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Although bio diesel production has gained huge popularity only recently, it is not a new idea. The idea was present when the first diesel engine was developed since peanut oil was used to fire the first compression-ignition engine.This should not be forgotten when one wants to learn how to make bio diesel.

Bio diesel therefore refers to the non-petroleum-based fuel made from animal or vegetable fat. This fuel is usually mixed with ordinary diesel or used alone with an ordinary diesel engine. As such it is a viable alternative fuel source especially with the increase in fossil fuel prices.

Since the production process is quite easy, it makes it possible for one to learn from different sources. Considering the production materials, there is a very wide variety used in producing the diesel ranging from rapeseed, soybean oil and other feedstock. In some cases, it is also possible to extract the diesel from used vegetable oils from hotels. Animal fats such as chicken fat, tallow are also other viable sources. Apart from these oils, the diesel can also be extracted from algae although this is not feasible for commercial production.

The first step when you want to learn the art of making bio diesel is identifying the source oil. This is because the process varies slightly with different materials. Some of the materials will also necessitate the acquisition of special equipment like a bio diesel processor. Some of the cases however do not require such equipment like in the case of making the diesel from used cooking oil with methanol and sodium hydroxide. This method however, does not produce large amounts.

After establishing the oil source, the next step is testing it. This is necessary since the quality of your final product is usually determined by the ingredients. The two main factors that determine the quality of bio diesel you get are how acidic the source oil is and how wet it is.

The best oil sources, which will make the process easier, are those with relatively low water and acidic content. This necessitates the need to learn how to test the oil using different methods such as heating or using a water testing kit. Acidity is tested by adding the oil to a pH neutral alcohol, a process called titration.

Another major step when making bio diesel is filtration. This is done when using used vegetable oil and helps remove food particles and any other contaminants. Filtering is done mostly with drum filters which are very effective. You should learn about micron rating as it will help you select the most effective filter. The smaller the rating number, the smaller the holes in the filter will be.

Before you can embark of full production of bio diesel a test batch is very important. You should therefore learn how to make this using items obtained from the local grocery stores. You will also need to obtain the actual production equipment. Some of the equipments needed include oil collection containers, oil transfer and filtering capability, a bio diesel processor and bio diesel washing vessel. You also require storage containers, transfer pumps and a titration kit.

The intended production capacity will be one of the main determinants of the equipment you acquire. With these you should be prepared to learn how to make bio diesel.

Locate those many choices for renewable energy by looking online. One choice you have will be biodiesel. To learn more about it head online today to learn those benefits. Don’t reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content Renewable Energy article here.

The next few months could be “make or break time” for the soy biodiesel industry in the U.S.

Biodiesel faces several challenges right now, including the high cost of the feedstock and the loss of the one dollar biodiesel blenders’ tax credit, which Congress allowed to expire on December 31^st.  Indications are that most biodiesel plants have ceased production as they await Congressional action on the tax credit, which may not happen until March.

In Iowa, the state’s Renewable Fuels Association has launched a campaign to highlight the importance of biodiesel—and renewable fuels, in general—to Iowa’s economy.  Monte Shaw is the executive director ofIRFA. “We’ve got a lot of exciting thing coming down the road for this industry—things that are going to really redefine renewable fuels for the future,” says Shaw. “Whether it’s exciting feedstock projects like the algae project at Shenandoah, or maybe it’s the biorefinery  project that’s scheduled to go into Newton.”

Good reasons, Shaw says, to keep Iowa’s biodiesel industry viable.

“If we let the current biodiesel industry wither away and lose the jobs we have today, it also means we’re not going to be the place—we’re not going to be the state—where those next generation investments and next generation jobs come either,” he says.  “So we’re really at a turning point, not just for the investors and jobs of today, but for making Iowa the place to be for the future of this industry as well.”

In addition to the federal tax credit extension, Shaw says IRFA will also be lobbying for a five percent biodiesel mandate in the Iowa legislature.

“We really do need a B5 fuel quality standard to create a low level of demand,” says Shaw. “It’s constant, it’s year-around, it’s predictable—and that’s what can help these plants cash flow during the good times and the bad times.”

A bill creating a B5 fuel quality standard passed the Iowa Senate in 2009, but time ran out before the Iowa House could consider the legislation.

