How does biodiesel compare to ethanol, the other farm fuels prospect?
Mrs Logue explains that ethanol production is a more complex process, involving fermentation. “By comparison biodiesel can be produced quite easily,” she says. “With the plant we have from Biodiesel Australia, it only takes about six hours to convert oil to biodiesel.” The Logues begin the process with the overnight addition of sodium hydroxide to methanol (bought commercially) which creates methoxide. Canola oil enters the mix the next morning and separates into biodiesel and glycerol. The glycerol settles to the bottom and is drained before the biodiesel goes into a tank, where water is misted onto the surface. This causes the raw biodiesel to separate into a layer of water, a layer of soap and a layer of tractor-ready biodiesel.
