TDI Bio

why this blog is quiet

2006-11-03T22:08:00.000-05:00

This is Dan's wife. I am posting because his company has recently published a policy that forbids blogging. Until the details are worked out, he is unable to contribute to this blog. Don't stop reading this blog; this is a temporary issue that should be worked out in the next couple of weeks.

Meeting this morning with Clean Fuels Ohio

2006-10-18T09:57:00.000-04:00

I had a great meeting this morning with Sam Spafforth, Executive
Director of Clean Fuels Ohio. He's on the cutting edge of alternative
fuel advocacy in Ohio, and is actively working through distibution
channels to bring E85 and biodiesel to Central Ohio. He's also been
active in getting grants for funding of alternative fuels, and
encouraging appropriate subsidies through the Ohio legislature.

One of his current goals is the same as ours -- getting retail
locations selling Biodiesel and E85 in Central Ohio. I'm hoping we
can work together to make this a reality soon!

I think this is the start of a great relationship, since we have very
synergistic goals, and I hope that Clean Fuels Ohio can provide us
with contacts, resources and funding opportunities, just as we can
provide guerilla/grass-roots marketing, buzz and advocacy in Central
Ohio.

Not dead nor forgotten

2006-10-14T00:33:00.000-04:00

I realize it's been a month since my last post, but I've not given up,
just have been exceedingly busy. I made several commitments for this
Fall before switching jobs, then took a new position with significant
responsibility, and now my calendar is jammed full. It'd be entirely
manageable if I wasn't dealing with two compounded health issues --
I'm never getting rested and getting very tired. My doctor is sending
me to a sleep specialist to address the poor sleep and sleep apnea,
and my ophthalmologist says my eyes aren't working right, so are
burning lots of energy and wearing me out. The upshot is that I'm
alternating between working until midnight or past several nights with
bleary eyes, and then collapsing exhausted at 7pm the rest of the
nights, leaving no time for hobbies or leisure. Biodiesel and this
blog fall into that category, so I'm hoping this is temporary. Until
then, I'm taking about 12 hours of "naps" a week. Once I teach a
course this next week, I should be able to crash for awhile, catch up
on sleep, and then do the final push to complete my processor.

Anyway, enough of health, let's talk new biodiesel production news.

>> I picked up 12 more 10 gallon mini-drums from Container Mgmt,
bringing the total to 20 (with two MIA currently). Regrettably,
Container Mgmt is 0 for 2 in delivering the drums in the condition
promised. This time, they delayed delivery for 3+ weeks, while they
were getting them washed, incinerated, painted and ready. Then, when
I picked them up, they were in the same, sorry, sticky condition as
before. Apparently the 3 weeks of pain I went through deferring their
use and juggling resources was for nothing, so I have 12 sticky, icky
drums. I'd have balked and told them to deliver as promised, but my
spouse picked them up for me (thanks honey!!) so it was already too
late. I think, after twice not delivering, they're not going to get a
3rd try to make good.

>> I've picked up another cafeteria route for oil, and the chef
there, John, also manages two other cafeterias in the Easton area, so
we should soon be up to 5 cafeterias on our routes. The one I just
picked up is in the building I work in, so I not only can keep tabs on
the drums and provide good service, but it's easy to pickup, and the
daily check on the drum means that my commute is tax deductible.
Wahoo!

>> A local artist has painted one of the drums with a Celtic-inspired
red flames, and is wanting to paint more, to practice his pinstriping
craft. It's pretty cool, and I'll post pictures soon. For now, I'm
going to bed!

More on HDPE bottom fittings

2006-09-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

I've installed and tested 6 fittings now on 3 drums, and installing is now a 2 minute process (plus overnight curing time, times 2). Please post any experience you have in duplicating, replicating or modifying this procedure as a comment.

Adding drain and standpipe to closed-head HDPE drum

2006-08-29T15:50:00.000-04:00

The "standard" solution for creating a wash tank or oil storage tank seems to be flipping closed-head drums over, and cutting the heads off. I've been trying to find a viable solution that will let me add a bottom drain and standpipe to closed-head drums, so I don't have to deal with all the nasty issues you get with an open head, such as methanol fumes or rain water. Oh, and it also should be able to be performed without welding, since I can't do that, and would ideally work on HDPE drums that I've gotten from carwashes.

Finally, I've found out a method that works, and is (relatively) cheap, especially since it lets me use free drums. So far, I've been able to install 2 bottom drains and 2 stand-pipes without cutting off the head of the drum, and it seems to work great. The key is to get a male and female fitting on either side of the drum, so you can screw/glue fittings onto the bottom. Here are the steps:

Materials List:
~ 1/2" male PVC fitting, threaded
~ 1/2" CPVC adapter, threaded PVC to slip CPVC (NIBCO part 4703 at Home Depot)
~ 1 3/32" shower valve socket wrench
(I had to buy the complete kit at Home Depot - $22 !!! )
~ 1 small tube Gorilla Glue
~ 1 tube silicone caulk (indoor/outdoor)
~ standard hose washer
~ 3/4" galvanized iron pipe, 4' long
~ 3/4" galvanized tee
~ 2 - 3/4" galvanized 10" pipe nipples
~ 2 - 3/4" galvanized end caps (optional)
~ 1 - bolt, nut, washer, lock washer

Assembling the fitting wrench:
1) Insert the shower valve socket wrench over the end of the 4' pipe, making sure you put the right end on (make sure the CPVC adapter fits inside the fitting).

