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Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Let's Make Biodiesel!

By , About.com GuideJune 17, 2011

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Sample of biodiesel. (Shizhao, Wikipedia Commons)I love to drive, so much so that I'd probably give up my morning coffee fix before I'd stop buying fuel for my car. Coffee and gas are both increasingly expensive, so the day might come when I'll have to make that choice. Fortunately, there are ways you can reduce your fuel costs, aside from the obvious 'drive less' option. One of these is to make your own fuel. I've had instructions for distilling ethanol for fuel for quite a while, but if you drive a vehicle that uses diesel, that hasn't been of much use to you. Actually, biodiesel is even easier to make than ethanol and you can use it as a fuel in any unmodified diesel engine. It offers several advantages over petroleum-based diesel. It's cheaper. It has a higher octane rating (less knock), burns more cleanly, and comes from a renewable energy source. Here's how to make it.

Comments

June 11, 2008 at 5:03 pm
(1) Sukhmandir Kaur says:

Wow, as soon as I saw your link I thought to mysef here is a site i’m gong to love – that’s before I found your bio diels link. We just purchased a TDI VW Bug and have been wanting to find out more about bio fuel
THANKS!

June 18, 2008 at 2:50 pm
(2) Jeff Knadler says:

What about fuel taxes and how do they apply to homemade fuel for on road use?

June 22, 2008 at 9:46 am
(3) Michael Kim says:

Very interesting article. I was wondering how I may be able to substitute 1N or 6N NaOH (volumetric) in the place of lye (Gravimetric). I also was wondering about thr concentration of methanol in HEET? Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks!

May 13, 2009 at 1:34 pm
(4) Ricardo says:

What can you do with the glycerine?

June 17, 2011 at 4:46 pm
(5) DonaldW. says:

Neat but the cost would be more then the purchase at the pump.

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