TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CERAMICS AND GLASS - Preferred Component: The bleaching clay is silica or traditional bentonite clays.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The caustic base is sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. It is added at 0.1-0.5 wt.%.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The glycerolysis reaction is conducted at a temperature T2 of 250-420 degrees F and 5-15 mm-mercury (Hg) absolute pressure. Trace amounts of citric acid or phosphoric acid are added to the feedstock during pretreating. The slight excess amount of alcohol required in the transesterification reaction is 1.1-1.5 mols of excess alcohol added for each mol of fatty acid present in the reaction mixture. Glycerol in the glycerolysis reaction is added at 1-10 wt.%. The transesterification reaction proceeds to 70-90% completion. After the glycerol separation processing step, 0.1-1 wt.% of free glycerol remains in the alkyl ester. The pretreatment step further comprises adding a bleaching clay to the feedstock followed by a drying process and a filtering process, where clay is added to the feedstock at 0.3-0.5 wt.%, and the pretreating is conducted at a temperature T of 150-230 degrees F. The pretreating step is dewatering, degumming, or bleaching glycerolysis. The transesterification reaction is conducted at 130-200 degrees C. The alcohol recovery flash is conducted at 200-300 degrees F and 2-25 mm-Hg absolute pressure. The alkyl ester flash is conducted at 170-250 degrees F and 0.5-15 mm-Hg. Preferred Component: The catalyst is added in the transesterification at 0.1-0.35 wt.%. The feedstock is crude soy oil, refined soy oil, yellow grease, refined and crude vegetable oils, trap grease, edible animal tallow, inedible animal tallow, raw trap grease, brown grease, corn oil, olive oil, cottonseed oil, butter, lard, poultry fat, fish oils, linseed oil, raw trap grease, restaurant waste grease, animal fat, coconut oil, recycled greases, soy, rapeseed, jatropha, mahua, mustard, flax, sunflower, palm oil, hemp, field pennycress, Pongamia pinnata, algae, or other microbial sources such as bacterial sources of lipids and waste streams such as acid oil from standard refining processes. The catalyst is sodium or potassium alkylate of formula R-ONa or R-OK, where the alkylate moiety corresponds to the R-moiety of the alcohol. The alcohol is methanol, ethanol, isopropanol or butanol.R=straight or branched hydrocarbon chain, NaOH or KOH. EXAMPLE - Feedstock (e.g. waste vegetable oil) (1000 ml) was placed into a vacuum flask and added with bleaching clay (0.5 wt.%) and 50% citric acid (2 ml). This mixture was heated under vacuum at 220 degrees F and maintained until all signs of boiling and foaming had subsided. The product of bleaching was filtered, and added with glycerin (60 ml) and 50% caustic solution (15 g). The mixture was heated and agitated under strong vacuum to 400 degrees F and maintained until all signs of water production had ceased and the product had stopped foaming and boiling. The product was cooled to approximately 170 degrees F. The cooled resultant of glycerolysis (170 degrees F) was added with methanol ( approximately 150 ml) and sodium methoxide (30%) (15 ml). If the mixture had further cooled it must be heated to approximately 150 degrees F and refluxed for several minutes while being agitated strongly. The warm mixture was placed into a funnel and sat undisturbed so that the glycerin would separate from the methyl esters and fell to the bottom of the funnel. When separation was complete, signified by two distinct phases, usually within 10 minutes, the glycerin was carefully drained off and retained for future refining. The methyl esters were then collected for methanol removal. The methyl esters were placed into a flask with a distillation set up. The methyl esters were heated to approximately 220 degrees F without vacuum and the methanol was collected in the receiver flask. When the majority of methanol had been removed as indicated by a slowing of the methanol drip, the receiver flask was emptied and the apparatus put under vacuum for a very short time until any remaining methanol had been collected. The methyl esters might be directly distilled or washed and dried and then distilled. The de-mentholated methyl esters were placed into a funnel to which city water (150 ml) was added. The mixture was agitated gently to create intimate mixing without the formation of emulsion. The water was settled out and drained off. The water washed methyl esters remained in the funnel to which pH 2 water (150 ml) was added and vigorously agitated. The mixture was settled out and the water drained. The methyl esters were then returned to a vacuum flask, placed under vacuum, and heated to 220 degrees C until the product clarified and all sign of boiling and foaming had stopped ( approximately 1 hour). The washed and dried methyl esters were placed into a vacuum distillation apparatus. The methyl esters were placed under strong vacuum (500-600 mtorr) and slowly heated at approximately 150 degrees C. When the methyl esters reached approximately 169 degrees C they began to vaporize and collect in the receiver flask. After approximately 250 ml had distilled the receiver flask was emptied and the distillation was continued as the temperature approached 180 degrees C. The collected methyl esters were analyzed and treated with antioxidant.