2) Drill through the iron pipe, through the hole in the top of the shower valve socket wrench. Drill through both holes.

3) Insert bolt through the hole you just drilled, put washer and lock washer on bolt, then nut, and tighten. It shouldn't stick out very far, since you want it to fit through a 2" fitting.

4) Thread the 3/4" Tee onto the other end of the pipe, and the two nipples onto the tee. Put end caps on the nipples if you like. You can hand-tighten all these. I chose galvanized so it wouldn't rust from exposure to water.

You now have a wrench that can tighten fitting in the bottom of a drum!

Now, for the fitting assembly:

Step 1: Drill a 3/4" hole in the bottom of the drum, directly below one of the top bungs. 3/4 is slightly too small, and 13/16 is slightly too big (but OK), so your mileage may vary.If you're just adding a bottom drain, use a 3/4" bit, so it will hold itself while the glue sets.

Step 2: Put on gloves, because Gorilla Glue stains human skin!

Step 3a: Trial run for fit. Put a standard hose washer on a male 1/2" PVC fitting, and screw it by hand into the hole you drilled, trying to keep it as straight as possible. Look into the drum, to see how much thread is available. Depending on the thickness of the HDPE, you may not have enough thread sticking out with the hose washer on the fitting to attach on the inside. (If you're just adding a bottom drain, you don't need threads, provided it's a VERY snug fit. If you want a stand pipe, you're going to want threads.) If enough threads aren't showing (the fitting is nearly flush on the inside), take off the hose washer, or push it higher up on the fitting, and try again. Now, take it out of the hole, and proceed with glue.

Step 3b: Rub a bit of water on the fitting, and around the hole. Put a liberal but not insane amount of gorilla glue at the top of the threads (the middle of the fitting), and around the hole you drilled in the drum.

Step 4: Screw the male fitting back into the hole. If all you wanted was a bottom drain, you're done.

Step 5: Put the 1/2" CPVC fitting on the 4' fitting wrench you made. I had real problems with it falling out or going to deep, so I stuffed some plastic bag down inside the fitting, and put a bit of ABC chewing gum on the inside side of the wrench to hold the CPVC fitting. I also put a liberal amount of gorilla glue on the threads and on the surface of the fitting that will be in contact with the drum.

I found the next few steps easiest with the drum on it's side, on a few milk crates.

Step 6: Insert the wrench into the drum, and position over the fitting. If your drum has two top bungs, look through one while putting the wrench through the other.

Step 7: Have a friend hold the bottom fitting you already inserted, with a set of channel locks or pliers, while you screw the fitting on, hand-tight.

Step 8: After the gorilla glue cures overnight, apply a liberal amount of silicone caulk around the fitting and allow that to cure for a day.

After it's cured, you can add a stand pipe. Here's how I did it....
I used another CPVC adapter, and screwed it onto a 1/2" pipe, and then put a 10" length of 1/2" PVC pipe lightly into the CPVC adapter, WITHOUT glue. I used PVC primer and glue on the other end of the 10" pipe, then inserted it into the drum and pushed it onto the CPVC adapter I'd already installed. I let that cure overnight, then twisted it loose, leaving behind the 10" stand pipe.

Please comment with opinions, rants, or reports of success/failures with this methodology.

Processor nearing completion

2006-08-26T22:55:00.000-04:00

I spent the last two days doing some serious wrenching and fabrication on the processor, including building the supports, most of the plumbing, and planning for substantial additions to the base Appleseed processor (more on this later). After two long days, seriously sore muscles, and several cuts and trips to Home Depot, the processor is nearly ready to launch. I also acquired 210 pounds of virgin vegetable oil at GFS for $.40 per pound, which I think is about $2.40 per gallon. That will be my first batch, so I can both measure the oil going in with accuracy, and also will remove any issues of titration. Add to that the 74 gallons of filtered oil in my driveway, and I have enough fuel to get through the next 3 months.

But, back to fabrication. I had to work through several challenges, not a few of which were caused by some errors in assembly -- including two valves I put on, only to realize afterwards that operating the valve would obscure a fitting that I planned to fill with a pipe within the hour. Oops! I decided to put the processor and two wash tanks on the same platform, but picked up a second pump at Harbor Freight so that I can filter my oil to 5 microns without introducing glycerin back into the equation.

