Auto-Diesel: Automated Biodiesel Production

Kevin Brachle, Angela Johnson, Alex Pirela

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando,

Florida, 32816-2450

Abstract — The objective of this senior design project is to provide a safe and efficient solution for biodiesel production by automating the process with the use of a micro controller, programmable valves, pumps, relays, diodes and a viscosity sensor. The intention is for the user to experience minimal interaction with the handling and exposure of dangerous chemicals (methanol, potassium hydroxide) and to provide ease of access to start, pause and stop the system.

Index Terms — Automation, microcontrollers, pumps, valves, chemistry, fuels, detectors.

I. INTRODUCTION

Biodiesel is a fuel that can be derived from various types

of vegetable oil. It has emerged as one of the more

promising renewable fuels due to the low cost,

sustainability and reputation of being a well-established

technology. Depending on the method used, biodiesel

production can take anywhere from a few hours to a few

days. In most circumstances, production is performed

manually and is quite labor intensive. This project

streamlines each part of the process to create an automated

biodiesel processor.

The chemical nature of biodiesel makes it is less

destructive to the environment when compared to

traditional fossil fuels. Biodiesel does not need to be

mined, contains no sulfur and can be made from used or

straight vegetable oil. The best case scenario is to create

sustainable systems in which a user is consuming the

biodiesel created from used waste vegetable oil from a

business or a trade. An ideal example would be if a

catering company produced 40 gallons of waste vegetable

oil per week that was converted to 32 gallons of biodiesel

(worst case) to fuel their diesel fleet of vans. If a low cost,

automated solution was available, many small business

owners would be able to lower fuel cost and help preserve

natural resources.

This project allows for the production of an individual’s

biodiesel supply as simple and efficient as making a cup of

coffee in the morning. The user should need to do no

more than start the process and collect the finished

biodiesel product, though as an initial set up, the user will

have to add oil, alcohol and a catalyst to the system before

the start button is pushed.

The technical approach taken was to first identify all

documented methods of the production process and

determine the feasibility of automating each process using

low cost parts while keeping safety as a primary concern.

Once each method was examined, several design concepts

were established for a cost analysis. The final design takes

into account the maximum safety, ease of use, cost and

level of automation.

While the goal of this project is to provide a relatively

simple, automated biodiesel processor that can be safely

operated by an amateur, that statement comes with a few

caveats: First, in this context, ‘safely’ is strictly relative – a

process that involves methanol, potassium / sodium

hydroxide, diesel fuel and high-power electronics will

always carry a significant hazardous element, and this

project does not attempt to negate that. More closely

related to the design aspect is that, because biodiesel

fabrication is inherently dangerous, the mitigation of risk,

both for the designers and the end-user, relies on careful

and thorough design considerations.

II. CHEMISTRY / WASTE REMOVAL

In order for vegetable oil to become diesel fuel, a

process known as transesterification must take place. Free

fatty acids are removed from the oil during this process

and as a result, the waste by-product glycerol is created.

The reaction is accomplished by adding and mixing

alcohol/catalyst to filtered vegetable oil that is heated to

130° F. Methanol and ethanol are the two most common

types of alcohol and potassium hydroxide and sodium

hydroxide are the two most common catalysts used in this

process. Methanol is much cheaper when compared to

ethanol while potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide

are similar in cost. The main difference between the

catalysts is the viscosity of the glycerol; sodium hydroxide

creates a highly viscous glycerol, while potassium

hydroxide’s glycerol by-product is far less viscous. This is

important because sodium hydroxide’s waste by-product

has potential to clog valves / pipes while being removed

from the heating / mixing chamber; thus potassium

hydroxide was used as the catalyst in this project. It is

argued that vegetable oil, once filtered, can power a motor

after directly adding to the fuel tank; however, over time

this has potential to damage / destroy the engine, which

does not outweigh the benefit of transesterification.

Various methods of biodiesel production exist; however, it

was decided that the batch method would be the easiest,

most cost effective to automate.

