Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel

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Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel
By Samantha, Stu,
Evan and Mike
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Why vegetable oil?

• 1. Fossil fuels such as oil have proven to be
  very harmful to our environment
  
• 2.Using vegetable oil means growing more crops
  for more fuel. As long as the land is taken care
  of we can keep growing more crops
  
• 3. The crops being used as a fuel actually suck
  out the same amount of Carbon dioxide that they
  will release when in fuel form
  
• 4. Renewable fuels do not contribute
  significantly to Global Warming

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• 5)Price-restaurant waste oil is free and reused
  as fuel, where as Diesel fuel is about 2.65 per
  gallon in Dominica.

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• There are over 350 different plant types that can
  supply the oil, here are a few
  

Plant types lb/oil acre
kg. oil/hectare Oil Palm
4585
5,000 Coconut 2070
2,260
Jatropha 1460
1,590
Rapeseed 915
1,000
Peanut 815
890
Sunflower 720
800
Safflower 605
655
Soybean 345
375
Hemp 280
305
Corn 135
145
Oildsifhads
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• Not just any car can be converted to use
  vegetable oil, but in fact only diesel engines
  are capable
  
• Scientists discovered that the viscosity of
  vegetable oil could be decreased through a simple
  chemical process. The process yields a vegetable
  oil-based fuel that works as well as diesel fuel
  in modern diesel engines. This new fuel is
  called Bio-diesel
• There are 3 Do it Yourself methods of using
  vegetable oil in Diesel engine
  
• 1) Biodiesel
• 2) Vegetable Oil/Kerosene Mix
• 3) Straight Vegetable Oil

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• Is a fuel made from 80-90 vegetable oil, 10-20
  alcohol, and 0.35-1.5 catalyst
  
• Its a stable fuel that is reliable in most
  diesel engines
  
• Cuts Emissions
• Mixable with petroleum diesel fuel
• Easy to make and safe to handle and will work
  with all diesel fuel storage and pumping systems
  
• NO engine modifications are necessary, Biodiesel
  can be poured straight into any Diesel fuel tank

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• Diesel Engines can run on a mixture of vegetable
  oil and kerosene
  
• Mixing proportions of the two must be very
  accurate
  
• This method does not always produce very reliable
  results, and can be damaging to a diesel engine
  if not done properly
  
• An extra fuel tank is also necessary in the
  vehicle.
  
• The vehicle must be started and cooled down on
  petroleum diesel fuel

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• Diesel Engine can run on straight vegetable oil
  as long as the engine is started on diesel fuel
  
• A heater is also necessary to keep the vegetable
  oil warmed to a certain temperature
  
• Either used cooking oil (from a fryer) or new
  cooking oil can be used
  
• A new vegetable oil tank must be installed, and
  modifications on the heating hoses of the diesel
  engine must be done
  
• The vehicle is started and stopped on diesel
  fuel, then swtiched over to run off the hot,
  straight vegetable oil
  
• When the engine is running the engine coolant is
  used to heat the vegetable oil so it has a
  similar viscosity that of diesel

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• Injector Coking
• Coking-is when there is unburned fuel build up
  on the injectors causing them to spray incorrect
  amounts and patterns of fuel into the engine.
  This can completely destroy the engine.
• Starting and ending your vehicles journey on
  diesel or biodiesel fuel will prevent this
  problem.
  
• Engine Coolant
• Antifreeze is used to prevent the engine from
  overheating. DO NOT open the radiator cap on a
  warm engine. This will result in painful burns
  and other possible injuries such as blindness.
  To avoid these injuries wait at least three hours
  (it is best to let is sit overnight) after the
  vehicle has been shut down to open the radiator
  cap.

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• 1)Start the engine on diesel fuel
• 2)Turn on the Toggle Switch which activates the
  veggie oil system
  
• 3)Begin driving your awesome, newly converted,
  veggie oil vehicle-this allows the coolant from
  the engine to heat the oil.
  
• 4)Once oil at 160F or 70C Thermoswitch turns on
  the Solenoid Valve closing the valve on the main
  diesel tank and opens the veggie oil tank (this
  can also be done manually)

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• 5)At the end of your exciting excursion, flip off
  the Toggle Switch. This will make the vehicle
  run on diesel once again washing out veggie oil
  from the fuel pump and injectors.

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Biogas Digesters
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Other Biofuels

• Ethanol
• Methanol
• Butanol
• CNG
• Others?

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Sources

• http//www.caribbeannetnews.com/2004/01/28/gas.htm
  
  
• Greasecar.com
• Tickel, Joshua. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank.
  Joshua Tickel Media Productions, New Orleans,
  LA, 2003.