Comprehensive Homebrew Biodiesel Class
March 13, 2004, 9am -5 pm
At Biofuel Station, Laytonville, CA


Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made from any plant oil and other
fats.
It can be used in any diesel engine without modifications, and can be
made easily in your backyard.

Biodiesel greatly reduces emissions, is biodegradable, safe to
handle, safe to transport and store once made, and has a very
positive "lifecycle energy balance". It is currently produced
worldwide on a commercial and home scale. Because it is so easy to
make, biodiesel is a viable alternative for local, home-scale, farm-
and village- scale energy production.

Come learn the ins and outs of making biodiesel fuel from used
restaurant fryer oil. There will be hands-on practice in making and
testing small batches of fuel, as well as demos of equipment,
techniques, a discussion of the biodiesel industry, co-operatives,
and a related discussion of how 'homebrew' techniques can be used as
part of a solution for community controlled energy. Optional textbook
available for $7 (75 pages).

Bring a notebook and safety glasses if you have them, and a potluck
dish to share for lunch.

The class will be held at Biofuel Station in Laytonville, Ca
(Northern Mendocino County, off of Hwy 101)

When: Saturday, March 13th, 2004
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m
Cost: $20-$50 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds
$7 for optional 75-page textbook
To register: Paxfuel at yahoo.com or Kimber: 707-984 6818
Instructor contact: Wrench at tinkersworkshop.org
For other upcoming biodiesel workshops and events, please see:
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/norcal-biodiesel-events


******************
Previous classes have covered the following curriculum:

Introduction/ overview:
- Biodiesel and straight vegetable oil- two different fuels
-Advantages and drawbacks of biodiesel fuel

Biodiesel chemistry:
- Biodiesel from virgin oil
- Biodiesel from waste vegetable oil
- KOH catalyst versus NaOH catalyst
- Two enemies of the reaction: free fatty acids, water
- Conditions and ingredients needed for reaction

Safety: methanol, lye, and safety equipment

Homebrew biodiesel demonstration:
- how to make 1-liter test batches
- washing intro

Hands-on student practice:
- Oil tests: testing for water content,
- titration- testing for free fatty acids content
- Students make liter batches
- Failures and quality control: 'glop' (soap), soapy fuel, and poor
conversion

Troubleshooting and testing:
-Acid value test (washed fuel)
-Reprocess test (unwashed fuel)
-Wash test (unwashed fuel)
-cloud point/gel point
-pH of unwashed fuel (rough indicator)
-soap test and catalyst test (unwashed fuel)
-Tests we don't recommend: specific gravity and viscosity


Hands-on: students make full size batch

Washing
-bubblewashing/mistwashing
-Using the wash as a form of feedback
-Troubleshooting emulsification
-Fixing emulsions

Equipment (as seen at www.veggieavenger.com/media ):
-Processor options: water heater-based, drums-based, generic plumbing
for
any tank you find
-no-weld versus welded options
-regulations, safety, and containment
-Plastics and biodiesel
-The problems with existing 'kit' processors
-Wash tanks
-Heating options
-Standpipe tanks and dip tubes
-Pump types
-Circulating pump-based agitation, mechanical agitation
-Passive methanol/catalyst mixing versus mechanical catalyst mixing
-Carboy methoxide mixing systems
-homebuilt bubblewash aerators
-system layout for larger systems
-5-gallon systems

Glycerol:
-Removing methanol
-Free fatty acids recovery/glycerine purification
-Making soap
-Composting glycerine

Brief discussion of advanced topics:
-Acid-base two-stage method/pretreatment of free fatty acids
-Methanol recovery
-Additives
-Ethanol biodiesel

Conclusion:
-The commercial biodiesel industry, the NBB, and biodiesel consumer
activism
-Decentralized energy production
-Where to go from here?
-Co-ops and homebrew 'cells'



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