Why not make Biodiesel instead?

Well, why convert the car to run on waste vegetable oil (WVO)? Why not just make Biodiesel? After all, the 300D runs fantastically well on Biodiesel with no modifications required...

Good questions. It was originally my intention to make a small scale biodiesel production plant to make fuel for my own use. But first, what IS "Biodiesel" and how is it different to veg oil?

Biodiesel is essentially vegetable oil that has had the glycerine and "soap" stripped out from it by a process of transesterification. This process reduces the viscosity of the veg oil to approximately that of dino-diesel. This is why it is not usually necessary to make any modifications to run a diesel engine on biodiesel. It also has excellent lubricity, better in fact than dino-diesel. The only real problem that might arise in some vehicles is that the seals in some injection pumps and the fuel lines might degrade. All veg oils and biodiesel will soften ordinary rubber. To combat this effect, seals, membranes and fuel lines made from nitrile or viton rubbers are usually used.

Now the chemical processes involved in the manufacture of biodiesel are quite simple, and around the world there are many home mini-plants in operation. It is so simple, that you can make it in your kitchen using nothing but a PET softdrink bottle. See: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_make_biodiesel
Please heed the cautions!!!

OK, it's so simple to make biodiesel, why not? Personally, I have two reasons not to tread this path: -

1. Here in Australia, biodiesel is now officially a fuel. Now we all know what governments do with fuel don't we? Yes, they tax them! Excise tax in fact. So to legally make biodiesel for your on consumption, you have to register as a fuel producer. Not only do we have to register and toe the line with reams of paperwork to satisfy the tax man, we also have to jump through hoops in order to comply with local government regulations, State government manufacturing, as well as storage and material handling issues.

As Senator Allison said: "Home-brewers will not produce biodiesel, or if they do, they'll be doing it outside the law [and] they'll be effectively tax cheats," she said.

"One of the reasons they won't continue to produce biodiesel is the cost of licensing and testing which means thousands of dollars in many cases.

"Not only will it not be viable but it would be very, very expensive."

2. The main reagent in the biodiesel making process is a chemical called Sodium Methoxide. It is the product of mixing two chemicals that can be found in many households, ie. methanol (methyl alcohol/methylated spirits)and sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner), yielding a solution of sodium methoxide in methanol. When sodium methoxide is mixed with vegetable oil at the right temperatures, the glycerine and soap components are stripped out, leaving behind.........Biodiesel! OK, what's the problem? Well, a big one as far as I'm concerned......

Sodium methoxide in methanol is a liquid that kills human nerve cells before any pain can be felt…… Yikes!!!!

No such problems with WVO. WVO, also known as UCO (Used Cooking Oil) is classified as a food, so no excise applies :)