Biodiesel Basics and Beyond: A Comprehensive Guide to Production and Use for the Home and Farm

Biodiesel, ( a clean, renewable diesel-like fuel that minimizes exhaust emissions and air toxins) is one of the most thoroughly tested alternative fuels, with over 400 million miles of in-field use. Large-scale biodiesel production capacity in North America now exceeds 300 million gallons and continues to grow annually. Simultaneously, there has been a surge in the production of "underground" biodiesel. Home brewers discovered that by collecting waste restaurant fryer oils and performing a chemical transformation process they could manufacture low-cost, crude biodiesel for transportation and home heating. What has followed is a flood of guidebooks and web-based misinformation about the ease of producing poor-quality biofuel while leaving an environmental mess of toxic waste products behind. Biodiesel Basics and Beyond draws on the collective experience of North American and European researchers, with the author making the case for biodiesel use in society. Later chapters detail the step-by-step processes and equipment necessary for micro and small-scale production of biodiesel meeting established quality and byproduct management standards. Every statement or method developed by the author is backed up by independent government or university laboratory verification, ensuring the reader of the accuracy of both the data and processes provided. The 600 page, 6 x 9 inch format book is filled with hundreds of photographs and charts presented in a logically organized format and written for those who are merely curious or are industry experts.