Biodiesel Blog

News and information about Biodiesel & alternative fuels.

2005/09/23

Coconut Oil

WorldChanging reports on coconut oil-powered rental cars in Vanuatu:
"Unlike with many biofuels, coconut oil doens't need to be transesterized - mixed with sodium hydroxide and alcohol to change its chemical composition - to run in a diesel engine. Filtered and warmed to temperatures about 25C, coconut oil is a better than satisfactory substitute for "mineral diesel" - it burns more slowly, which produces more even pressure on engine pistons, reducing engine wear, and lubricates the engine more effectively."
[Via BoingBoing]
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8 comments:

  1. Well, I have some experience with different liquid fuels used in diesel engines. Rule 1: if it flows trough the filter, it can be burned. The car will run. Rule 2: greasing properties, flow properties, water content, combustion properties, oxidation stability and microbial growth -- all can be altered, but it involves processing the fuel and changing the car a bit. As far as I can remember, coconut oil quickly becomes solid with decreasing temperature. Also the iodine number (parameter showing oxidation stability) is not what one would expect for few month storage. http://www.lubrizol.com/DieselEngines/default.asp

    I cannot seem to find the oil list with parameters, even with google ;(

    P.S. turn on new feature that blocks robots from posting comments

    ReplyDelete

  2. This may interest you.

    Gasoline fron Coconut Oil

    www.cocogas.com

    Regards.

    Luis Matias

    ReplyDelete

  3. As pointed out earlier by another commentator, though in a different way, the reason coconut oil might not need transesterification is because it is one of the least viscous of the plant oils...for instance, to give a contrasting example, castor oil is one of the most viscous, and its viscosity is over twenty times that of coconut oil ( see a page Biodiesel from Castor Oil which provides more details wrt viscosities of various oils)...but based on other parameters such as iodine value, energy density, cetane number, and of course its price etc., I really wonder if coconut oil can be a widescale biodiesel feedstock..will be good to read more on this...

    For those who are interested, the site BDPedia.com - Biodiesel Encyclopedia has a section in which it lists all the oils that have been tried for biodiesel...and a site Oilgae.com - Oil from Algae which provides inputs on biodiesel from algae

    NS @ Plant Oils Database

    ReplyDelete

  4. Gasoline from Coconut Oil

    Now at...

    http://cocogas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

  5. Gasoline from Coconut Oil

    Now at...

    http://cocogas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

  6. Hello,

    I want to know what is:
    LPO 3wrt%

    Do you know the effect of the biodiesel in contac with Cu?

    ReplyDelete

  7. Our company Triton Energy, LLC has developed a new process to make Biofuel from Jatropha Oil. This is accomplished without the use of Methanol and Lye. The fuel product is called GEN2 Renewable Diesel and is cheaper to make, less labor intensive, and better for the environment than conventional Biodiesel. We are seeking investors to build production plants around the world in developing countries. Email tritonenergy@verizon.net for more info or call USA Telephone 00-1-260-837-2909

    ReplyDelete

  8. Hi,

    Growing Jatropha is Cool if you can do it you should! You can fly planes on CJO - Crude Jatropha Oil and yes it is a weed!

    Jatropha can be intercroped with Coconut Tree's that provide shade to the Jatropha, can't wait to try this out!

    http://growjatropha.blogspot.com/2011/02/flying-in-face-of-climate-change.html

    You can use this process to turn Jatropha Oil into Bio Diesel

    http://durbanbiodiesel.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-make-bio-diesel-at-home-video.html

    Respect

    ReplyDelete

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