Fruit Loop Biodiesel

About a month ago I got a cool email from someone in my in box asking if I’d be interested in taking some used oil off their hands.

I always follow up on these because sometimes they can turn into really cool finds…and this one definitely didn’t disappoint!

Turns out the email was from a local cold cereal manufacturing plant. They use vegetable oil in their production process and were asking if I’d be willing to come & take about 10-24 barrels of oil off their hands to produce Biodiesel with.

Turns out the 10-24 barrels was 10-24 barrels….get this…A MONTH!!!

We jumped at the chance!

When we got the barrels home, we realized they were rock solid inside. Upon investigation it turned out that the oil was largely coconut oil with a little soy and safflower mixed in.

The oil also smelled a lot like “fruit loops” cold cereal! Smelled great in his garage!

We melted down a sample of the stuff and decided to titrate it. Turns out it titrated at…get this… 0.25 (Yes, ZERO POINT TWO FIVE!!)

We were both THRILLED!!! This stuff was pretty much brand spanking new!

So, we decided to venture out and try to make a batch of Biodiesel from it.

Check out what we made!

Absolutely crystal clear Biodiesel!

You can see a bar of soap made from the glycerin out of this batch right through the Biodiesel!

This was some cool red soap that was made from the glycerin as well out of this oil.

This is a shot of all the different products we got from the oil.
On the left is a jar of wet Bio with water on the bottom (we were doing a rough soap test).
The finished Biodiesel is in the middle.
The glycerin is on the right and finished bars of soap from this oil is sitting behind everything.

Here’s a better shot of everything….
Biodiesel, Glycerin, and soap from the glycerin.

And one last shot…

Turns out we’ll be getting quite a bit of this kind of oil going forward. After dealing with waste oil, it’s amazing how much easier this stuff is to make Biodiesel from. I can really see why commercial plants like to deal with new oils. It’s incredible!

About Utah Biodiesel Supply

Utah Biodiesel Supply is an industry leader in offering innovative ways to empower our customers to produce Biodiesel. From free online instructional videos on how to get started making this great renewable fuel to promotional items to help our customers proclaim their energy independence, Utah Biodiesel Supply has it covered. With the widest selection available of Biodiesel equipment, supplies, and promotional items, you're sure to learn something new about Biodiesel every time you visit.
Categorized: Biodiesel

2 comments on “Fruit Loop Biodiesel

  1. Hi,

    This Oil looks amazing the oil quality in South London is low… high fat and water contents!

    Lots of filtering needed!

    http://kentbiofuel.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-make-bio-fuel-out-from-waste.html

    You seem to have become really profficent at the soap making, is it necessary to wash any methanol from the glycerin?

    I would really appreciate your comments on my process because you seem to have a much better setup!

    Warm Regards

    Tim
    http://kentbiofuel.blogspot.com

  2. Yes. You'll want to completely remove all the methanol from the glycerin before reacting it into soap.