Waste Solutions
What Is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a clean burning, non-toxic fuel made from renewable sources such as vegetable and soybean oil, fats, and even waste oil from restaurants. Biodiesel can be used in a diesel engine without any modification, and is often mixed with regular diesel fuel.
Did you know?
Running biodiesel from waste cooking oil amounts to an 86% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to fossil diesel!
Source: EPA.
How Is Biodiesel Made?
The oils and fats that are used to make Biodiesel are first filtered and cleaned to remove any contaminants or water that may be in the oil. The filtered fats and oils are then mixed with an alcohol (methanol) and then a catalyst (usually sodium or potassium hydroxide). This chemical process is called Transestification, which results in the glycerin being removed from the oils or fats. The final result yields two byproducts, glycerin (a byproduct that can be used in soaps and other products) and methylesters (the chemical name for biodiesel).
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