how much biodiesel can I make using this kit?
100-litre batches

what’s the reactor module?
It’s a double-vessel steel module on a metal stand. The first vessel is for the oil preparation stage, to make the oil suitable for a reaction. It gets rid of water, fats and food particles. The second vessel is for the reaction itself. There is a pump with an intrinsically safe in-pipe methoxide injection sytem. The reaction will be explained in detail on the course.

what’s the purification module?
It’s a steel stand comprising 2 HDPE vessels employing air washing techniques. It has a fuel transfer pump for the finished product, with 10-micron filtration and enough replacement cartridges to filter approximately 3,000 litres of fuel.

what’s in the titration kit?
This is the Goldenfuels titration kit comprising measuring cylinder, beakers, burettes, glass weighing dish, indicator dropper bottle, spatula, bottle of standard solution, bottle of isopropyl alcohol, enough pH indicator to last a year (and it’s Fair Trade and organic, believe it or not), base unit, clamp, stand and a set of diamond balance scales accurate to 0.05g. With this kit you’ll be able to do titrations to 0.1ml accuracy.

can I save money?
It depends on where you get your waste oil, but the biggest saving is through the reduction in fuel duty for small-scale biodiesel producers. There is no duty payable for the first 2500 litres you make. So if you make 2500 litres, with duty at 30.3p per litre, you save £757.
Then there is the price of the feedstocks (basically, ingredients). If you can go to local outlets and collect used oil in 20-litre containers, then you’ll save more money than if you buy it. If you buy used oil, it’s going for between £450-700 per 1000 litres at the moment. Methanol costs around £1 per litre, and each litre will make around 5 litres of fuel (if you don’t have methanol recovery). Catalyst will cost between £60-£80 per 25kg bag and 100L of fuel will use about a kg of catalyst. Water will be used at about 40-100% of the volume of fuel you produce, and the system should use about £2-£5 worth of electricity per hundred litres of fuel produced.
But we have to say, if money is your only motivator, then you're probably coming at it from the wrong angle. If you want to do something useful with a waste product, have fuel when there are long queues at petrol stations, get yourself an interesting hobby, and if you think that oil companies have enough money already - then that's more like it.

why should I go for the LILI / Goldenfuels system?
We are the UK’s leading and longest-established provider of training in biodiesel production. Goldenfuels’ kit is the culmination of over 7 years in the field of making biodiesel from used cooking oil. The plant is suitable for use with any used oils you are likely to get from caterers or collectors in the UK. We have thought carefully about safety, feedstock variants, regulatory guidelines and good process features. The result is an easy-to-use system that that makes good quality fuel suitable for any diesel engine. LILI and Goldenfuels are not-for-profits who care passionately about the environment. We are not into virgin oils or making a fast buck.

will it make EN14214 grade biodiesel?
No plant that costs less than £100,000, or that is not operated by a skilled worker, will consistently make this grade of fuel from used feedstocks. However there are people who are able to make the grade of fuel with plant like this because they are dedicated and well-practiced enthusiasts. You can become one of these people who save money by taking up this fascinating hobby. What you will leave the course with is a sound platform from which to embark into biodiesel production.  What it is important to know is what are the acceptable compromises you will make in order to make your fuel. Take with a large pinch of salt claims that cheap kit will make EN14214 grade fuel.

why shouldn’t I buy cheaper kit?
Our system includes a purification module absent from most cheap kits, many of which are copies of other designs. Often too, the objective has been profit rather than quality fuel or environmental protection. Not all, by any means, and we are certainly not going to name names, but you have to be very careful. We get a lot of people who have bought inferior products, and who come on our courses to learn how to use them because they do not do ‘what is says on the tin’, so to speak. Invariably they feel a bit cheated by a combination of poor-quality product and bad after-sales service.

do I really need a purification module?
Cheaper processors tend not to have them, but if you don’t have some method of purification, you won’t make quality fuel. Impurities, traces of methanol or catalyst can de-laminate electronic sensors or prematurely age / destroy natural and synthetic rubber seals.

what do I do with my glycerine (G-phase) by-product?
We will show you how to make soap with it and the rest, we are happy to take from you in larger containers (like 205-litre barrels or 1000-litre IBCs).

what will happen to it then?
We will put it through our still to recover the excess methanol and then what we don’t use to make soap will be recycled via other companies who can make good use of it in their processes.

what happens to my wash water?
We will demonstrate how to check this to make sure it is suitable to send down the drains to be dealt with at the water treatment works like all other waste water.

what about the methanol that will be in it?
The concentration of methanol in the wash water is very small, it is only about 2-3% of the total amount of fuel in each batch and this is carried out of the fuel into the wash water.

what is the environmental footprint of the kit?
It is as small as we could make it. Several of the vessels we incorporated into the design are ex food industry containers that have been reconditioned and tested over time for suitability. We utilise water washing techniques that require only water and air inputs, the water is recycled in the standard fashion in a water treatment works. The air mixing is provided by an air pump that is of low wattage.

where do I get the chemicals from?
We have a list of chemical suppliers from around the country that you will be given on the course.

after the course will I be able to speak to someone about using the kit?
We will be available for you to contact us by email or phone. We can also arrange a site visit if needed.

what will I need apart from the kit in order to produce fuel?
There are very few items needed that do not come with the course if you want them. The obvious component is the waste cooking oil. You will also need the following:

• scales that measure down to increments of 2g and that can weigh up to 2kg
• a syphon pump for decanting methanol from the barrel
• a single-phase electrical supply
• water supply
• mains drains or reed bed water purification
• several 200-litre barrels to store fats accumulated, wash water or glycerine

where can I get this stuff?
We can supply used cooking oil at current market value to get you started, and supply it on an ongoing basis if required. We also supply all of the other gear at extra cost, or we can provide info on where to get it yourself.

anything else?
It is a mandatory requirement that you install a bund (to collect any spillages) around your plant. this can be a low wall made of concrete blocks or bricks. It needs to be able to contain the largest potential spill plus 10%; so if your largest vessel (or connected vessels) contains 100L then the bund capacity has to be 110L (one cubic metre = 1000 litres).

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