnus of the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chinese Studies, John speaks, reads and writes Mandarin Chinese, German, and English. John telecommutes from Phoenix, Indianapolis and mainland China.
Read John’s other articles at: http://www.associatedcontent.com/johnmelendez
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