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Remember when just a few months ago the price of gasoline was over 4 dollars a gallon and the price of a barrel of oil was over 140 bucks? I still remember those days because they put a serious damper on my business because I needed to do a lot of driving to finish my routes each day. Since then the barrel of oil is down to 35 dollars yet the gallon of gas still costs us 2 dollars a gallon. The oil companies are making a killing here and we need to start searching for a viable and cheap alternative fuel source to use in our cars instead of gasoline. Obama really wants to put more emphasis into research on alternative fuel sources and has earmarked a lot more money to help researchers come up with one. We currently are working on all electric cars like the Chevy volt and even solar power cars, and even though they are a few years off this is a great time to start research on them now, but I feel the best source of energy that can be created easily and doesn't damage our ozone layer or atmosphere are biofuels as they are very eco-friendly, but which biofuels should we choose from?Last year researchers from the engineering section of UCLA have succeeded in creating a very efficient fuel source from modifying the E. coli bacteria of all things. That's right, you heard it first, the bacteria that has been making people sick from food poisoning for so long now has the potential to fuel our cars on the roadways. Most people were looking into ethanol as an alternative source of fuel but the difference between the biofuel from ethanol and the biofuel produced by the modified E. coli bacteria is in the molecular chain of the alcohol. The alcohol produced from ethanol is a lower molecular chain alcohol and has many limitations and some are : it has to be mixed with gas to produce fuel (which still makes us dependable on gasoline), and it cant be distributed without modifying it. The higher chain alcohol produced from the genetically modified E. coli Bacteria has no such limitations as they have a density that is close to gasoline, does not absorb H2O as quickly and is healthier for engines to run on as they have high octanes.This is a very exciting new source of biofuel and my guess is they will pour more money into it to somehow make this a biofuel that is cheap enough to bring to market. One day our cars could run on bacteria fuel. Amazing isn't it?

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Home ethanol production is on the rise. With fuel prices topping out in excess of $7.00 a gallon in the past year, consumers are more frightened than ever before. Combine the history of these high fuel prices and add that stress to the high unemployment rates and workers start to feel as though they are in a lose, lose situation.The cost of traditional fuel can be too much for the blue collar worker, but missing work is not an option with companies cutting employees all the time. Many families find themselves cutting food budgets in order to stay afloat and afford fuel costs. Biofuel can easily be produced at home, but the pros and cons of ethanol production can leave the consumer with more questions than answers.The Good, The Bad and the Not So UglyEthanol is easy and cheap to produce. This is a huge positive for the alternative fuel. However, many engines are not equipped to handle the biofuel and will shut down or require high priced repairs if the ethanol is run through the system.Upgrading current vehicles and machines around the home can decrease the overall passion for biofuels. Even though the lower fuel costs are appealing, some people just don't want to risk losing their vehicles to save a couple of bucks here and there.Another pro is that ethanol is a renewable fuel, right now. As long as there are feedstocks to crush, ferment and distill, there will be ethanol. Weighing the pros and cons of ethanol, however, is an important part of choosing whether to produce your own alternative fuel or wait for it to be mass produced.

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Biodiesel - How to make diesel fuel from used cooking oilBiodiesel is a fuel that can be used directly in any diesel engine generally without modification. It's viscosity is twice that of regular diesel fuel which means it is better at lubricating your diesel engine than regular diesel. And... emissions are cut dramatically vs using standard diesel fuel. You can buy Biodiesel already made Or you can make it yourself using your own homemade equipment. One other option is to burn straight vegetable oil in your diesel engine. To do this, you must do three things: 1) You must pre-heat your vegetable oil including the storage tank and all feed lines, 2) You must start your engine using regular diesel or biodiesel, and 3) You must clean your system by burning only regular diesel or biodiesel before shutting the engine off. Here are the instructions on making your own biodiesel...WARNING!!!!Methanol is flammable and toxic. Do not let it touch your skin or get in your eyes. Wear proper protective gloves, clothing, and eyewear at all times. Same thing with ethanol. Lye is also very caustic - do not allow it to touch your skin or clothing. When you mix the lye with the alcohol, it creates an even more toxic substance and toxic fumes which you should be very careful with - do not come into contact with it in any way. Always be in a well ventilated area. Also... you are 100% responsible for your own safety. The author is not responsible in any way whatsoever for personal injury or damage to your engine.Let's get started...Here is a general description of how to make your own biodiesel fuel using methanol, lye, and used cooking oil. This process is called transesterification You can buy methanol from your local racetrack or chemical supply store. You can buy granulated Red Devil lye (sodium hydroxide) from your local grocery store or hardware store. Make sure you filter the used cooking oil before using. Fry oil filters can be purchased in any good restaurant supply store. The oil also must be warmed up so it is not solid or lumpy or thick. You can use the sun to heat the oil or some kind of water heating element or a electric or gas burner of some sort. The ideal temperature is 120° F. If you are using flames, remember that the methanol is extremely flammable and you should turn your burner off before getting the methanol mixture anywhere near it. Of course, this should all be done in a well ventilated area too.Hint...To determine the amount of lye needed to start the transesterification process, do a small test batch first. You don't want to mix up a large batch only to find out that you did not use enough lye. Some used cooking oils may contain different amounts of animal fats. The more animal fat in the vegetable oil, the more lye you need to start the process. Start with just 1 liter of oil and 200 milliliters (1/5th of a liter) of methanol and 4.5 grams of lye. First, mix the lye in with the methanol until dissolved (this creates sodium methoxide - very, very caustic - be careful). Then mix the sodium methoxide with the vegetable oil and mix for 1 hour. After mixing, let it settle for an hour or two and it should form two distinct layers of biodiesel (top) and glycerin (bottom). If there are not two distinct layers, repeat the whole process with 5.5 grams of lye.You can also perform what is called a titration...Dissolve 1 gram of lye into one liter of distilled water and dissolve 1 milliliter of vegetable oil into 10 ml of isopropyl alcohol. Then drop the diluted lye into the diluted vegetable oil one ml at a time. After each ml, measure the pH of the diluted vegetable oil with litmus paper or a pH meter. When the pH rises significantly, the free fatty acids will be neutralized. The ideal pH is between 8 and 9. The number of ml used will equal the number of extra grams of lye to use per liter of vegetable oil (starting from 3.5 grams of lye).So, let's assume 5.5 grams of lye produced the desired distinct two layers. We now want to scale it up to a 10 l