Which is actually better? BioDiesel vs Used Vegetable Oil

[boybi]

May napanood akong feature sa National Geographic a few days ago about using used vegetable oil in a diesel engine. They are using pure vegetable oil with their engine, no diesel!

[ghosthunter]

It really shouldn't surprise us that a diesel engine could run on pure vegetable oil since it was initially designed to run on peanut oil when the engine was first invented.

[4JGtootsie]

I thought the diesel engine was first designed to run on coal dust.

[mazingerZ]

I saw an episode of Dirty Jobs sa Discovery Channel yesterday. Merong detailed step by step procedure sila. Cheaper pa raw kaysa sa local electricity provider nila. I saw their equipment and parang kayang kaya natin ( I used to be a chemical engineering student until 4th year). Sana magawan natin ng paraan. Used cooking oil ang raw material nila and I believe cost effective once we implement it. Di naman kamahalan ang mga gamit na nakita ko.

[niky]

Hmmm.... I could use one of those at home.

I'd go for WVO over regular biodiesel.

Growing crops specifically to produce biodiesel leaves less farm resources to produce food, whereas WVO is a by-product, so you're not actually taking anything away from anybody.

The problem is, there isn't enough WVO to run all the cars on the road... but for the lucky few who own their own restaurants... it might be enough to get through the week.

[mazingerZ]

I forgot to mention that they referred to the used vegetable oil that has already been processed as Bio Diesel. The waste matter after processing was glycerine, which I believe is a raw material for a lot of things (toothpaste, etc. . . )

[redorange]

The by product making biodiesel from WVO can used for making soap.

Here is a video of how it's made and the company mentioned that makes the Fuelmeister has a distributor in the Philippines last I checked

[ame="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=457773184300286737"]Trucks Episode - Making Biodiesel[/ame]

http://www.freedomfuelamerica.com/

[mbeige]

it might be enough to get through the week.

Or two months...(that's 35 gallons of home made biodiesel)

I believe the removal of glycerin is called esterification.

[mazingerZ]

A datsun pickup was their vehicle of choice. They retrofitted plastic hoses in lieu of rubber hoses since rubber dissolves with biodiesel. Hell thats the only modification they made, the rest was stock. Neat idea.

[duskylim]

Dear Sirs:

From a cost point of view you can't beat Used Vegetable Oil (SVO), however, from a quality point of view, you're taking a considerable risk.

Totoo nga, by using used vegetable oil, your not taking any food away from anyone and making use of a waste product to boot. Good for you.

Problem is, the quality of your waste oil. Typical cooking processes contaminate it with lots of stuff, none of which is good for your engine, in particular, your injection and fuel filtration system.

1st problem - water - very,very bad for the filters and injection system, will block the holes in a hole-type injection nozzle and when the pressure hits - boom!!! tanggal ang dulo ng nozzle mo!

Whats more, a lot of water impregnating the filter makes a coating that blocks the flow of diesel, kasi, ang papel (the filter's coated paper), pag nabasa na ng tubig, hindi na pinadadaan ang langis tulad ng diesel.

So you just shortened the life of your fuel filter by a considerable amount.

2nd problem - gums and varnishes - notice when manang (your cook) or the wifey fries your food, and a lot of the tissue and gristle dissolves into the cooking oil, well you don't want that stuff gumming up your injection pump, delivery valves and injection nozzles do you?

And have you ever tried to clean up a used frying pan? Ooooh, yuck!!! one of the worst jobs out there, imagine if it gets into the engine!

3rd problem - rancid oil - vegetable oils, unlike mineral (read petroleum-derived) oils decompose. At nagsesebo pa cla!

Yes!!! Nabubulok sila and the by-products of the decomposition not only smell bad, but won't be good for your engine. Stick around a restaurant until its time to clean the Grease Trap and you'll know what I mean.

Unless your oil supply is fresh and pristine be very careful when trying out Used Vegetable Oil.

One of the problems I noticed is this; dahil sa hirap ng buhay, everyone is trying to SAVE, pati na ang mga restaurant.

Kaya, they typically RE-USE their cooking oils. More than 1 luto di ba? Parang ginagawa ni misis o ng nanay mo! So the oil becomes a badly contaminated, dark, greasy, evil-looking substance!

My God! They burn the oil to carbenes (light brown), then to carboids (dark brown) and finally to carbides (black)- the last stage of oil oxidation.

If you can get good quality Used Veggy Oil, More Power to You Sir! Pero kung hindi,.... pare dun ka na sa BioDiesel.

Best Regards,

Dusky Lim