The FOOLPROOF way to make biodiesel Mk I

As most people know, there have been three major versions of the Foolproof Method.
This is the first one which was first posted on
8 February 2001
Please be aware that all the Foolproof methods posted to date are "CRAPOLA". I have only posted this out of historic intrest as it is no longer available on the JTF web site and by posting it I in no way endorse this flawed procedure


"The FOOLPROOF way to make biodiesel
NEW standard method
By Aleks Kac
Free fatty acid to ester conversion
This is a FOOLPROOF way to make biodiesel. No titration is required, and no extra equipment -- thermometer optional, and NO pH meter!

This is a two-stage procedure, acid first-stage, base second-stage. It is based on the highest FFA content found in used oil, but it can be used with any waste vegetable/animal oil or fat (WVO), whether or not it has a high FFA content. The process increases yields dramatically. Use it as your standard method.

The acid-based phase is universal: it ESTERIFIES and TRANSESTERIFIES! The lye-based phase on the other hand is faster but can only do transesterification and makes soap, which we don't like. Acid doesn't makes soap.

In one test I used a mixture of half heavily used WVO and half pork lard. The result was a pure product with absolutely no trace of soap! The esters looked nice, and smelt nice, as if made from virgin oil.



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CAUTION

Sulphuric acid IS A DANGEROUS CHEMICAL. Take full safety precautions, wear safety goggles, gloves and apron. Have running water nearby. Don't inhale fumes!

If you run out of sulphuric acid NEVER try to make up the required volume with nitric acid. It may form small quantities of nitroG (nitroglycerine) -- even the smallest amount can cause horrible accidents. See High Explosives


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This is a very simple procedure. The process is not transesterification as you know it, but pure and simple ESTERIFICATION. This means you will form a compound out of an acid and an alcohol. The alcohol is still methanol, but the CATALYST in this reaction is sulphuric acid ("battery acid"). It needs 95% sulphuric acid (battery acid is around 50%). Sulphuric acid is one of the commonest chemicals on Earth, just like lye (sodium hydroxide). More concentrated sulphuric acid -- 98% and above -- costs more, but 95-97% works just fine if you follow these directions.

The esterification reaction takes an hour or so, and if you continue to mix, the mixture will start to TRANSESTERIFY. Now you have TWO phases in one single stage!

The process is very similar to the one we do already.

The process
1. Filter the WVO first as usual.

2. Remove excess water. Here's a better way of doing it than boiling it off. Just heat it up to 50 deg C (122 deg F) and pour the oil in a settling tank. The tiny droplets of water seem to coalesce into bigger ones and fall to the bottom. When drawing oil for the reaction I just take care to never empty my settling "welcome" tank more than 90%.

First stage
3. The process. Heat the oil to 55 deg C (131 deg F) -- not less, or the process takes forever.

A word about equipment: ordinary iron and steel implements and containers will corrode. I use a normal polyethylene vessel for my first stage. The metal paint stirrer just rusts a bit.

4. Measure out the methanol -- 10% of the waste oil volume. Add the methanol to the heated oil and stir for 5 min.

5. Pour 1ml (one milliliter) of 95-97% sulphuric acid for each liter of WVO into the mix. Use an eye-dropper. TAKE CARE when handling the concentrated sulphuric acid!

6. Mix gently at very LOW rpm (don't splash!) while maintaining the temperature at 55 deg C. Nothing much seems to happen at first. After 1 hour you'll notice a slight change in color to, say, dark beer. Continue the process for at least another 1.5 hours (total 2.5 hours or more), stirring gently.

After the first hour, let the temperature fall to around 45 deg C (113 deg F) for the second hour, finishing at about 35 deg C (95 deg F). I use a polypropylene reactor which is a poor heat conductor and with 25 kg of oil I just kill the heat after 1 hour and it cools off with a fine gradient.

The first hour is esterification, and after that transesterification begins. Don't be disappointed if you find that solid fats are not entirely transesterified at this stage. The important thing is that we've got rid of the fatty acids, the rest will be reacted in the second stage.

THIS IS IT. Now you can continue with your normal procedure with the lye as the second stage -- only we'll use less lye.

7. The glycerine will start to settle just two hours after the first-stage is completed. Allow at least eight hours for complete settling, and preferably overnight. After settling drain the glycerine thoroughly - better lose a few millilitres of biodiesel than to have poor conversion because some glycerine is still left in the mix. Unlike pure-base two-stage transesterification, the glycerine produced by this process is as thick as honey at both stages.

Second stage
8. Use 3.1g of lye per litre of used oil -- no FFA to neutralize anymore, just the acid used for catalysis, but this is only a very small quantity, and there is less fat to transesterify (just about half), so I've cut the lye to only 50% the usual amount.

NOTE: Use only 99%+ pure sodium hydroxide lye. After opening the container, close it again is quickly as possible to prevent moisture getting in. Weigh the lye carefully -- using too much will complicate the washing and drying process later (see #12 below).

9. Measure out the second lot of methanol -- 10% of the waste oil volume. Mix lye and methanol as usual to make sodium methoxide.

10. Heat up the settled and drained first-stage product as before to 55 deg C, add the sodium methoxide and stir at medium rpm (600-800) for an hour. Allow to settle for at least eight hours or overnight. Drain off the second-stage glycerine.

11. Wash. Use the bubblewash method, but no need to monitor pH anymore. Just add a little strong vinegar to the washing water first, 3 or 4 tablespoons per gallon, just to be on the safe side -- I don't want ANY lye floating around my fuel pump.

Use the same volume of water as the amount of second-stage biodiesel to be washed. Make sure both the water and biodiesel have roughly the same (room) temperature. Now pour your biodiesel into the vessel, throw in the aquarium stone and fire up the air pump. Let it bubble for 6 hours minimum. Turn the pump off and let the mixture sit for 12 hours. The water will fall to the bottom, turning completely white, and the fuel you made will look much lighter in color now. Remove the biodiesel from the vessel, taking care not to get any water with it.

12. Drying. If your scale is not very accurate and you were on the plus side just 10% when weighing out the lye, the wash will be more difficult because the excess lye will lessen the water's surface tension and it will form a weak bond with the biodiesel. This weak bond will not allow the water to settle completely, so you'll have to heat-split the bonded water and boil it off.

Slowly heat the washed biodiesel to 100 deg C (212 deg F) and hold the temperature until you see no more steam bubbles rising. Let it cool down, filter the fuel, and it's ready for use.


Aleks Kac aleksander.kac@snaga.si
Ljubljana
Slovenija

© Copyright Aleksander Kac, 2001. Patents pending. This is a proprietory process. This material may be copied and distributed for non-commercial education purposes only, as long as the source of the material is stated and a reference to this website URL is included:
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_aleksnew.html
Anyone may use this process to produce fuel for their own use or for non-commercial or educational purposes. Commercial use of the process requires a licence from the patent holders."

Rev Tilly KE

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