A. Titration

The first step in the chemical process is to determine the amount of catalyst and methanol needed to cause the transesterficaiton reaction. The minimal amount of methanol needed is 1/4 of the amount of oil used. If excess methanol is added, the effect is negligible because it will eventually be recovered as a waste by-product. For this reason, the user is instructed to add the equivalent of 30% the amount of oil used as a way to ensure the reaction will take place. Titration is a chemical test performed to determine the amount of catalyst needed based on the type of oil used in production [1]. A titration test, created by Graydon Blair from Utah Biodiesel Supply, was performed by making a small sample batch of 1 mL soybean oil, 10 mL of alcohol and a few drops of phenolphthalein indicator solution, which turns purple once the appropriate amount of catalyst has been added, indicating a change from an acid to a base. Next, a 10mL syringe consisting of a 2/10 ratio of water to catalyst (Potassium Hyrdoxide) mix was incrementally injected to the oil, alcohol and phenolphthalein until the solution turned purple, which occurred after 6 mL of catalyst / water was added. Based on our results using soybean oil, 12 grams of potassium hydroxide per liter of oil is required for a successful reaction to occur.

Fig. 1. Titration test. After 6 mL of catalyst / water was added to alcohol / oil / phenolphthalein, the solution turned purple (left). After 4 mL of catalyst / water was added to alcohol / oil / phenolphthalein, the solution remained unchanged (right).

B. Glycerol removal

Although the chemistry in biodiesel production is fairly straight forward, numerous recipe / process tests revealed some common oversights of inexperienced brewers. Initially, sodium hydroxide was chosen as the catalyst due

to affordability, easy access and common concurrence among home brew experts stating this was the best catalyst for production. The type of catalyst used affects the density of the by-product glycerol. Sodium hydroxide produces glycerol with a jelly-like consistency whereas potassium hydroxide produces glycerol with a consistency nearly identical to vegetable oil, both of which can be seen below in Figure 2. Jelly-like glycerol is problematic due to an increase in the likelihood that a pipe, valve or pump could become blocked with this toxic sludge. Hence, potassium hydroxide was chosen as the catalyst of choice.

Fig. 2. Consistency of glycerol using various catalysts. Glycerol from potassium hydroxide (right). Glycerol from sodium hydroxide (left).

Glycerol advantageously has a greater density than the unwashed biodiesel, which means once the solution settles, glycerol will sink to the bottom of the mixing chamber, making removal of this waste by-product fairly straight forward. The glycerol will be incrementally routed through pipes leading to a viscometer, which will measure the viscosity of the glycerol. If the viscosity reading is more than 6 mPa*s, the glycerol will be directed to the appropriate waster container.

C. Excess Methanol/Catalyst Removal

Another crucial step in biodiesel production is the removal of excess methanol / catalyst following transesterification. Two common methods for this include distillation and washing. Among commercial biodiesel producers, distillation is the most common method of methanol removal, though it is not without shortcomings. In order to distill the mixture, the methyl esters and excess methanol are heated to a temperature around the boiling point of methanol, but maintained below the boiling point of the methyl esters. At ambient pressure, the boiling point of methanol is 150 °F