The $1-a-gallon tax credit that keeps the industry afloat is due to expire Dec. 31, and lobbyists for biodiesel producers and soybean growers are scrambling to get Congress to enact an extension before lawmakers leave town for the holidays.

The House included an extension of the subsidy in a package of extensions for other business tax credits. However, the Senate has so far failed to act on the issue.

A House Democratic aide said Wednesday that there have been a “number of conversations” with Senate leaders about the issue, but that the Senate only has time to deal with health care and a defense bill. Press representatives for Senate leaders had no immediate comment on the issue.
Were the tax credit to lapse, “it would be a devastating blow to the industry,” said Michael Frohlich, a spokesman for the National Biodiesel Board.

Biodiesel plants could shut down or reduce production if the tax credit lapses, said Daniel Oh, president and chief operating officer of the Ames-based Renewable Energy Group Inc., which operates biodiesel plants in Iowa and other states.

If biodiesel production is limited, it could have a detrimental effect on the price of soybeans and other feedstocks utilized to produce biodiesel,” he said.
Biodiesel producers have been struggling to stay in business for some time because of the relatively high prices of their main feedstock, soybean oil, and the global recession, which has dampened fuel demand. They were dealt another blow early this year when the European Union imposed tariffs on imports of the U.S. product to offset the value of the tax subsidy.

U.S. biodiesel production is down 30 percent this year from 2008, and the industry is operating at about 15 percent of its production capacity.
A recent study by industry consultant John Urbanchuk warned that the “biodiesel industry could be expected to collapse” if the tax credit is removed.

With the tax credit, producers earned about 26 cents a gallon over their production costs in November.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., said the uncertainty about the tax credit raised questions about the commitment of Democratic leaders to alternative fuels.

“This lack of action so far is especially inexcusable, considering the House and Senate have been in session nearly continuously for months,” he said.
John Hoffman of Waterloo, a former president of the American Soybean Association, said the tax credit is “essential to the continuation of the biodiesel industry.”

As biofuel and biodiesel fuel energy gain popularity around the world we are seeing new tactics in the biodiesel biofuel Feedstock game to keep up with green fuel production.

Let’s look at the current feedstock oils that dominate the biofuels Industry:

Palm Oil, Soybean Oil, Jatropha Oil, Sunflower Oil, Canola Oil, Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), Used Cooking Oil (UCO), Animal Fat, Yellow Grease and Honge Oil

Are all currently used to produce clean renewable energy.

Let’s face it, in the United States Restaurant owner operators are now wise to the renewable energy game and have begun to charge biofuel producers for the waste vegetable oil they have to offer. The National Renderers Association (NRA) has an international members list over 132 members strong with the majority of them located in the USA. Large companies like Griffin Industries Inc. have far reaching service contracts with restaurants and factories that produce waste oils. These oils are then resold for as much as $3.50 USD per gallon for use as ingredients to Organic fertilizer, specialty proteins, flavor enhancers and biodiesel biofuels.

Some biodiesel innovators in this game have come up with unique practices to overcome this lack of supply and high demand for the yellow grease needed for biofuel production. Some are actually contracting with farmers to grow and produce the virgin oil for them, some biofuel entrepreneurs are selling the oil from the farmers to restaurateurs at discounted prices with contracts stating the virgin oil provider will receive the oil again, once the restaurant owner has used the vegetable oil to completion.

The game may have changed once again when restaurant owners see the new energy system that utilizes waste vegetable oil to power their utility needs. You actually can have a utility cost savings and reduce your carbon foot print. This power system turns your facilities waste vegetable oil and grease into electricity and hot water for your restaurant and makes your used cooking oil worth $2.55 per gallon, not the 10 to 25 cents restaurants might be selling it for currently – or the cost of having it hauled away. The system also provides additional revenue through renewable energy credits and carbon credit trading, or LEED credits toward Green Building Certification.

Some biofuel innovators have gone overseas to purchase feedstock oils from Malaysia, South America or Nigeria Africa to get the most oil for the least expensive price. The key to the game is to control your feedstock oil price, but the game is becoming more difficult for those without a solid game plan for vegetable oil feedstock control.