Biodiesel!

As gas prices here in Thailand rise, Surin Farmer Support members are looking to develop alternatives for powering their tractors. Sunday the 13th we were in Tabthai village to give a seminar on making biodiesel. This blog entry will talk about the first two steps in the process. Farmers use recycled cooking oil from their homes and from the Green Market. Below is Paw Heeah, the "village biodiesel advisor," getting the cooking oil ready to start the process:


First, while the cooking oil is being reheated to about 50 degrees Celsius, about a teaspoon of sodium hydroxide is mixed with 200 milliliters of methyl alcohol.

Second, once the cooking oil has cooled, one liter of oil is mixed with the sodium hydoxide/methyl alcohol mixture, and shaken for 30 minutes.

P' Nok explains these steps to the "Kids Love Nature" club and some SFS members:

This is what biodiesel looks like when its ready for use:

After the seminar was over, Paw Heeah took a few of the kids for a ride in his biodiesel-powered truck:

The rest of the process will be explained after our next biodiesel-making session. For now, here are some pictures from Sunday in Tabthai village.

Tomorrow, we'll begin hosting a group of teenage students from Portland, Oregon that are participating in the Pangaea Project, a nine-month leadership development program. They will stay with families in Tabthai village, helping them work in the fields, as well as sitting down with them to exchange their experiences. Thursday and Friday are also important Thai holidays, Hatien and Kao Pan Saa, which mark the beginning of the monk's retreat into the temples, a period also called Buddhist "lent." There's rumor that elephants will be out in Tambon Tamor, as part of the celebrations. I hope that the visit will be a great experience for the visiting Pangaea group.