[2]; it is not actually necessary to bring the methanol to a boil – it will begin to evaporate at much lower temperatures, which requires significantly less energy, and will serve adequately for this purpose. Due to the differing molecular weights and chemical properties of various fatty acids, the exact boiling point for the methyl esters depends on the type of feedstock used and may even vary somewhat from one batch to another, especially when waste vegetable oil is used. Fortunately, in all cases the boiling point of the biodiesel is over 300 °F at ambient pressure [3], providing a wide range of temperatures where the methanol, but not the methyl esters, will evaporate. Taking into account both of these considerations, a temperature around 150 °F should work well. With the mixture maintained approximately at the desired temperature, the resulting methanol vapor rises to the top of the distillation chamber, where it exits via a pipe and is either vented or collected – this will be discussed shortly. As the methanol evaporates, it may become necessary to increase the temperature to remove the remaining methanol, but in no instance should the required temperature exceed the boiling point listed above. This option is attractive for a number of reasons: distillation can be performed directly in the processor, using the same heating element already supplied for the transesterification step. This reduces mechanical and electrical complexity, and lowers production cost. Furthermore, distillation is a relatively forgiving method – it does not require precise calculations to ensure a suitable result. As mentioned above, it does not even require a precisely controlled temperature. On the other hand, even if the mixture is not brought to the boiling point of methanol, the continual heating required uses a considerable amount of electrical energy, more than that inherently required by any other method. Though there is no risk of boiling or burning the methyl esters, excessive heating of the biodiesel can denature the molecules, reducing the quality of the finished product. Despite this, there is no obvious way to determine when the methanol has completely evaporated, so, to optimize an implementation using distillation, experiments must be performed to determine an appropriate heating scheme that will remove all, or nearly all, of the methanol, without damaging the biodiesel. Distillation requires the entire mixture to be heated to relatively high temperature, and immediately dispensing the resulting fuel could present a hazard to the end-user. The methyl esters must be cooled to room temperature after the evaporating step. Passive cooling is very simple: the mixture is simply allowed to sit until it has cooled to an acceptable temperature. For a well-insulated processor, passive heating could take several hours. Active cooling systems, such as

thermoelectric coolers, and heat pipes, operate far more quickly, but require the addition of dedicated cooling systems, with the commiserate increase in mechanical and electrical complexity, greater opportunity for mechanical failure, and higher energy cost. Unlike a human operator, the microcontroller regulating the process is unaffected by long waits, so, despite the slow cooling rate, passive cooling is generally the more attractive of the two options. Methanol removal by washing has relatively low energy costs – the only energy used is in opening and closing valves, and running a mixing system. There is no need for a pump to add the water: If the water is provided from a tank, gravity can be used. For gravity sedimentation, no pump is needed to drain the water either. Sharing the drain system with glycerol introduces a varying increase in complexity. If the glycerol and wastewater will both be discarded, the only modification necessary is provision for the viscosity sensor to detect water as well as glycerol. If either the water or the glycerol is to be recuperated, there are two options: The wastewater can be discarded into the same container as the glycerol, and the two can be separated independently at a later point. Despite the low energy cost and mechanical simplicity, however, washing has a serious drawback in that it requires the addition of another ingredient – the water – and produces an additional waste product. As with the glycerol, the waste from this step would be contaminated with a significant amount of methanol and potassium hydroxide, and would have to be treated as toxic, corrosive, flammable waste. Regardless, washing is the most straight forward approach and will be used for the design. Once the glycerol has been completely removed from the unwashed biodiesel, water should be gently added to the solution, otherwise emulsification will take place as seen in Figure 3 below.

Fig. 3. A demonstration of the effect of emulsification if water is not added gently (IE by misting, or droplets) to the biodiesel.

Since the waste water by-product will contain traces of catalyst and other impurities, it will have a greater density than the now washed biodiesel, which means the waste

water will sink to the bottom of the chamber. This simplifies the removal process as it will be directed through the viscometer, and if the reading is below 3 mPa*s, it will be routed to the appropriate waste container.

III. DESIGN

Although the Computer and Electrical Engineering

Applications of this project are the center piece for the

automation process, there was a heavy workload in the

Mechanical arena for successful design implementation.

For that reason this section is broken into two parts:

Electrical / Computer Design and Mechanical Design.

