Published: January 31, 2006 03:16 pm      

Homebrewed biodiesel processor up and running

CLINTON — A made-from-scratch biodiesel processor in Clinton is completed and ready to produce 100 percent pure biodiesel.

“This is not your father’s biodiesel processor,” said T.J. Houston, builder of the 80-gallon modular biodiesel processing unit and founder of the South Clinton Biofuel Club. “This is a homebrewer’s processor made with off-the-shelf parts that can make up to two 55-gallon batches of biodiesel per day.”

Biodiesel is the renewable alternative to fuel made from new or used vegetable oil or animal fat.

Houston has been intensely studying oil chemistry and biodiesel production for more than a year and is a moderator on two Internet biodiesel forums.

“When I started to talk to people last year about biodiesel, I got a lot of blank looks. I found it surprising that no one had even heard of biodiesel, even though there are three large processing plants in western Iowa,” Houston said.

“People are becoming more aware of biodiesel now because of television, radio, Internet and newspaper exposure. However, there still remain some areas of confusion, such as the large biodiesel plant that is being talked about to be built in Clinton.”

Houston said some people think that facility will be a place for average consumers to purchase biodiesel, when in actuality he believes the fuel processed there will be shipped to another plant for blending with traditional diesel fuel.

Houston went on to say “Biodiesel is easy to make and legal for the individual to produce for their own use. One-hundred percent biodiesel or any blend with petroleum diesel can be used in most diesel vehicles with no modifications to vehicles made after 1994. Some older diesel engines need rubber seals in the fuel pump and rubber fuel lines replaced with viton or some other fluorinated rubber that resists biodiesel’s solvent action.”

Houston said biodiesel is the only renewable substitute for diesel fuel approved by the Environmental Protection Agency through testing done by the National Biodiesel Board, formerly the National Soybean Association. Biodiesel can be made from any waste vegetable oil or animal fat through a process called transesterfication that lowers the viscosity of the oil or fat to about that of diesel fuel by removing the glycerin.

Biodiesel can be made by an individual with a homebuilt processor for less than $1 per gallon. Biodiesel can be used as a home heating fuel, either straight or as a blend with home heating oil (No. 2 diesel fuel.) Up to a 20 percent blend of biodiesel can be used in a home oil furnace without modification to the burner. There are other types of burners that will burn 100 percent biodiesel or straight vegetable oil.

For anyone interested in making biodiesel for themselves to save money on their energy needs and help end dependence on oil, Houston will be giving hands-on workshops, teaching people the techniques of biodiesel making.

“Participants will actually be making their own one-liter batch of biodiesel,” Houston said. The cost of the basic biodiesel workshop is $25 with all supplies and handouts provided. Participants are encouraged to bring a sack lunch and a pen and notebook.

For people wishing to make their own biodiesel processor from off-the-shelf materials, there will be an intermediate biodiesel class. The cost of the intermediate class is $75. The basic class is required before the intermediate class can be taken unless a prospective participant can demonstrate a good understanding of the biodiesel making process.

For the hard-core alternative energy enthusiast, there is an advanced class involved in theory and experimentation in such areas as methanol recovery, converting an oil furnace burner to using biodiesel and vegetable oil, alternative burners such as the babbington and turk and whatever else looks promising.

This will be the South Clinton Biofuel Club, an alternative energy research and build-it club. If your hobby or training is in the field of chemistry, physics, heating and air conditioning, energy, alternative energy, electricity, plumbing or some related field, this is an opportunity to get together with like-minded people from different backgrounds to work on practical solutions to energy needs. There is no cost involved, just participation of interested parties.

Classes will be kept small and informal for more personal attention. Dates and times will be announced to registrants. Houston may be contacted by e-mail at starfire44_777@ yahoo.com or leave a message at 593-1066.