Frequently asked Questions for Evolution Biodiesel, LLC

So what is this biodiesel stuff?
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil or animal fats that are chemically reacted with an alcohol. You can also use waste vegetable oil for this process of making biodiesel. Using waste vegetable oil decreases cost and recycles a waste product.
Essentially, biodiesel is a clean burning alternative to diesel fuel produced from domestic, renewable resources. It contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in diesel engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use and make, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics

What the heck is transesterfication?
This is the chemical process that your oil must go through to end up as biodiesel. This process involves an alcohol (usually methanol) and a catalyst (sodium or potassium hydroxide) which break down the fatty acids. Your oil is made up of fatty acids connected to a glycerin molecule. Transesterfication forms biodiesel and glycerin because the alcohol replaces the glycerin molecule in the oil. The technical definition of biodiesel is fatty acid methyl ester, transforming one type of ester into another.

How do your processors work?
Our biodiesel processors produce biodiesel by allowing the alcohol/sodium hydroxide to be mixed separately in its own tank and then pumped into the reactor (oil) tank. This allows the transesterfication process to happen in the reactor tank. Our processors are set up to pre heat the oil, properly mix chemicals, wash, and dry the biodiesel. Our processors include all the necessary components for making quality biodiesel.

What is NaOH?
This is the catalyst, also known as sodium hydroxide or lye, used to assist the transesterfication of the oils and fats.

What is titration and why do I need to include this in my process?
This functions as a ph test and a way to find out how much NaOH or catalyst you add to your waste vegetable oil to neutralize the free fatty acids. If you use virgin oil which is unused oil then there is a base amount of catalyst you use. This base amount is 3.5grams/liter. If using WVO your titration results are added to this base amount.

Will biodiesel work in any diesel engine?
Yes! The properties of biodiesel are similar to diesel and little or no modifications to your engine are necessary. Modifications might include replacing a fuel filter due to heavy petro diesel usage and carbon and soot buildup in fuel system components. Biodiesel will clean out your fuel system because it is a powerful solvent.

What kind of oil can biodiesel be made from?
It is most commonly made, on a small production scale, from waste vegetable oil, which is normally soybean or canola oil. Biodiesel is very versatile and can be made from virgin oils, such as soybean, canola, cottonseed, palm, jatropha, and Chinese tallow.

Can biodiesel be blended with No. 2 Diesel?
Yes and at any level. Some use biodiesel as a fuel additive to increase lubricity and some use biodiesel as their main source of transportation fuel. A common blend around Texas and other states is 20% biodiesel mixed with 80% petrol diesel also known as B20. Biodiesel has a high cloud point and in the winter it is necessary to blend biodiesel or use an additive to reduce and minimize crystals that form.

Do you need to filter the waste vegetable oil (WVO) before conversion?
Of course and this is because you want the least amount of contaminants in your final product. Nobody wants pieces of chicken or French fries in their biodiesel processor or fuel. This will only cause problems and do your best to filter this kind of stuff out.

How do you collect WVO?
I would start out with using vegetable oil as it is easier to work with and convert to biodiesel. So stick to approaching restaurants that use vegetable oils and generate a relationship with them. Tell them what you are doing and that you could pick up their oil for free on a certain schedule every week or month. This will of course entail some type of storage system for you and the restaurant that is compatible with both of your needs. Personally, we have had more luck getting oil with non-corporate, local restaurants, and of course from people I know who fry their turkey around Thanksgiving. I am certain that some of you know people in the restaurant business and realize that waste vegetable oil must be stored and taken away by somebody. These restaurant owners sometimes have to pay a service to come pick it up. Using waste vegetable oil is the most cost effective at this point for small producers. Establish and maintain these relationships with restaurants or friends and you will have a consistent product to make your biodiesel.

Where do you buy methanol and NaOH?
Right now methanol costs about $3.00/gallon. This could vary, however, and buying a 55 gallon drum of methanol is your best bet. You can purchase it from fuel and chemical suppliers. Also at high performance auto parts dealers. Make sure you are aware of the risks and dangers involved with handling methanol. As for NaOH, you can purchase this also from chemical suppliers and/or chemistry/science lab suppliers. Make sure you buy it in small flake or powder form as it doesn’t readily dissolve with methanol and the smaller it is the easier it is to dissolve. Be aware also of the risks involved with NaOH. It is caustic. It can also over time absorb moisture so be sure to keep in a dry, enclosed container. Methanol also absorbs humidity and water. This will cause your vegetable oil to not properly convert.

What is the hands-on time with your biodiesel processors?
The average time with all our models is 2 hours at most, this includes titration time

What is happening when you end up with glop instead of biodiesel?
Hopefully you have done this within a test batch and not within a whole batch of vegetable oil.
This is a bad conversion and a few things could have happened. Your oil, methanol, or sodium hydroxide could be contaminated with water. More than likely it’s the oil that contains water. In this case you would need to dry/heat your vegetable oil before you process again. Another problem you could have is an inaccurate titration result and you did not have enough NaOH to complete the transesterfication process. Some times the restaurants overuse their oil and this creates lots of free fatty acids that need to be neutralized. It takes more NaOH to do this and is your most likely scenario. Do another titration and see if you come up with the same results as the first time. You should always do a test batch to avoid making big mistakes in your processor because you will know right away if there is enough chemical for the conversion. It’s better to find out in your test batch. Quality waste vegetable oil and proper titration is imperative to minimize problems such as this.

What are the benefits of biodiesel?
There are so many and I will try to list some of the more important benefits. If using B100 there is a 67% decrease in major pollutants and reduces cancer risk by 90%. It is part of a closed carbon cycle. Again if using B100 there is an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, 90% reduction in unburned hydrocarbons, contains no sulfur, has a flashpoint of 300 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a sustainable fuel source that has the potential to empower farmers and local economies. The aromatics when burned are pleasant, non-toxic, and cleaner. Biodiesel lubricates and prolongs engine life.

What do you do with the glycerin?
In order for glycerin to be reused as a useful product we recommend recovering the methanol and neutralizing the NaOH. It can then be used as a fire log, dust suppressant, and in compost. It can also be sold to companies that regularly use glycerin in their products.

What do you do with the wash water?
You can check the ph and then add acid until neutral. Then it is safe for your septic and for municipal waste water treatment plants. It is no worse than the laundry detergents and household cleaners that are put into the water supply on a daily basis. Please do not dump into a creek or water shed as it could affect fish and wildlife. The small amounts of leftover methanol and NaOH normally end up in the glycerin layer, not in the water wash.

How do you know if there is water in your WVO or biodiesel?
You definitely can’t tell if your oil or biodiesel is wet by simply looking at it so a simple test of weight and heat can be applied here. Weigh a sample of oil or biodiesel, heat it to the boiling point of water and then reweigh it to find out if any water has been shed. A triple beam balance that is accurate to .1 gram is excellent. To get an accurate reading from a large batch of oil be sure to stir or mix thoroughly.

MSDS sheet for biodiesel:
http://www.pipeline.to/biodiesel/research/files/BI%20MSDS.pdf

MSDS sheet for methanol:
http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C2091.html

MSDS sheet for NaOH:
http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C2582.html

MSDS sheet for KOH:
http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C2331.html

MSDS sheet for phenolphthalein:
http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C2226.html

Phone# - 281-652-5716 - Office hrs: M-F. 8am-8pm CST - Sat 10am-5pm CST

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