Posted by Charlie on July 08, 2000 at 01:06:28:
In Reply to: diesels running on soybean oil, yes can be done.... posted by Allen patnode on July 07, 2000 at 18:17:15:
If you try to run a diesel on even purified begetable oil, you will quickly carbon up your injector nozzles and maybe worse. Biodiesel involves the following:
1) Fat or vegetable oil is 3 fatty acid molecules esterified (chemically attached) to a glycerol (glycerine) molecule, which is a triple alcohol (3 carbon atoms, 3 hydroxy groups). The fat is disassembled to glycerine and fatty acids using lye (sodium or potassium hydroxide). The water soluble phse is discarded and the alkalinity is neutralized, leaving pure fatty acids.
2) The fatty acids are chemically combined with methanol. This type of reaction is called esterification.
The resultant methal-fatty acid ester has all the necessary properties of a diesel fuel. It won't start solidifying at ridiculously high temperatures like plain fats/oils would.
Charlie