A. Electrical / Computer Design

The following electrical/computer components are needed: Microcontroller (2), Programmable Valves (10), Water Pumps (2), Air Pump (1), Heating Element (1), Viscometer (1). The requirements for the MCU were that it have at least 30 kB of EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory; have at least 20 I/O pins; and be able to track time for long intervals. The MCU chosen was the dsPicFJ128MC202, using the Unduino development board. The dsPicFJ128MC202 has 128 kB Flash memory and 21 I/O pins, with the timekeeping handled in the software. Two MCUs were utilized for the purpose of the project. The first MCU, the Process MCU, fully handles the automation of the biodiesel production process. It additionally handles all of the operator buttons and switches with the exception of the on-off switch. The second MCU, the Display MCU, controls the LCD display. The two MCUs function independently, with timing functions used to synchronize their operations. However, the two MCU receive both analog and digital inputs from the same source, to ensure proper functioning of the both microcontrollers. The buttons and switches that the Process MCU controls are the start-reset switch, the pause/un-pause button, and the emergency stop button. When the start-reset switch is flipped to start, the process begins. When the switch is flipped to reset, what is in the heating chamber is drained, after which point both MCUs are reset. The process will begin again when the switch is next set to start. The pause-un-pause freezes the production of biodiesel between processes when the switch is flipped to pause. The process begins again from where it left off when the switch is flipped back to un-pause. When the emergency stop button is pushed, the heating chamber and methanol container are sealed off and immediately following the power is cut out.

When any of the switches or buttons are pushed, the Display MCU displays an appropriate message. For the start-reset switch, when the switch is flipped to start, the Display MCU begins sending signals to the LCD to have it begin displaying messages associated with the production of biodiesel. When the switch is flipped to reset, the Display MCU sets the LCD so that it displays a message asking the user to wait while the heating chamber is empty. When the pause/un-pause switch is flipped to pause, the Display MCU sets the LCD so that it displays a message informing the user that the process has been paused. No message is displayed when the switch is set to un-pause. When the emergency stop button is pushed, the Display MCU sets the LCD so that it displays a message informing the user that there has been an emergency and asks them to exit the building. The specs for the programmable valves are that they have the ability to handle fluids with viscosities of up to 10mPas, are corrosion resistant, open / close in less than 10 seconds and operate on 12VDC or less. As shows below in Figure 4, the programmable valves chosen were model KLD20S from KLD® in China. They are stainless steel (IE corrosion resistant), open / close in 7 seconds, have been tested to operate handling highly viscous (15mPas+) fluids and operate on 12VDC.

Fig. 4. Programmable valves. ¾ inch KLD20S model. http://www.electric-valve.com/index.html

The specs for the water pump include non-sparking operation, ability to handle fluids with viscosity of 10 mPa*s, is corrosion resistant and operate on 120V or less. In the Online Biodiesel Community, two pumps are generally used in production: The Harbor Freight® Pump and the Northern Tool® Clear Water Pump. After reading a combination of several case studies regarding blown capacitors and fires during operation on the Harbor Freight® Pump, and several articles praising the Northern Tool® Clear Water Pump for biodiesel production, it was decided that the Northern Tool® Pump would be used and

is shown in Figure 5. It is recommended that the pump operate only one hour at a time, in which case the process was modified to accommodate this request. The specs for the air pump include non-sparking operation, ability to operate for more than two hours consecutively, configuration with bubbler and operate on 120V or less. The Million Air® pump from Via Aqua® was chosen due to low cost, high output and high reliability. Heating elements for water heaters are standard in size; however, not standard in operating voltage. Most water heaters require 240V, so to keep the design user friendly, the only spec for the heating element is an operating voltage of 120V or less. An ACE Hardware® 120V heating element was chosen.

Since density and/or viscosity are crucial parameters,

namely for the removal of waste by-products, both types of

detectors were researched. Typically, programmable

viscosity and density detectors cost a minimum of $5000,

thus making this solution unfeasible; however, after

several calls with Cambridge Viscosity®, it was decided

that a VISCOpro 1600 test unit would be generously

loaned to the group for the semester (shown below). The

unit has been custom calibrated to our specs, which reports

viscosities between .5 mPa*s and 20mPas.

