Green Grease Machine

Green Grease Machine demonstrates a simple method for
producing a renewable fuel from replenishable abundant resources.
Biodiesel can be made from any vegetable oil, including soy, sunflower,
canola, and even used cooking oil from fast food restaurants (the stuff
they make french fries in!).

How It Works
The processor:
The Green Grease Machine was designed to recycle cooking oil from a
restaurant and process it into clean biodiesel fuel. The processor is
powered by a Yanmar Diesel motor which is fueled with biodiesel. The
diesel motor generates electricity for the pumps via a belt-driven 4 kW
generator. The pumping heart of the machine is an old Champion juicer
mounted to a heavy-duty rotary gear pump. This pump sucks the oil from
the fryer vat and pumps it around the machine until it becomes biodiesel
fuel. A blue tug-boat fuel filter is used to separate food particles
from the oil. To mix the methanol and lye, a drill and a mud mixer are
mounted over a sealed 5 gallon bucket. A 1978, military issue, 60
gallon steam kettle serves as the main “reactor.” the reactor can be
heated with circulating hot water which is made by a small water heater.
The contents of the reactor are agitated with a 3 hp. DC outboard motor
which is attached to the side of the reactor.

The process:
1. Oil is collected from any restaurant fryer and filtered through
the big blue filter to remove any bits of food.

2. If the outside temperature is below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the oil
is heated in the steam kettle until it is over 90 degrees.

3. Methanol and lye are mixed in the five gallon bucket with the drill
mixer.

4.The methanol/lye mixture is pumped into the kettle with the oil.

5.The oil and methanol/lye mixture are stirred using the outboard boat
motor for 1 hour.

6. The entire mixture is left to settle for 8 hours.

7. Glycerin settles to the bottom of the kettle and is removed for use
as soap.

8. The remaining liquid is biodiesel, which is filtered through the
yellow Raycor filter.

9.The biodiesel is ready to use in any diesel engine

Introduction to Biodiesel
Biodiesel can be made from frying oils that people often throw away.
Later, we made fuel with that oil and put it in our car. The car ran
great and its exhaust smelled like french fries. After almost 2 years
of research on biodiesel, we wrote a book on biodiesel. It’s called
>From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. It explains everything about
biodiesel.
It even tells you how to make biodiesel in a blender!

History of Vegetable Oil Fuel
The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel is nothing new. Dr. Rudolf
Diesel first developed the diesel engine in 1895 with the full
intention of running it on a variety of fuels, including vegetable oil.
Diesel demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900
using peanut oil as fuel. In 1911 he stated “The diesel engine can be
fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development
of agriculture of the countries which use it.” In 1912, Diesel said
“the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant
today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as
petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.” Since
Diesel’s time, the design of the diesel engine has been modified so
it can run on the cheapest fuel available: petroleum “diesel” fuel.

Properties of Biodiesel
Although it is made from vegetable oil, biodiesel is so much like
petroleum diesel fuel that it functions like petroleum diesel and
can be blended in any ratio with petroleum diesel fuel. Since
biodiesel has relatively low emissions, it is an ideal fuel for use
in sensitive environments and areas such as: marine areas, national
parks and forests, and heavily polluted cities. Federal and state
fleet vehicles and mining vehicles can also use biodiesel in their
existing diesel engines. According to Dr. Kerr Walker, Senior Oil
seeds Specialist at the Scottish Agricultural College, “biodiesel
offers the…only opportunity for producing a renewable ecological
transport fuel” Biodiesel has many advantages as a transport fuel,
the greatest of which may be that it is produced from plants. Since
plants are a direct product of solar energy, plant-based biodiesel is
really just liquid solar fuel!

Key Advantages of Biodiesel:
Biodiesel runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. It can be
stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored. Biodiesel reduces
Carbon Dioxide emissions by up to 100% because it is a renewable fuel.
This is very important because as you can see in the chart here, carbon
dioxide contributes to 50% of the Greenhouse Effect. Biodiesel can be
used alone or mixed in any amount with petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel
is more lubricating than diesel fuel, so it increases the life of
engines. Biodiesel is safe to handle because it is biodegradable and
non-toxic. According to Alan Weber of the NAB, “neat biodiesel is as
biodegradable as sugar and less toxic than salt.” Biodiesel has a high
flash point, or ignition temperature, of about 300 F compared to
petroleum diesel fuel which has a flash point of 125 F. This means it’s
safer to transport. Auto ignition, fuel consumption, power output, and
engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel. So basically, the
engine just runs like normal (except for the smell).

Joshua and Kaia Tickell