i know that biodiesel can be used in traditional diesel engines.?
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 at
8:26 am
but can engines that have been been burning traditional fuel be flushed out to then burn biodiesel? is there any process to make the switch or can biodiesel be pumped in without any preperation?
Filed under: Biodiesel
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Keep in mind that some people call unprocessed waste vegetable oil bio-diesel which it isn’t.
Real biodiesel is a blend of esters produced by reacting NaOH with the long carbon chains of waste vegetable oil (hopefully in the middle of the chains) producing shorter esters that are hopefully of similar length to normal diesel blends. The end product of the reaction is glycerins which hopefully settles out of the solution. Methanol is used to disperse the NaOH so that any given hydrocarbon chain doesn’t get entirely converted to glycerine. The litmus paper is used to gauge how much unreacted NaOH you still have in the solution. The specific gravity bulb is used to guesstimate the average length of the resulting esters chain so that you can decide whether or not to add more NaOH/methanol solution. The methanol is removed by a procedure called washing as alcohols have an affinity to water causing both to separate out. It’s the methanol that will dissolve any rubber in the fuel path, it will also corrode any brass fittings in the fuel path. It’s also the methanol that acts as a solvent.
Regular diesel also forms a layer of waxes on top in cold weather so bio-diesel is really no worse in cold weather, at least not by much. Both bio-diesel and regular diesel are problematic in cold climates.
There’s no special preparation required, no flushing, nothing, just pour it in and go, that is if it’s real biodiesel. Since diesel made by Fischer Tropsch synthesis does not have any sulfur and diesel engines are designed with the expectation that there will be sulfur to lubricate it, bio-diesel is mixed into the synthetic diesel produced from syngas from natural gas or coal gasification to lubricate the engine in the absence of sulfur. It’s also mixed in with regular diesel to lower the average sulfur content to meet the government requirements. Now that we’ve switched to low sulfur fuel, you may want to mix in a bit of bio-diesel into the tank if you have an older diesel car particularly if it’s an American make (It’s only North America that had high sulfur diesel). Chances are, there’s already some biodiesel or Fischer Tropsch diesel mixed in to meet the low sulfur regulations.
first, you can not run 100% pure biodiesel, it freezes. Instead, you fill up with B5 or B20, this means that the diesel fuel is 5% (B5) biodiesel or 20% (B20) biodiesel. You can fill up with B5 one time, regualar the next, back to B20, then B5 and so on.
If you do intend to use biodiesel in your engine you should at least check the gasket rubber from the fuel tank going to the engine. The gasket of most of the older diesel engine can easily get melted by biodiesel, so check it regularly. You are right, the engine will be flushed when you switched to biodiesel, there is no preparation needed just put it directly to the tank.
Nata T is just wrong.
Go ahead and use biodiesel directly. Be aware that it has a slightly higher wax point than regular diesel, so if it’s below freezing at night, stick to a blend of B20 or less. "20" is the percentage that is biodiesel. The rest (80%) is nasty old dinosaur diesel. B100 is the good stuff, but not for use below freezing.
The stuff also mixes in your tank. If you have been using B100 and have a nearly empty tank (1/5 tank, say) – and you add all dinosaur diesel, you now have B20 in your tank. That’s what you should do on the first cold snap of the year for instance.
Biodiesel is an excellent fuel system lubricant, and you should use a minimum of B5 no matter what simply to lubricate your fuel system. Sulfur used to do that, but it’s been removed from diesel fuel.
Everything after this applies only if you have an older diesel.
Biodiesel is a really good solvent and fuel system cleaner. Too good, you might say – if there’s a lot of accumulated crud and gunk in your fuel lines, it may break it loose and wash it down into your fuel filter. This MIGHT clog the fuel filter – you’d notice this first as a loss of power at full throttle and high speed. Anyway, it’s a good precaution to change the fuel filter after a few tanks of bio, or if it seems to lose power.