B. Mechanical Design

The following mechanical components were used and

their specs are below: Heating Chamber: Rheem®

Shortboy 30 gallon (1), US Plastic® Containers: 15 gallon

(4), 5 gallon (2), Lowes® Plumbing / Pipes: Corrosion

Resistant, Backflow Preventers: 30 PSI +, Venturi, 30 PSI

Pressure Release Valve. Additionally, wood and other

structural items were needed for the construction of the

frame. The completed AUTO-Diesel Processor is shown

in Figure 7.

Fig. 5. 1 Inch Clear Water Pump from Northern Tool & Equipment®. http://www.northerntool.com

Fig. 6. Cambridge Viscosity® VISCOpro 1600. www.cambridgeviscosity.com

Fig. 7. AUTO-Diesel Biodiesel Processor.

IV. STEP BY STEP PROCESS

The first step in the production process is to add the

vegetable oil to the heating chamber. A programmable

three-way valve is oriented so the oil can flow freely to a

pump that will direct the oil into the heating chamber. The

same amount of oil is added by the user each time; thus a

timer has been synchronized to turn off the pump once all

the oil has been added. The heater is then turned on to

warm the oil to 130° F and a two way valve that connects

the catalyst container to the methanol container is opened,

which will allow the catalyst to dissolve in the methanol.

A valve connecting a venturi to the methanol / catalyst mix

is opened and the mixing pump is turned on, which will

direct the warm oil past the venturi, thus adding a small

amount (1 part per 17 parts of oil) of the methanol /

catalyst as the mix flows by. This mixing process will go

on for 30 minutes and then will be settled for ½ a day.

This will be sufficient time to allow the glycerol to settle

to the bottom of the chamber, which will then be routed to

the appropriate waste container once the viscometer

verifies that only fluid with a viscosity greater than 7mPas

has been removed. The unwashed biodiesel will then be

directed to another container where water will be gently

introduced through five miniature outdoor sprinkler

droppers after a programmable valve coming from a five

gallon water container has been opened. An air pump

connected to a bubbler that is installed inside the container

will then be powered on for two hours, which will gently

mix the biodiesel. The mix will settle for ½ a day, which

is sufficient time to allow the water to chemically attach to

various impurities, excess catalyst and excess methanol,

which will settle to the bottom of the container and then

be drained using the same process as the glycerol removal,

except the viscosity sensor will be detecting a reading of 3

mPa*s or less. The final step in production consists of

bubbling the biodiesel for two hours to remove all of the

small air / water molecules that formed from the washing

process. A test to determine the purity of biodiesel is show below. This is similar to the titration test mentioned in section II.A, except 20 mL of biodiesel was added to 10 mL of phenolphthalein. After the mix is shaken, the biodiesel should remain clear and the phenolphthalein should turn bright red. A purple / pink shade of phenolphthalein and cloudy biodiesel indicates impurities still exist.

Fig. 8. Washed biodiesel (left) free of impurities, washed biodiesel (right) with traces of glycerol.

V. POWER SYSTEMS

The low-power signals from the MCU are amplified

using general-purpose transistors and used to actuate

relays, which in turn control the flow of electricity to the

valves and other relatively high-powered components.

There are twelve relays used- eight controlling valves (two

of which actuate two valves simultaneously), three

controlling pumps, and one controlling the immersion

heater.

The pumps and immersion heater can each be controlled

by a single-pole single-throw relay, as they only need to be

turned on or off. The valves, however, have two mutually

exclusive on states – voltage is always high on either the

‘on’ or ‘off’ lines, or, in the case of the 3-way valves, the

‘left’ or ‘right’ lines. Circuitry inside each valve

automatically turns off the actuator when the valve is fully

actuated. Since one of the two lines is always high, each

valve is most logically controlled by a single-pole, dual-

throw relay. Using one SPDT instead of two SPST relays

also prevents both lines from ever being set high

simultaneously due to a software error.