Now for the extras that are adding to the fabrication:
>> Making an attractive layout that I can show to the press, schools, whatever

>> Processor and oil tanks mounted on narrow pallets (skids) that fit alongside my garage

>> Mounting the skids on heavy-duty wheels so they can be moved and re-arranged

>> Securing the processor components to keep them sealed and safe, while still moveable

>> Fabrication of a 4 foot wrench, enabling me to add bottom drains and stand pipes to (free) closed-head plastic drums

>> Control panel with sealed weatherproof switches and grounding

>> Painting for weatherproofing of the iron fittings and drums

>> Changing appleseed design to use 1" pipe and valves to maximize throughput, and use cheap valves

This last is the most significant change, since it means that the parts list that is provided with Girl Mark's Biodiesel manual is invalid. You wouldn't think that it would be that big an impact, but it was huge... I had to make 3 trips to Home Depot in the past 3 days, and the last two were to pickup fittings I hadn't anticipated.

I'm pretty excited about the 4 foot wrench that I finally figured out how to fabricate, namely because it should let me readily add fittings to the bottom of closed-head plastic drums I get free from carwashes. If it works, it will means that I can make tanks for oil settling and dewatering, washing, settling, and storage, for about $2 per drum. OK, the wrench cost me $28 in components to fabricate, but that's pretty cheap once spread across dozens of drums.

It still has some rough edges, and I'm having difficulty keeping the fitting from falling out of the wrench when I insert it into the drum, so it's far from complete. However, I did install two fittings tonight with it. The first was a failure, due to glue issues that messed up the male fitting that I'd screwed into the hole from the bottom, but should still provide a bottom drain. The standpipe I installed looks solid, and I'll see tomorrow if they hold water. Once I confirm that it works, I'll post pictures and details on this blog.

Bullwinkle and Biodiesel

2006-08-25T18:10:00.000-04:00

As Bullwinkle often said to Rocky, after pulling a lion out of his hat instead of a rabbit,"Oops! Don't know my own strength!" I was tightening a fitting when assembling my biodiesel processor, and was really torquing down a ball valve, and there was very little clearance on the near end where it was being attached to a pipe nipple, so I started wrenching on the other end, really tightening it up. I remembered today why it is that you don't tighten a brass fitting on the end away from where you're attaching it, as you can see from the 1" ball valve to the right. I superimposed a circle on the photo, so you'd notice that the fitting will no longer fit. Trashed another fitting, but I'm really glad I only paid $2 for the valves, instead of the full retail $14.

Significant progress in fabrication

2006-08-24T11:48:00.000-04:00

I have several vacation days I'm taking between jobs, so am going to slog away at my processor, and hope to get it done ASAP.... so, stay tuned!

Ohio State Fair

2006-08-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a fun-filled day at the Ohio State Fair, a fantastic family event that even tied into biodiesel. Yes, our fun day included losing Emily twice, the first time ironically on the way to get Lost Child tags at the Cardinal Gate, and the other for 45 harrowing minutes in the Commercial Building as Becca and I walked around with State Troopers that had mobilized to find her. We walked until I was so exhausted I fell asleep lying down on the hard asphalt under a tent, and ended the day with a call to Poison Control when Rachael decided the glowing center to luminescent bracelets looked tasty.

Oh, and two biodiesel tie-ins: I finally found a 11" wide-mouth funnel, at a wine-making exhibit in the Commercial Building, which was great to find for only $5, and will keep us from using cut-open milk jugs. Also, the Ag Center had a Biodiesel display, obviously by Big Soy, that included a "Biodiesel vehicle" and a few drums of (allegedly) biodiesel. I wasn't too happy for them to display a "Biodiesel Vehicle", as that reinforces the fallacy that modifications are required to burn biodiesel. However, I did take the opportunity to sprinkle MidOhio Biofuel Co-op business cards liberally over the vehicle and drums, in the hope that passers-by will pick up the cards. Becca hinted that my doing so might precipitate my third run-in with state troopers that day, but her fears seem unfounded. So far, no calls from either law enforcement or interested parties, but it's still early.

Danger, Danger Will Robinson!!

2006-08-03T10:19:00.000-04:00

I missed a vital observation when creating mobile pallets.... while the short pallet I was using under my (FULL) oil drum was reinforced down the length with solid 2x4s, the one I put wheels on for my other pallet only had 4x4 blocks at the corners, binding the top of the skid to the bottom. I totally missed that when affixing the 300-lb super-heavy-duty casters to the corner blocks. I figured, heavy-duty skid with heavy-duty casters, no problem. Oops.

Fortunately for me, my wife noticed that, after I muscled (OOF!) the 500 pound full oil drum from one skid to the other that the 4x4 blocks were twisting under the load, and were likely going to break. We quickly shimmed the pallet with 2x12 lumber, and I quickly reinforced the pallet that the drum had just been on. 150 nails and two 2x4s later, I had reinforced the other pallet, affixed more heavy-duty casters, and got the drum muscled back (OOF!) to the newly reinforced pallet, before disaster struck. Whew! So much for quickly moving the drum and then doing more fabrication. At least I learned a lesson without spilling 55 gallons of waste fryer oil in my driveway.

