Making your own biodiesel doesn't require you to harvest hard-to-find plants or act as a mad professor and scientifically create the fuel with expensive lab equipment. While the process of making your own biodiesel is somewhat challenging, gathering the ingredient list--consisting primarily of canola oil -- is an overall simple process. The equipment list may look long, but it's not complicated and most items can easily be found in stores or online. If you're interesting in cleaner energy sources, care about the environment, but are worried about the effects your car's emissions have on the planet, this is the perfect project for you.
Put on your safety glasses, safety gloves and apron for added protection during the process of producing the biodiesel.
Pour all of the methanol into the blender's glass pitcher.
Slowly add in the sodium hydroxide on the blender's lowest setting. The reaction that will occur will produce sodium methoxide. Don't let this mixture set for any extended period or the resulting biodiesel won't be as effective. In other words, follow this recipe straight through without any long breaks in order to get the best results.
Mix the methanol and sodium hydroxide, still using the blender's lowest setting, until the sodium hydroxide has completely dissolved. This usually takes about five minutes.
Add 1 liter of vegetable oil, such as canola oil, to the mixture in the blender.
Blend this new mixture on low for about 30 minutes.
Pour the mixture into your wide-mouth glass container. The liquid will begin to separate into two layers, with the bottom being glycerin and the top being the biodiesel.
Allow the mixture to separate completely for two to three hours before carefully pouring off the biodiesel into a clean container to be used at your convenience.
