How is biodiesel made?
It’s a very simple process. Vegetable oil is placed in a reaction vessel where an alcohol and a catalyst is mixed into it. After mixing for a period of time, the mixture is allowed to settle. The mixture will separate and form two distinct layers. The top layer is Biodiesel and the bottom layer is the glycerol. After sufficient time has passed to allow complete separation, the glycerol is drained out and the remaining Biodiesel is washed to remove excess catalyst and other impurities before finally being filtered for use.
A. Methanol or Ethanol, used in conjunction with an appropriate catalyst under controlled conditions allows oil-based vegetable and animal material to be transesterified to a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) or a fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE). Transesterification basically sees the substitution of methanol (a monohydric alcohol) for triglycerides. The FAME then undergoes a series of washing steps before finally being distilled to produce a high specification biodiesel.