Drums back from welder

2006-08-01T17:47:00.000-04:00

My welding buddy, Scott, did an awesome job with the drums. They now have bottom drains plumbed with 1" pipe, and two 3/4" pipes coming into the same side bung on the bottom, so now I can drain my wash drums, and also have a standpipe and input from the side of the drum. He even used a grinder to get all the welding bumps off, and it looks great. I shot it with some of that magic rust converter, and it's sweet!

Processor slowly coming along

2006-07-31T23:38:00.000-04:00

I've taken several initial steps to further build my processor. Some of the holdup has been waiting on drums from the welder. A buddy of mine at work has graciously jumped in to help me out with some welding, and it took a bit for us to work out timing, transfer, and resources. I'm not complaining mind you, since he's working for cheap, it's just one of the necessary gaps in the process when I'm not willing to plunk down $1500 for commercial tanks.

In the interim, I'm fitting the water heater with some plumbing, and am working on setting up two 1/2 size pallets (2' x 4') with heavy-duty caster wheels, which should give me some mobility in my biodiesel rig. I want to find one more pallet, and that can let me have two oil tanks on a pallet, a processing tank + wash tank on another, and wash + settle tank on the third. At this point, that seems prudent, as I don't think that I can avoid having two oil tanks in the interim, and it seems appropriate to have as many of the drums on moveable pallets as possible. With 3 pallets strung end-to-end, it should fit in a 12' line going down the side of my house, and taking up 2' of space along the wall. Anyway, that's the theory. What is less obvious is how to plumb between each pallet with sufficient strength flexible pipe to resist crushing by suction, resist harsh chemicals, and with sufficient flexibility in design that I can move my rig around somewhat. I may have to be resigned to moderate flexibility with rigid pipe (moderate = semi-permanent!), but I have some fabrication challenges to iron out first.

When you look at the pictures of my drying drum, you'll notice the shiny black pipe. It's amazing how 1 week in the rain turned that a terrible rusty mess. Fortunately, I found a spray-can substance that (after rigorous steel brushing first) converts the rusty parts to paintable parts. Two quick coats of that + a coat of Rustoleum seems to have done the trick. From now on, I'm going to pre-paint my pipes with Rustoleum to avoid that issue.

Wish List

2006-07-20T12:08:00.000-04:00

One thing I've learned in constructing a biodiesel processor: The parts lists on websites and even in Girl Mark's famous Appleseed book are woefully inadequate. They don't address all the myriad components needed to actually perform backyard biodiesel production.... perhaps about half.

So, in the hopes that you, dear reader, can help me pull some things together, I'm going to provide the wishlist of all the junk I still need to be able to complete my biodiesel production first processor and mobile processor.

First Processor Wishlist

Air compressor with hose, fittings
12volt pump, capable of pumping oil/waste
Small trailer, personal watercraft size
Trailer towing rig for my Jetta
Shed or carport
Lab stirrer/heater (2)

Second Processor Wishlist

3/4HP - 2HP pump (2)
Air powered motor
Utility trailer - 6x6 and up
Pump isolation dampener
Belt-drive fabrication
Cone-bottom tank
Flexible hose rated for chemicals

Filtering oil - Trial Two

2006-07-18T20:54:00.000-04:00

My rig for filtering oil seems to be working pretty well, except that it's manual and only does 4.5 gallons at a time. Basically, it's a 30 micron sock filter (known to you and me as a blue jean leg sown shut on the bottom), inside a 6" PVC pipe, with 10 pounds of rock salt below the filter, providing 6" of salt drip. At the bottom of the pipe is a 6-to-4 and 4-to-2 bushing, with a 2" male fitting. Screwed onto the maile fitting is a 2" end cap with several holes drilled in it, and a shower drain cover trimmed so that the mesh is inside the end cap. I drilled a 2½" hole in a sheet of plywood, and the pipe sticks down inside a 5 gallon drum. I'm able to use a 3qt. pot to dip oil out of my drum and fill the pipe, and it takes about 30 minutes to drain. The final sludge in the bottom of my 10 gallon barrels is poured through a cone filter that gets most of the nasty breading and bits. I had to use the plywood, as I quickly found out that the lid of a 5' gallon plastic bucket cannot support 20-30 pounds (two lids later). As I indicated before, the only pain is that my filtering rig is full manual at this point, and that it only filters 4.5 gallons at a time, max. The reason for this is that I don't want to lift 80-90 pound mini-drums over my head on a step ladder to filter directly into a drum. So, I scoop out the oil into the filter on top of a 5-gallon bucket, and guestimate how many times I can fill my filter without overflowing. This should get easier once I get a pump or compressor to move the oil, then I can skip the bucket phase. The salt seems to be giving a nice separation of the water, time will tell.

