Living Green

At The Green House, you can learn to live ‘off the grid’ with solar panels and making biodiesel fuel. You can also have a brownie

“You cover it with wood chips and you never know it’s there. It keeps the weeds down.”

If you’re like most drivers lately, you’re probably sick of the high gas prices. Through the “using the problem as a solution” way of thinking Abbott suggests making your own biodiesel, or as he refers to it “liquid gold.”

In fact, Abbott’s vintage Volkswagen Rabbit runs on this non-toxic fuel made primarily from vegetable oil.

“It does a whole bunch of other stuff that makes it a good choice. It was one of the first fuels out there. It’s hands-down a winner,” he says.

How do you make this “liquid gold?” Well, MidWeek caught up with Abbott at his Dec. 3 biodiesel class for the inside scoop.

Excitedly strapping on a pair of safety goggles and gloves Abbott lets his inner chemist loose to explain the process. Obtaining the vegetable oil comes first. The oil, he explains, is used - oil from Japanese restaurants used for frying tempura is a great choice). The oil should be “waterless” because with water it can turn into soap. Unfortunately, used vegetable oil is hard to get from restaurants in Hawaii, as it is considered a hazardous waste and the state requires you to have a license to obtain it. (Abbott recommends an Oahu company, Pacific Biodiesel, that sells barrels for $250).

The titration process comes next. While wearing your goggles and gloves, mix the oil with potassium hydroxide and methanol. Be sure you know what you’re doing when mixing, Abbott cautions, because adding too much or too little of these ingredients can botch the whole thing. Mix together for one half-hour and then let it settle for about a week.

“Take time to learn the titration process. If you know, then chemically you can do more - like teach workshops,” he jokes.

Holding up a previously settled batch for his students to see, he shows them a dark substance below the oil, which is glycerin. Through another process the glycerin is removed. Finally, the biodiesel is filtered and transferred to storage tanks: “It’s shockingly easy.”

With this “man-made” fuel source, Abbott gets about 30-40 mpg. “Biodiesel is incredible. It makes your engine run smoother and faster,” he says.

As it stands, only Volkswagens and Mercedes come equipped to be run with biodiesel in the U.S. Abbott explains that because of Environmental Protection Agency regulations, other motor vehicle companies can’t market biodiesel-equipped models of their vehicles here, only in Europe, Japan or other places that allow it.

To learn more about biodiesel or other classes at The Green House, call 524-8427 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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