Discussion Board - E85 = bad, Biodiesel = could be good

However, biodiesel is looking better all the time. I don't understand why the university research isn't harder working on small scale production of biodiesel. I think I heard on the news last week that UW or UM have a small unit that they are traveling around showing. I thought Willie Nelson had one back in the late 1980s? Would it not be a great thing if the farmer could produce his own fuel from the crops he grows RIGHT ON THE FARM! Even medium size plants could be located on farms to provide fuel for the neighborhood. What an idea!

If you have applications that can use Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)...it's basically squeeze out the oil and filter it.

No experience mind you, just what I hear.

--->Paul

I keep trying to make the math work for me, but lacking a real farm can't quite get to that point ;)

Link below is one press I found that's a simple, more or less home-scale version to make straight vegetable oil.

I would assume you'd want a grain bin to be feeding it and a much bigger oil tank than dealing with 5 gallon buckets! And some cows to eat the seedcake.

Even to me seems like a lot of work (well, watching & waiting...) to make sure it's processing OK on a home scale compared to how much output you get. I think the machine there was putting out 15 gallons per hour...so unless you can tune it to "set and forget" you'd end up having to spend an awful lot of time tending it.

But at least it gives you a visual of how the virgin biodiesel is made on a small scale.

• Link