First asset tag

2006-07-12T22:50:00.000-04:00

After 90 tedious minutes with a razor blade I cut out a template that permitted me to label my oil collection barrels so that I hope they won't disappear. It's not much, but I think it lends a professional air to the process. Regrettably, one of the pictures does a great job of showing off my junky garage, but you get the idea. Oh, and the number is Member Number (001) and drum number (-1 and -2). Since I made the first label, I call dibs on Member Number 001. :-)

Note - Updated several old posts

2006-07-12T22:48:00.000-04:00

I had some picture issues, so I've updated several older posts, and inserted a few. So, avid reader, you might want to skim the archives. The posts added/updated are:

6/26 - Oil processing tank setup
6/29 - Dewatering fabrication
6/6 - Great free tank

Oil Pickup

2006-06-29T11:31:00.000-04:00

Several folks have asked me about my oil source. Fortunately for me, I got a brainstorm one day at my job, and walked down to the company cafeteria. My timing was perfect, as they are very upset with the local renderer who they'd contracted to pickup their grease. This renderer, who shall go anonymously by the name "Outland", wouldn't come when called, and had been leaving them with multiple barrels full of goo. You can see this in the grey barrels in the pictures. The same grease has been awaiting pickup by "Outland" for 3 months, just sitting and stinking. After explaining a bit what I wanted to do, and determining their needs and points of pain, I came up with a solution to pick them up in 10-gallon mini drums.

This couldn't be much easier. I stop by after lunch each day, rock the mini-drums to see how full they are, and keep tabs on when I need to make a pickup. Not only does this keep my costs low and ensure good service, but it also makes my daily commute completely tax deductible as a business expense for servicing my oil route.

The black drums are mine, and the grey nasty ones belong to the, erm, "Outland" renderer who isn't picking up their crap.

Dewatering fabrication

2006-06-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

I'm working on fabrication to solve the dewatering problem, which I've addressed in two ways, since there are actually two dewatering problems to solve - suspended (dissolved) water and separated water.

First, I need to get the suspended water out of the oil. After filtering out the food bits, there can be a substantial amount of water suspended in the oil, which is "dissolved". I've read several accounts on various Internet forums that point to rock salt as the common method for dewatering oil and diesel fuel, and rock salt appears to be a standard solution by the petroleum industry and fuel distributors for dewatering diesel. Apparently, salt will not bond with oil or fuel, but the water bonds to the salt, and becomes heavy, as brine, and sinks to the bottom. This will give me a layer of brine below the oil. I plan on achieving this by adding a good 4-6 inches of rock salt in the bottom of my filtering unit, above a filter I'll need to thread in. So, the oil will drip from the sock filter through
the salt bed, which should bond to any water, and give me a good layer of separation. When I pour off the oil, it should be easy (??) to not pour the brine into the 55-gallon drum.

However, there will doubtless be some water in the drum. In fact, I think there's about a gallon in there now, from the prior batch of watery oil I filtered direct into the drum. This will have suspended water in it, but at least it's only a minimal amount, and my brute-force method for final dewatering should solve it. The drum I'm using has a bottom bung, which is about 5" from the bottom on the side of the drum. I've installed a 2"-to-1" bushing, 1" x 4" nipple, and a 1" tee. Coming up from the tee is a 1" brass ball valve, and straight
out from the tee is a 3500 watt heating element designed for a water heater, which is threaded in and sticking about 12" into the drum.

It's not touching the fittings, and is largely inside the drum. I plan on using this to heat the oil in the drum sufficiently to boil off the water into steam, and have an auto temperature gauge to
install in the drum, if I can just figure out how to install it. I think I can drill a hole in the drum and screw it in with a nut and O-ring inside the drum, and O-ring outside the drum, provided it's an O-ring that can take the heat.

I think the best way to manage the steam will be to screw a nipple into the 3/4" fitting in the lid of the open drum, put an elbow on it that will take it 5" over to the side of the drum, then to a T that is pointing up and down. I'll put a 2' pipe going down from the T, with a bucket below to catch water dripping, and put a 3' pipe going up for the steam vent, so the steam doesn't hit someone.

I'm wondering if I'll also need a coil below, to condense the steam, and keep it from causing burns?? Decisions, decisions. I guess this is why it's called "fabrication" instead of building from a kit. Imagination, creativity, risk and experimentation are all part of the mix.

Oil filtering fabrication

2006-06-29T10:33:00.000-04:00

I think I've overcome two issues with oil filtering, which are:
1) How to pour oil 8' off the ground from an 90 pound drum, and
2) Dewatering the oil

First the height/weight issue. No, not mine, though I have the
healthy weight of someone a mere 1 foot taller. I'm talking about my
contraption that has me pouring oil 8' off the ground. I modified the
lid to a 5 gallon bucket last night, and glued a 2" female endcap
fitting to the top of it, so that I can thread my filtering
contraption onto it. (Said filtering contraption being a 3' length of
6" PVC that is necked down through a 6-to-4 slip bushing, into a
4--to-2 slip bushing, which is fitted with a 2" male fitting. At the
top of the 6' pipe, I put a 30 micron sock filter over the top of the
pipe, and use a clamp to secure it. Thanks to Mark Mitchell, the sock
filters are very cheap -- a jeans leg cut off at the crotch and sown
across the bottom, works great. The 2" male fitting at the bottom of
my filter lets me screw this into the top of the fitting I've glued
into the top of the 5 gallon bucket lid, or into a steel drum. This
should let me filter oil by lifting the drums only 4' off the ground,
which is far more manageable. If that is still too difficult to
achieve, I'm thinking about using a shop vac to pressurize a drum and
push the oil out, though I suspect there isn't enough horsepower in a
shop vac.

