Biodiesel Mikkel VandeBergh Sustainable Energy Initiative

1. BiodieselMikkel VandeBerghSustainable Energy Initiative Introduction Future of topic Fun facts • Biodiesel is an environmentally-friendly fuel that can be used as a diesel alternative. • Biodiesel is easily synthesized and can be used with little or no modification to a diesel vehicle. • The reactants are easily produced and acquired • Vegetable oilcan come from one of the thousands of oil producing plants including soybean, hemp, sunflower, peanut , mustard seed and algae. • Ethanol can be made from grain such as corn. Methanol can also be used. • Lye(sodium hydroxide) is commonly used as a drain cleaner and can be found at hardware and grocery stores. • The products are biodiesel and glycerine. Glycerine can be made into soap and biodegradable polymers, it is also used in agriculture and dust retention. • If you use used oil as your oil source then the biodiesel when burned will smell like the food that was cooked in the oil (like French fries!) • The use of biodiesel is carbon neutral; you first grow the oil source then use the oil to make biodiesel and run your engine in your vehicle. The plants suck up the carbon dioxide then they release it when it is used in biodiesel. Biodegradable styrofoam: • The glycerine byproduct of the production of biodiesel is being tested for use as a biodegradable alternative to styrofoam • Algae: • There is a large interest in using a oil producing algae as an oil source for biodiesel • The algae produces a large amount of oil per amount area, making it a spatially efficient fuel source • Algae also has environmental applications. By growing algae in waste water, the water will become purified Graph or picture • Biodiesel has a higher freezing temperature meaning it will freeze at warmer temperatures than petroleum • Biodiesel is a local resource where the oil can be produced locally. • To make biodiesel you first need to mix an alcohol and your catalyst • Then you add your oil and mix • The products are biodiesel and the byproduct glycerin • Below is the reaction • Triglycerides are oils, methanol is a type of alcohol, and methyl esters is the biodiesel Current Use • Biodiesel can take as little as 1 year • Vegetable oil does not have to be reacted to run in your vehicle but the oil needs to be warmed up to move well enough through your engine. • Biodiesel can be used in any diesel with little to no changes in your vehicle • All along the I-5 corridor biodiesel can be bought and used in your vehicle References • Tickell, Joshua. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. 3rd Edition. New Orleans: Joshua Tickell Media Productions, 2003,