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Biodiesel - the facts
| DUTY
FREE |
Since June 2007 you are now permitted to 'produce' up to 2500
litres of biodiesel annually without having to pay ANY duty or VAT.
2500 litres is enough fuel for 2 average family cars a year. This applies to every member of your family or Partners.
This means if you make your own biodiesel you will be
saving over a £1.20 per litre converting
used cooking oil (WVO) into biodiesel.
This saving is set to increase with the ever rising cost of diesel
from the pumps.
You can make as much as you like for offroad use, generators and Heating fuel. |
GoldenRay have produced a range of biodiesel processors
that takes full advantage of this unusual benefit provided by the
Government. The GoldenRay processors are the culmination of
innovation, good design and experiance. Our processors will convert
both new and used cooking oil into high quality biodiesel
- in ONE machine. Just plug in and go.
Biodiesel is a fuel that has many of the characteristics of
normal mineral diesel, but is made from vegetable oils or animal
fat, generally, vegetable oils such as sunflower, soy, rape seed or
palm oil, and used cooking oils from food processing or
restaurants.
Section 2AA of The Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 (HODA)
describes biodiesel as a diesel quality liquid fuel that is
produced from biomass or waste cooking oil, and has an ester
content which is not less than 96.5 per cent by weight and a
sulphur content not exceeding 0.005 per cent.
To produce biodiesel from vegetable oils, they are subjected to
a chemical reaction, which is called transesterification. It is a
process that splits the oil into Methyl Ester (biodiesel) and
glycerine, using Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide as a
catalyst mixed with Methanol. The result is a split between
biodiesel (80% approx) and glycerine (20% approx).
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HISTORY |
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The original diesel engine was first demonstrated in 1895 and
was designed to run on vegetable oil, over the following century it
was more economic to run diesels on mineral oil, and there
wasn’t much concern over what we were doing to the
environment. Its now common knowledge that the oil in the ground is
being used faster than we can find new resources, and will go the
same way as the Dodo and Quagger. We will soon be forced into
stopping poisoning the atmosphere as there will be no more fossil
fuels to do it with.
Biodiesel reverses all of the problems associated with mineral
diesel, apart from the cost but as the production of fossil fuels
decreases prices will rise until biofuels become the main fuel,
this has already started to happen. Governments are bowing to the
inevitable and taxing biodiesel less than other fuels. The European
Community has made a commitment to increase the use of biodiesel to
2% of the total used by the year 2010. Most members of the Union
are on target to achieve this but the U.K. has only just started.
With or without help the market place will decide and when there is
no oil left in the ground we will have to grow our own. You can't
put a Nuclear power station in your car.
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Why?
Biodiesel's plus-points are obvious: It is biodegradable,
decreases soot-emissions by over 50%, and emissions of
hydrocarbons it is also CO2-neutral. In addition to the
environmental plus-points, it is safer (its flashpoint is ±
170C º) and will mix with fossil diesel in any proportion, or
can be used neat. It is totally sustainable and can be grown on the
same land again and again for ever. Best of all it puts you in
control of your fuel.
Where?
In most European countries, including Austria, Italy, Spain,
France and Germany biodiesel is serious business, with France and
Germany as leaders. Over 150,000 cars run on biodiesel in Germany.
Scattered across the country are over 1,200 service stations with a
biodiesel pump. The reason for the biodiesel success in Germany is
that no excise or tax is levied on biodiesel, In the U.K the
government have cut the rate of excise duty on biodiesel for its
use in vehicles by 20p per litre and for home production up to 2500
litres a year no tax,vat or duty.
How?
Virtually anyone can make biodiesel by means of a very simple
process, often compared to brewing beer. It means that
energy-independence is in the reach of everyone.
Biodiesel is made by warming vegetable oil with a mix of potassium
hydroxide and methanol (methoxide). This causes the oil to split
into esters and glycerine. The methanol combines with the esters to
form methyl esters (crude biodiesel) and the glycerine drops to the
bottom of the solution. After running off the glycerine the crude
biodiesel is 'washed' to clean out impurities and dried before
filtering. It is then ready for use.
We will show you how to produce biodiesel with practical hands
on training and clear precise easy read manuals. Our methods
are ones that have been tried and tested, proven to work World wide
and result in good fuel. We will make it easy for you.
Making biodiesel requires a little practice and a little
knowledge. | 
click to view video