That's enough for this post... I'll cover dewatering later. In fact,
in the next post.

Oil processing tank setup

2006-06-26T12:44:00.000-04:00

After a significant amount of fabrication guesswork, judicious
wrenching, and multiple trips to Home Depot and Loews, I was finally able to start processing used fryer oil (step 1 in making biodiesel). Now kiddies, don't try this at home, because your mama would slap you (and it would be called justifiable). This is a messy, gloppy, smelly process that includes getting used glop from very dirty fryers, by scraping the accumulated/settled stuff from the bottom of my mini-drums. However, since I can actually reach the bottom of a 10-gallon drum, and can't reach the bottom of a 55-gallon drum, I wouldn't want to think of how messy THAT is. It's not actually that repugnant, since it's like greasy, stinky wet sand, so it does handle easily. However, little bits of greasy breading tend to get on your clothes, arm and the ground surrounding the operation. The dark stuff in the carboy next to the drum is the gunk from two mini-drums, painfully extracted 1/2 cup at a time. Ick.

Something I hadn't counted on when preparing to filter used fryer oil is just how difficult it is to lift an 80 pound container up a ladder to a height of 8', and then carefully tilt and pour while not resting on the filtering rim (which can't take the weight). I think I might need to revise my process, though I don't want to spend any more at this point -- I'm already over budget, and the thought of buying a compressor or waste pump at $100 isn't sitting too well. I guess at this point I need to find someone that has a compressor they rarely use, and would let me store it in my garage and use it. Then again, that would also mean buying fitting and hose, as well as a bit more fabrication, welding and the like. Hmmmm... this is a much more involved process than the blogs and books would leave you to believe.

I've noticed a universal lack of details in how to actually process waste vegetable oil with tactical instructions. Sure, there are several threads that talk about sucking used oil behind restaurants into your mobile tank and sucking said glop back into drums in your processing center, but I've not found methods that treat the issue of managing the used fryer oil without investing in mobile tanks and significant pumps. Oh, yes, also investing in a truck. In the interim, I'll probably dump from the mini-drums into a 5-gallon bucket, which I can use to pour the oily goo while standing on the ladder, and will continue to rely on friends to help me get the oil from downtown to my driveway (which is less than optimal).

The issue of filtering and dewatering used fryer oil is where I hope the MidOhio Biofuel Co-op can help, by providing some facility and resources so I can contribute oil and get out filtered oil in 5-gallon carboys that are actually manageable.

Crystal meth & biodiesel

2006-06-13T23:57:00.000-04:00

Some of my friends at work have jokingly made comments about the lab I'm setting up for titration of biodiesel, and call it the meth lab. Well, tonight those two things came together. Kinda. I got two 55-gallon drums from a carwash on Indianola and Morse roads, which is adjacent to a COTA "park and ride" location, so massive bus traffic is a given. When I got the drums home, one of them had two used syringes in it (ick!). I filed a police report, just so I didn't get busted for paraphenalia with trace residue of crank on it, and pitched them in a responsible manner. Unfortunately, I forgot to record a photo for the blog, so you'll have to be stuck with the stock photo at right. I guess you never know what you might find in someone else's trash!

Co-op meeting tonight

2006-06-08T23:46:00.000-04:00

We met at Paneras in Clintonville tonight, and it was pretty cool. We're showing continuing progress, though we still have many differing ideas about what the co-op should be about, including the question about our structure including just biodiesel, or other alternative fuels (ethanol, for instance). But, it's all good... this is part of the process to flush out precisely those things we will do, those things we might do, and those things we absolutely won't do. One great positive note is that we agreed on the logo, so I can at least print up business cards to hand to carwash owners when I'm asking for drums, and we can get a minimalistic website started.

I found three free drum suppliers tonight who will save drums for me, so it looks like I will soon have more than enough drums and carboys to produce in earnest.

More Freecycle Processor Components for Free

2006-06-07T10:23:00.003-04:00

If you've not yet tried Freecycle, you need to... one small but powerful means of avoiding sending things to the landfill by asking your fellow humans if they would like some of your stuff, or asking if any of them have a particular stuff you need. It's great stuff. So far, Freecycle Columbus has enabled me to give away a chain saw, bike and scooter, as well as acquire 3 pallets, a 50-gallon water heater, a dryer and dishwasher (for pump and motor salvage), and a 40-gallon water tank. My latest acquisition today, the tank and heater, were a great find. Thanks to Donna and John (?) for this find, and for helping me lug it out of their basement. This easily saved me $50, kept it out of the landfill, and saved me from hours of welding.

