I recently realized that I've never documented the process that we (mainly Russ) goes thru to make it possible for us to drive a car the runs on waste vegetable oil (WVO). So here it is....
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| This system has evolved for Russ and his friend Alex over the years. When we first started (and still when we are on the road) we have a sock-like filter that we poor hot grease thru to get the french fry crumbs out and then we put the WVO directly into the tank. Similar to gasoline and diesel fuels....you can put low quality fuel into your car if necessary, but the better the fuel the happier the engine. This may make you think that we are crazy, why not just by fuel (b/c time is money-right?) I don't feel that everyone needs to drive cars that run on waste vegetable oil. I just feel that we all need to be doing something to help the world be a better place. This is one of the ways that we choose to do our part. |
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| Step 1: Using air compressor, make sure vacuum has been created in tank that is hooked up to vehicle. |
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| Step 2: Find WVO (waste vegetable oil- from restaurants that use a fryer) and suck decent looking oil out of container. |
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| Step 3- transfer oil to barrel for stage 1 of settling. The settling process is important to let water/bad oil separate from the good oil. |
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| Step 4: Transfer oil to stage 2 of settling. The pipe coming out the bottom of the barrel is to drain the bad oil (which is heavier than the good oil) for disposal. The tube coming out of the right side is for transferring the good oil to the next step. |
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| Note: In the settling process the good oil separates from the bad oil. What we see in this jug is the amber color and the creamy color. We want the amber color. |
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| Step 4: Good oil (amber colored) is transfer to this barrel where it is heated and sent thru the centrifuge. |
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| This is the centrifuge. The particulate matter that is in the oil is spun out into a holding area letting only the good oil fall back thru into the tank. |
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| Step 5: The clean oil is then transfered to this barrel for further settling. |
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| Step 6: Final storage until it is needs to be used. |
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| Step 7: This is how we get it from the big tank to the heated tank that sits in the trunk of our car. |
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| If only that meant the process was done! Step 8: All of the bad oil has to be removed from the situation to make room for new WVO to be processed. So it is sucked into the trailered tank to be disposed of. |
1 comment:
I'm wondering how you acquired adequate quantities of WVO, and how long that took and how much it cost. I live in South Jersey and so far all the restaurants I've talked to have contracts with a local farmer who recycles all their oil. We're at a point where biodiesel is a budding market that recycling WVO has become a profitable business model and thus making it harder for individuals to acquire oil randomly. Recyclers actually pay restaurants for the oil now (unlike a few years ago), so it makes the restaurants obligated to provide oil and not share it with individuals. Any suggestions? I'm looking to get about 50-100 gallons per month, maybe 300-400 gallons per season (stored in an old oil tank).
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