Developing World Kit

Biodiesel

Developing World Kit

Diesel Engines

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The design process chosen to be the most suitable for developing countries uses the eight stages defined in "Procedures" Section and  is shown below.

Many designs of biodiesel plant can be found in the market currently, including both home and large scale production biodiesel kits, with the majority of kits using one main tank for reaction, settling, washing and separation. This is considered space and cost saving, however does not allow for a large production output due to the long time in which the reaction tank is being used to settle the biodiesel.

To increase production rate we developed a “production-line” style plant, with a module designed for each reaction stage, which allows the slowest parts of the reaction to be parallelised with identical modules, and faster processes sharing equipment. This reduces wasted time with apparatus unavailable or standing empty. It also allows the plant to start small (basic kit) and grow over time by adding additional modules, making it feasible as a project for a developing country.

To make it feasible to parallelise the plant, each module must be cheap, which lead to the idea of using simple “off the shelf” parts, then improving their effectiveness with clever design. Instead of using an expensive conical settling tank, we will use a simple drum, then have several taps up the side to allow the biodiesel to be easily tapped off without mixing with the by-product layer. Using simple, standardised and easy to source parts makes maintenance easier, allowing the plant to remain in operation for a long time.

Using gravity is the simplest way to have a non-automated plant without requiring excessive manual labour. The cheapest and safest way to implement this gravity feed system is to use a set of different levels, created either with earth or a stand system, ideally constructed with local recycled materials.

Using cheap modular sections also allows the plant to start off small, minimising start-up costs and operation complexity, which greatly increases the chance that the plant will actually be used in rural communities. When the operators are experienced and have generated enough cash through biodiesel sales, more modules can be bought to increase output. Biodiesel may even be used to trade for local materials and supplies.

We are intentionally designing the plant to be accommodating for future modifications and additions, particularly for automation to be added. For example an onsite diesel generator could power a pump to transfer fluids and mix the meth-oxide and reaction tank.

It is our belief that such a simple plant design would be readily accepted by developing countries, due to the ease of start-up.

As the production of biodiesel involves very reactive chemicals; methanol (a strong solvent) and sodium hydroxide (extremely caustic), the choice of materials is extremely important and crucial to the success of the design.

Plain steel will corrode rapidly and is therefore not an option. Stainless steel is suitable but expensive and hard to work with, rendering it impractical for even a UK kit, let alone for use in a developing country. This leaves non-ferrous metals or polymers, with polymers the most suitable option. It was decided to use PP (Polypropylene) and HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) containers, and PVC connection tubing, due to their high reaction resistance.

The cost of setting up our biodiesel plant is £345.18 for the Base and Safety kit. Addition modules which can be added are a Washing and Methanol recovery kit. A full listing of the costs involved can be found in "How To" Manual.

A prototype plant using the above concept design was build and tested. A step- by- step instructuion can be found in the "How To" Manual. The results of the produced biodiesel are very promising.