The 52 gallon water heater holds water without leaking, and should be a great addition to my processor. Once I got all sediment out of it (as you'll find in any old water heater), I filled it with bleach water to kill the bacteria, and drained it again, and now it's happily drying in my driveway. I'm not sure exactly how I'll use the water tank, but it looks very solid, and has 4 large and 2 small ports, so there are a variety of thing I should be able to use it for. However, a stand pipe would be impossible without drilling and welding, as none of the holes are top or bottom mounted. I may just use it as a water tank so I won't have to continually walk around to the other side of the house to turn on/off the spigot. :-) Ah well, I'm sure I'll think of something.

Incidentally, I'm REALLY glad I didn't pick them up with the minivan last night, as they leaked all over the back of the truck. No problem in a pickup truck, but it's a lot harder to hose out a carpteted minivan.

Great free tank

2006-06-06T21:20:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Freecycle, I was able to score a free 350-gallon tank with hand pump and meter from a local source. This was free as in "free beer" not OpenSource "freedom to innovate"! Bio Joe (pictured) and I loaded it on his boat trailer, after some judicious hefting, winching, and a few loading methods definitely note approved by OSHA. But it worked, no one was injured, and nothing was broken, including laws. This will be a great tank for us to use for oil collection, or perhaps for holding processed biodiesel to dispense to members.

Testing the mist washer prototype

2006-06-05T07:40:00.000-04:00

I purchased some misting components over the past few days, and finally assembled them today to see if it would mist well. The basic components are:

Small submersible pump from Harbor Freight - $9
1/2" tubing from Harbor Freight - $4
Misting plugs from Lowes (plumbing) - $3
Mist plug insertion tool from Lowes (plumbing) - $3

I was pleased to find the mist components at Lowes, because I'd been searching for them for some time... the Arizona misters features on many biodiesel blogs and websites are very hard to find, and I wasn't about to pay $25 for it, plus shipping, to order through the mail.

All I basically had to do for assembly was to use the insertion tool to make holes in the tubing, then push the plugs in until they were barely into the hole, then twist them in so that the threads would help hold them in. For the prototype, I created a tube coming 3' up from the pump, to simulate the height from the bottom to the top of a 55-gallon drum, then a 20" diameter loop, which will run around the perimeter of the drum head.

Emily, my daughter, is modeling the final assembly, though I couldn't get her to hold it while it was running. :-) It worked like a champ, with a fine mist.

The benefit of this approach over the Arizona system hooked to a garden hose is:

It's a closed loop system, so I can mist overnight, and not worry about having added too much water to my batch. With the garden hose system, you have to worry about how many gallons you're adding.
As a closed loop system, I'm not pumping water through my main processor pump, so it helps keep water away from the H2O sensitive methanol reaction.
The price was cheap.

Biodiesel Hillbilly

2006-06-02T04:21:00.000-04:00

Yup, my driveway is starting to look like the biodiesel equivalent of redneck chique. Instead of basset hounds under the porch, cars on blocks, and 2 major appliances outside, it looks like a chemical supply house. I have 4 steel drums, 3 carboys, 2 HDPE drums, bung wrench, pipe, a couple of pallets... I'm wondering what the neighbors are starting to think.

Free Drums & Carboys

2006-06-01T19:35:00.000-04:00

Kudos to Mark M. for the great tip on where to find free drums -- the local carwash can be a great resource. The coin-operated self wash doesn't have enough volume, and I've only once caught the manager at one, but the full-service car wash seems to be a great source for drums and carboys. I've picked up 4, and two attendents are keeping more for me. Great tip, Mark!

So, not only am I getting great size drums for washing and methanol, but I'm keeping them out of the landfill as well. Since they only contained soap before, they're pretty safe as greywater -- I've been putting a couple gallons of water in them, and then using it to wash my car, with great results. Heck, it is carwash soap after all, why not use it to wash my car?

Bungs, Bungs and more Bungs

2006-05-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

I think I've worn the patience of my co-workers thin in my discussion of bungs, though they were a bit humored. When I told them I needed to find a flat bung plug and a bung wrench, I got some strange looks, and was asked to repeat what I'd just said. However, it got worse when I tried to explain that the bung plug I needed had to be flat so I could drill out the bung plug, insert a pipe into the bung plug, weld around the pipe, screw it into the bung hole, plumb in the piping, and then pump grease into the bung plug pipe. I guess if I'd had a picture of what I was trying to accomplish, it would have been easier.

Initial design - Appleseed inspired

2006-05-21T23:28:00.000-04:00

With any luck, I'm only 2-3 weeks from having my processor setup. Which is good, since my WVO supply is kicking out 30-40 gallons a week! I've included a picture of my draft plans. Click on the picture to see it magnified. It's currently in Visio.

