How to Use Waste Cooking Oil to Burn an Oil Boiler
Converting waste cooking oil into biodiesel is a complicated process; however, it can save you money on your home heating costs and you can get a warm feeling by doing something to help the environment. The biodiesel produced for your boiler is not suitable for your automobile, but you can add the finished product to a kerosene heater or use it as bio-fuel for a heater. Be sure to follow all safety precautions so that you do not accidentally spill any caustic chemicals on your skin or inhale heated fumes from the methanol, lye or methoxide. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Heavy duty gloves (cuffed with chemical proofing)
- Vinegar
- Fan
- Apron
- Safety goggles
- Respirator mask (supplied air system)
- 1 liter of vegetable oil
- 200 milliliters of methanol
- Lye (KOH solution)
- Blender
- Scale
- Measuring beakers
- Flasks
- Funnels
- 2-liter plastic bottles
- Duct tape
- Thermometer
- Separatory funnel
Instructions
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Put on all of your safety equipment, making sure that you do not have any exposed skin that could contract chemical burns from accidents with transferring chemicals. Place a container of water and vinegar nearby for any spills to clean from surfaces or your skin.
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Pour the waste vegetable oil into a pot, passing it through a fine mesh-wire screen to remove larger chunks of sediment. Heat the oil so that it thins out, allowing it to separate more easily from impurities and contaminants from its previous use. Pass the oil through progressively smaller filters, starting with 100 micron filters; then use a 75 micron filter, 50 micron, 20 micron, 15 micron and 10 micron. This will remove as many contaminants and impurities as possible, which will protect your furnace and ensure that your biodiesel fuel is as pure as possible.
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Use a scale calibrated for a small plastic bottle to measure out the lye. The amount of lye will depend on what type of lye you use. NaOH solutions that are 97 percent pure should use 3.5 grams. If you are using KOH solutions, measure out 4.9 grams for 99 percent pure solutions, 5.3 grams for 90 percent and 5.5 grams for 85 percent, according to Journey To Forever.
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Add 200 milliliters of methanol to a plastic bottle and use a funnel to add the lye. Screw on the cap and shake the bottle vigorously so that all of the lye particles are dissolved, resulting in a methoxide solution. Wait for at least 30 minutes, allowing the methoxide to settle.
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Heat the waste oil to 130 degrees and pour it into a heavy duty blender. Use a funnel to pour the methoxide solution into the blender. Turn on the blender, using its lowest setting and mix the methoxide and oil for 30 to 45 minutes.
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Use a funnel to transfer the biodiesel mixture from the blender to a 2-liter plastic bottle and allow it to cool and settle for at least 24 hours. Check the biodiesel regularly so that you can periodically let more air into the bottle by unscrewing the cap. As the biodiesel cools off, it will contract, sucking in the sides of the bottle.
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Pour the biodiesel into a separatory funnel, which will allow you to drain off the glycerine, which has now settled to the bottom of the mixture. Release the glycerine into a flask beneath the separatory funnel.
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Use a distiller system to further separate the biodiesel from the methanol and glycerine solution. Heat the primary flask in the distiller until the methanol condenses and separates into the secondary flask. The solution leftover in the primary flask is pure biodiesel.
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Test your biodiesel solution to make sure that the biodiesel is pure enough for washing, drying and burning as bio fuel. Pour 20 milliliters into a separate plastic bottle and add 20 milliliters of water to the solution. Shake it vigorously for 20 seconds and sit it upright, allowing it to settle. If the water separates to the bottom of the biodiesel, then your production process has been correct thus far. However, if the water does not separate, try allowing the rest of the solution to settle and pass it through the separatory funnel again.
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Wash the biodiesel by pouring it into a large plastic container. Add 200 milliliters of water to the container and aerate it with an aquarium pump for at least 48 hours. Use a siphon to drain off the water from the biodiesel solution. Use pH strips to test the water, which should have a pH of 12 or higher. If the pH is lower than 12, redo the washing process and retest.
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Allow the biodiesel to sit and dry for at least 72 hours. It will be translucent, although somewhat dark depending on the cleanliness of the waste oil with which you started. Once the biodiesel is dried, you can add it to a kerosene heater or use it as biofuel for heating oil.
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Tips & Warnings
Not all furnaces or boilers are equipped for handling biodiesel. Consult your boiler's manufacturer or technician for specifications on your boiler.
Both methanol and lye will quickly absorb moisture from the air if their containers are left open. Be sure to close them as soon as possible.
Both methanol and lye are extremely caustic chemicals and can give off toxic fumes when heated. Use extreme caution, using respirator masks when handling these chemicals.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit on the tap image by mark smith from Fotolia.com
