Recently there has been a lot of talk about biodiesel recipes, making biodiesel, and the likelihood of an easily produced fuel replacing home heating oil. Much of what is said is fanciful and wishful thinking. However, enough of the information coming out is grounded in solid reality to warrant a second look.

Yes, this fuel can be made at home, and yes, it can even be made in your kitchen. Biodiesel recipes range from the simple and easily completed, to so complex you need a chemistry degree to read them. They can be made with easily obtained ingredients found at the local auto parts store and super market. And yes, you can produce enough at home to supply all your home heating and transportation needs.

At its simplest, chemistry is nothing more than measuring, mixing, and cooking. As I have said many times on the site below, if you can make barbeque sauce, you can make biodiesel. Cooking your favorite meal, is nothing more than "Kitchen" chemistry.

So let's take a simple biodiesel recipe and dissect it for discussion.

You're going to need


Vegetable oil (New)
Methanol (Usually found in auto stores as "gas line antifreeze"
Lye (usually found in supermarkets as "Caustic soda" in the drain cleaner section.
A couple of containers with screw down lids
A funnel
First some safety information:


First, you want a well ventilated room.
Next, the temperature needs to be in the 70 degree range, not too hot, not too cold.
You want to wear safety gloves as lye can burn with contact to the skin.
You NEVER want to inhale any of the fumes, if any, (The reason you want the correct room temperature.) when mixing the chemicals.
What you'll do:


Heat the vegetable oil ot about 140 degrees F. or 60 degrees C.
Set aside.
Mix the lye into the methanol and stir until thoroughly dissolved. (DO NOT breathe any fumes)
Pour the mixture into the heated vegetable oil.
Seal your container.
Shake vigorously for 10-20 seconds.
The set the entire mixture aside for awhile to settle. What's going to happen next:

A chemical reaction is going to take place. The container may be warm, don't panic, this supposed to happen.


Within 10-15 minutes or so, the mixture will start to change color.
Then it will separate into 2 distinct layers.
Within a hour or so, the you should biodiesel on the top layer,
Glycerin (by-product) will be on the bottom.
Congratulations! You've made biodiesel. Afterwards you need to wash it to remove any impurities and quality test it as well. All easily and inexpensively done.

Only one thing left to do:

Put it into your engine and go. Secure in the knowledge that you have have at your fingertips a safe and viable method of creating your own biodiesel fuel for transportation and home heating needs.

Of course, this recipe is overly simplistic. It is written to give you an overview of the process. There is more to the process, but not much more. Anyone undertaking this project, or wanting more information on all aspects of biodiesel recipes should visit the web site below.

David Sieg is the Managing Director of Global Biotechnology Solutions, an American company based in Vietnam and Thailand. His expertise is in real world application of alternative fuels and technologies for developing countries. He is also the author of the wildly popular web site. His newest ebook The "Down and Dirty" Guide to Biodiesel Recipes is on sale now.