If it’s over 10 years old, it may have obsolete natural-rubber fuel lines. Biodiesel will slowly eat those, but chances are regular diesel has been eating them anyway. If they look at all deteriorated, replace them. Rubber fuel lines are cheap, breakdowns are expensive
You don’t need to flush anything. Biodiesel can be used in anything that burns #2 fuel oil. It is a solvent and that can cause problems at first. Biodiesel will loosen any sludge from your fuel tank. That will plug fuel filters so be ready for frequent filter changes until the tank is clean. It will also dissolve natural rubber. This is only a problem with diesels older than the mid 1980s. If you have an older engine you might need to replace fuel lines or gaskets with synthetic materials. Biodiesel will gel at temperatures as high as 20-40F depending what kind of oil it is made from. There are no additives to prevent this so biodiesel is not a suitable motor fuel in cold weather.
I have been heating my house with homemade biodiesel for several years. The first winter with this fuel I went through 7 fuel filters and 3 nozzles. By then the sludge from the bottom of my tank was gone. Once the system is clean it burns much cleaner than regular home heating oil. I have not had to replace my nozzle for 4 years and it still looks like new. I do replace the filter every year as a preventive measure.
If you are not willing to deal with the transitional headaches biodiesel is not the fuel for you. If you are a bit of a tinkerer, it can be a good alternative to traditional diesel. If you are making your own fuel for highway use, you are liable for road use taxes. That is why I don’t use it in my truck. There are no taxes on home heating fuels.
Another case of Nata T not knowing what he is talking about…I’m seeing that alot in his answers. I have run 100% homemade biodiesel since May 2008. I was able to drive my mercedes every day this winter except when the overnight lows dipped below 22*…..that was about 6 times. Other than that, I didn’t have a problem with temps above that. To answer your question….there is nothing that needs to be done before using biodiesel in a diesel engine. I’m not sure what you mean by "traditional fuel", but biodiesel can ONLY be burned by a diesel engine>
chances are you probably do not have to flush it out depending on what kind of vehicle it is, make, year, etc. The farm I worked at, in wisconsin where winters get below zero quite often, the past two years made their own "biodiesel" from waste veg. oil simply by filtering it through a water filter, then adding 1 gal. of kerosene and 1 gal of gasoline to every 50 gallons of veg. oil. We used this "biodiesel" in 2 1970′s era tractors a JD 4455 and a JD 4320 also in a JD 7600 and a NH TG285 both newer tractors, all without modification. on a different note, I have a 1976 ford f-350 with a 460 cu in stock engine that I run 25% ethanol. I actually got better milage with the ethanol. I have an idea that newer cars perform worse on ethanol because ethanol would give off more water vapor causing problems with the o2 sensors pushing more fuel through the system. However this is just my thoughts on it, and it works for me.
p/s if you have a problem with diesel gelling, gas lines freezing, or water in fuel add ISOPROPYL alchol, that would be rubbing alcohol, its basically the same stuff thats in gas and diesel treatment, and costs a LOT LESS! $1.00 for a big bottle at walmart (look for the higher alcohol content though).
Firstly I am constantly amazed by some of the answers on here from people who don’t have a clue what they are talking about…
All diesel engines are suitable for biodiesel, some very old engines have gaskets which perish with biodiesel but you almost certainly don’t have these.
In cold temperatures biodiesel, like diesel and vegetable oil, can begin to gel and freeze. Adding an antifreeze product, or just some regular diesel, to your biodiesel can can help stop this being a problem.
Regular diesel is dirty stuff, it leaves a coating on the inside of fuel tanks and fuel filters. The bad news is that biodiesel is a good solvent, it will clean off all this crud and this can cause fuel filters to block, the good news is this is only going to happen once – be aware this may happen and, firstly, have a spare filter to hand in cast this happens while you are out, secondly after the first couple of tanks of biodiesel change the filter anyway.