The pumps and heater operate on 120V power, and draw

several amps each – this is dramatically greater than the

signal voltage, and any arcing between the power and

signal lines could damage or destroy the MCU and other

sensitive components. To minimize this, optocoupled

solid-state relays were selected for these high power

components. Each of these relays provides several

thousands volts of isolation, protecting the MCU from

momentary power spikes in addition to regular usage.

While the valves could also benefit from optoisolation,

implementing an SPDT using solid-state relays is

relatively complicated. Fortunately, the valves only use

12V, such that the risk of a damaging arc is acceptably low

even with a traditional electromechanical relay.

Furthermore, while the 120V components are powered

directly from the line, and are thus relatively unprotected,

the power supply unit contains a number of safety features,

which prevent a power spike from reaching the 12V

components.

All of the relays are actuated via NPN bipolar junction

transistors. The requirements for this component are not

particular strenuous, so the 2N222 was selected primarily

for familiarity and availability. Each transistor is bridged

by a diode, which prevents any reverse voltage from the

relay from damaging the transistor. Again, the 1N914 was

selected primarily for availability.

In addition to the outputs, the microcontroller must

receive input from two sensors, for viscosity and

temperature. Both of these sensors are integrated in the

Viscopro 1600 module, which produces a regulated analog

current for each. This output is converted into a voltage

between 0 and 5V, which is interpreted by the analog-to-

digital converters on the microcontroller board. The signal

processing is performed almost entirely by the viscometer,

so only a single resistor is necessary to produce a linear

voltage for the microprocessor from each output.

For convenience, most of the electrical components are

mounted on a printed circuit board. The exceptions have

been left off the board primarily due to feasibility – while

it is technically possible to run 15A across a printed

circuit, it would require an unrealistically wide trace, and

would produce additional undesired effects, such as Ohmic

heating and, potentially, electrical interference in the more

sensitive components. The wiring for the switches has also

been left off the board in order to allow more flexibility in

their layout. This also makes the system somewhat more

modular, allowing modifications to the control layout or

other systems as necessary without require a complete

rework of the circuit. As such, the adopted solution

represents an optimal compromise between adaptability

and minimization of the wiring clutter.

VI. SAFETY

The production of biodiesel is an innately hazardous

process, as it requires the use of toxic, caustic, and

flammable chemicals, in addition to high temperatures

and, of course, electricity. However, given adequate

measures, the complete system should be operable without

exposing the end-user to undue risk. To ensure this is the

case, a number of aspects must be considered in the

design.

As in any application involving 120V power, all contact

surfaces must be adequately grounded and insulated from

coming into contact with the user or with volatile or

conductive elements. In addition to electric shock, arcing

poses a potential danger due to the use of methanol –

under normal conditions the methanol is confined to sealed

containers, but as a further precaution the electrical

systems have been designed to minimize the presence of

sparks: All relays either do not produce arcs, as in the

solid state relays, or are completely sealed. Depending on

feasibility, the entire circuit board may be potted with

epoxy or another insulating compound to completely

eliminate open-air electrical contacts.

The “one-touch” process design limits user exposure to

the chemicals used, providing a degree of innate safety –

this, of course, is one of the design objectives – and the

design incorporates a number of features to augment this.

Specifically, the reaction chamber is fitted with a pressure-

relief valve, which vents the contents of the container if

the internal pressure exceeds 30 psi, in order to prevent an

explosion or breach elsewhere in the system. The valve

has furthermore been designed to direct any vented vapor

or liquid towards the ground near the device, limiting the

radius potentially affected by spilt chemicals. The venting

system is also oriented opposite the control panel, where

the user would most likely be, allowing the apparatus to

shield the user, should he or she be near the control panel

at the time.

Easily the most hazardous chemical involved is the

methanol, particular when in a heated vapor state. To

further address this, the reaction chamber is hermetically

sealed, and rated to several times the emergency relief

pressure. In addition, the mixing and wash inputs are also

fitted with check valves to prevent methanol vapor from

escaping into other portions of the system.