Comments on some of my design decisions:
1) I can't weld, so can't fix-up a discarded water tank. I also don't want to spend $220 on a new water tank, so I've decided to forego a water-heater tank and go with a 55-gallon drum with built-in agitator. I added the built-in agitator to compensate for my smallish pump, and to permit me to process batches of up to 40 gallons WVO at a time, but also accomodate 10-gallon batches if I so choose. By using both agitation and circulation, it should mix my processing tank nicely.
2) I'm wondering about going pure gravity feed for the methanol/KOH mix.
3) I'm not sure if I'll want to put additional valves on the filters to isolate them, so there would be valves both upstream and downstream from the filters, while keeping them serial.
4) There are a few fuzzy details on my design:
a) agitator motor - will likely be salvage motor from the first major appliance I see by a curb, or a drill.
b) methanol tank - to process batches of 40 gallons, I'd need an 8-gallon tank. I've got lots of 10-gallon drums I could use, but then I can't see when the methanol is mixed up. Serially-linked carboys perhaps? I'm still working on an economical solution for the methanol tank, suggestions welcomed. (Sure $46 HDPE carboys are easy to suggest, but that'd be over $100 with shipping!)
c) agitation of methanol tank - if I wind up using a 10-gallon closed drum, how to agitate, and how to ensure the mix is mixed?
d) wash tank - would I need to heat the wash tank?
e) distillation of methanol - how to recover the precious methanol from the glycol byproduct?

As you can see, several more questions to be addressed in the design.

Processor Component: Pump plus other stuff

2006-05-16T19:27:00.000-04:00

I've been looking around at pumps, and have found contradictory advice. Some homebio enthusiasts swear by the 1" Chicago Electric clear water pump at Harbor Freight, as a reliable and cheap solution for a home processor, while other websites say it's underpowered. Fortunately, Biodiesel guru Girl Mark clears the waters and says that this pump is suitable for Appleseed processors of up to 100 liters, but advises a bigger pump or 1" plumbing to process larger batches. Sold! I found one at Harbor Freight tonight on sale for $25, and only $20 after 20% coupon.

Since I have 1" plumbing, thanks to a great deal on 1" ball valves at Home Depot ($3.90 ea), and am planning on using an agitator in my processing tank, I figure this pump will be sufficient for batches up to 40 gallons, if I should so choose. Of course, this is pure conjecture, and I doubt I'll often make batches over 20 gallons, but it's comforting to think that I should be able to go to near capacity on my 55-gallon drum, since I'm not just relying on the pump for agitation.

I also found a deal on 8 330-lb capacity wheels, which should combine nicely with the 10 scrap 2x4's i nmy garage to make a dandy processing platform

I also discovered that a) if you wear flip-flops to get the b) afore-mentioned 1" ball valves out of your trunk, noting that c) said ball valves weigh about a pound each, and then d) the bag rips, then e) you'll dance up and down on the other foot and be tempted to use foul language.

Girl Mark teaching in Columbus

2006-05-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

This just in, from the Cool Stuff Department -- Girl Mark will be
coming to Columbus to teach a biodiesel workshop this fall, likely
October. This will be very cool, and a great kickstart to the MidOhio
Biofuels Co-op. With any luck, we will have 1-2 mobile processors by
then, and can create quite an event out of this.

WVO pickup kicking off

2006-05-10T19:57:00.000-04:00

I'm getting real activity with starting my biodiesel processing, and it looks like things are picking up steam at last. OK, not steam, make that WVO. I found 10-gallon drums at Container Management in Columbus, and they seem like real nice folks. I was a little bummed that the containers weren't power washed before I picked them up, but one of their new truck drivers had clipped an electric pole, and they were without power for a few hours, so I forgive. My employer seemed very happy with the solution, as it's clean and convenient. I'm hoping I can find some way to transport the drums -- they won't safely fit in my Jetta. :-(

My First Columbus Biofuels Meeting

2006-05-04T20:34:00.000-04:00

We met at Planks in German Village tonight to discuss our goals for the Columbus Biofuels Co-Op (or whatever we're going to name this thing). It felt good to drive my TDI there, even if I am still burning petro-diesel :-(

Over weak beer and good company, we pounded out some initial objectives:

Establish WVO pickup routes, teams, and processing methods.
Storage and facilities to support same.
Collaborative mobile processing plant for demonstrations, GTG, fairs, schools, whatever
Create a co-operative organization that aids members in achieving what we cannot as individuals
Act as an advocate in Central Ohio for viable renewable fuels, in particular biodiesel and ethanol production
Collaborate and liaise with government, other co-ops, corporations and others

And the journey begins

2006-05-01T09:20:00.000-04:00

I picked up my 2002 Jetta GLS TDI today in St. Louis, after winning an eBay bid (at last). After 2 months of working eBay bids, and scrounging the Internet for nearby surface lot Jettas, it felt good to land it and seal the deal.