I agree with all of the above comments.
I just have to rant a little; I have been in the restaurant business for 27 years and it really bugs me when people refer to oil or shortening as "grease". I know it shouldn't because it has just become a generic term, but grease is what cooks off of meat. Shortening contains more saturated fat than oil (a good thing for cakes, biscuits and other applications). Lard is almost all saturated fat and is completely solid at room temperature (it is pure animal fat). Oil has more unsaturated fat and is liquid at room temperature (good for making salad dressing, etc). The lower the content of saturated fat, the lower the temperature that any given fat will remain in a liquid state. So liquid shortening usually contains partially hydrogenated oils (which contain saturated fat. Palm and coconut are the most common) to varying degrees depending on the application that it is intended for. Besides the obvious health benefits, the more liquid state your shortening/oil is in, the less energy it takes to get it to frying temperature (saving money on gas/electricity). Shortening will last longer in a fryer than straight oil will which lowers overall food costs. Years ago we used something called AV shortening to cook french fries in. It was a combination of lard and oil. Let me tell you the fries cooked in that stuff were tasty! Not very healthy, but tasty none the less (isn't that the way with everything
).
You can actually make biodiesel out of lard, but you have to do the two step acid base esterification to get it to work (if I understand correctly). Even then the yield is low and clouding is a big issue. Stick with the best stuff you can get your hands on. I wonder what kind of a number titration of the Sonic oil will give. The BioPro will handle it fine in any case. The acid esterification step is designed to lower the FFA (Free Fatty Acids which hydrogenated oil has more of) in the feedstock. So you should be fine. How long the owner uses his oil before chucking it will make the biggest difference of all. I would see if he would be willing to cool it after filtering and put it back in the containers that it comes in. It is way easier to handle that way. and the containers are recyclable anywhere that they take milk jugs (same plastic).
Okay that's enough ranting
If you have read this far. . . I apologize for being long winded.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
. The system is also designed to attach a hose or pipe to pump the oil into some sort of container for disposal. He is probably just going to run it through that before dumping it into the pick up container.
.
. I am now debating on whether to buy a cheap one at Harbor Freight or save up for Lincoln. The 190 is the way to go. I was talking to a guy that has one and its plumbed to a hot water line and drains wash water into a 300 gallon tote. He has it set up so that he can either use the water from the tote for washing (if its well settled and clean) or straight from the water heater. He says he still titrates each batch and adjusts the catalyst and methanol accordingly (so he doesn't waste them and so his rinse water stays less polluted).
But then again, they are buying methanol in massive quantities and they are getting huge government discounts on top of that. I’m not kidding, Western Kansas has a very unique farming protocol that is like nowhere else in the world. We have the largest and deepest irrigation pivots in the world. I know farmers who are spending 23,000 dollars PER DAY just on diesel fuel to run their pivots.