The control panel also provides the user with several

failsafe methods of forestalling or altogether avoiding a

potentially hazardous situation. The ‘Reset’ function

allows the user to terminate a batch for any reason, without

leaving residue in the system. If the user suspects that

continuing the process could result in a potentially

dangerous situation – if the pumps are making an unusual

amount of noise, for example – the pause function allows

Fig. 9. Full system schematic for AUTO-Diesel Biodiesel Processor. Fig. 9. Full system schematic. AUTO-Diesel Automated Biodiesel Processor.

the process to be interrupted and restarted as appropriate.

Using the ‘pause’ function, however, requires considerable

familiarity with the operation of the processor, and is thus

most useful during debugging and testing.

A more strictly end-user oriented feature is the

‘Emergency stop’ button, which is analogous to the

‘Scram’ function in a nuclear reactor, or the Kill switch for

a industrial facility. This button is positioned a relatively

shielded position behind the oil feed tank. Depressing the

‘Emergency stop’ button will abruptly terminate the

process, seal off the processor, and cut power to the

system. This renders the system inert as quickly as

possible, while still isolating the processor, where an

accident would be most likely to occur. Despite being an

emergency measure, this function can be employed

without harm to the processor.

As a final measure, the user can also simply switch the

power off. The main power switch is strictly hardware, and

does not depend on the MCU or any other element that

could potentially fail. In all but the most urgent

circumstances, however, this is inferior to the ‘Reset’ or

‘Emergency stop’ functions, as it will leave the processor

in it current state, even if it is in a potentially unstable

state, such as while draining the main tank, in which case

the unregulated drainage could cause an overflow. For this

reason, the other functions mentioned are generally more

appropriate, and greatly improve the safety with which the

system can operate.

VII. CONCLUSION

Small scale biodiesel production is typically a labor-

intensive process that involves direct contact to highly

flammable and toxic chemicals. Since production requires

the handling, heating, mixing and removal of toxic

chemicals at various stages, the core objective is to limit

the amount of manual work required, especially in

avoidance of exposure to these chemicals through fumes

or physical contact. Automation can greatly decrease the

risk of potential spills, accidents, missteps and

measurement accuracy; thus providing the user with a

more reliable, more quality end-product. The production

of an individual’s biodiesel supply is as simple and

efficient as making a cup of coffee in the morning. The

user should need to do no more than start the process and

collect the finished biodiesel product, though as an initial

set up, the user will have to add oil, alcohol and a catalyst

to the system before the start button is pushed. The final

design streamlines each part of the process and fully

automates (to an extent) biodiesel production.

The technical approach taken was to first identify all

documented methods of the production process and

determine the feasibility of automating each process using

low cost parts while keeping safety as a primary concern.

Once each method was examined, several design concepts

were established for a cost analysis. The final design takes

into account the maximum safety, ease of use, cost and

level of automation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank our

sponsors: Jonathan Cole and Cambridge Viscosity® for

their generous semester-loan of the VISCOpro 1600

Viscometer. Abracabrachle Enterprises, Inc and Kelly

Brachle for generosity in capital sponsorship for the

project.

BIOGRAPHY

REFERENCES

[1] Graydon Blair,UtahBiodieselSupply.com <http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com> [2] CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 88th edition David R. Lide, National Institute of Standards & Technology CRC Press, Gaithersburg, Maryland 2007 [3] “Biodiesel Safety Data Sheet”, National Biodiesel Board March 12th, 2010 <www.biodiesel.org>

Kevin Brachle will be graduating from UCF in August, 2010 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. He currently resides in Naples, FL and works full time with his wife Kelly, as managing partners of the Consulting Firm,

Abracabrachle Enterprises, Inc.

Angela Johnson will be graduating from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering and hopes to obtain a Master’s Degree in the future. She currently lives in Orlando.

Alexander Pirela will be graduating from UCF with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. He plans to continue at the University of Central Florida and pursue a Master’s Degree in Digital Forensics.