Re: [Biofuel] 45 gallons of cream(part 2)
Brent, First we've heard of adding methanol to break an emulsion. But then again, anything hydrophillic, if it works. Congratulations. You are aware, however, that methanol boils at 145*F? You were very close to having instantaneous vaporization when you added it. Hopefully you're working with a sealed reactor with an appropriately sized vent to the exterior of your work space. If not, a few more degrees could have been disastrous beyond your belief. As for the thin layer? Chances are more than good that it's soap. This seems to happen more often with the use of sodium hydroxide than with potassium hydroxide. The suggestion would be to isolate a sample of the fuel without this component layer and conduct a sample washing to see if your emulsion reoccurs. It's as safe a bet as any that it will, indicating that your reaction didn't reach sufficient completion and it's partially reacted glycerides that are causing your emulsion. If so, you'll need to conduct another transesterification to complete the reaction prior to washing in earnest. Todd Swearingen Brent S wrote: Just a note from my last post. I took the temp of my failure to 140F and then had a brainwave to add more methanol. I added 4 liters to the 45 gallons. I had almost imediate separation down to about 4 from the top. A thin layer also was floating on top. Any ideas? Brent ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] 45 gallons of cream
I made a batch of diesel a couiple days ago that went perfect. I made another batch the same as the first that sepparated good. I added about 5 gallons of water to the 40 gallons of diesel that I had to wash, and heated it to about 90F as I did for the first. When I went back to change the water, I found 45 gallons of cream. I have reheated it to over 100F but it hasn't broke yet. Any Ideas? Brent ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] 45 gallons of cream
Any Ideas? Yup. But you're not going to like 'em. 1st) Your batch didn't go perfect if you got that heavy of an emulsion. 2nd) Best to always do a quick swirl wash of only an ounce or two prior to comitting to washing an entire batch. 3rd) Remove several 100 ml samples of the emulsion. Label and log each sample. Treat each with various salt/water ratios and/or various small volumes of first acetic acid, then phosphoric or sulfuric. Record EVERY variable for future reference. Someone has previously mentioned using calcium carbonate to break an emulsion. In theory, anything that is hydrophillic will help, presuming it doesn't hurt... :-) Eventually the majority of the emulsion will break on their own. But you can hasten that with a little intervention. Just be sure to neutralize your waste water prior to disposing/dispersing. Brent S wrote: I made a batch of diesel a couiple days ago that went perfect. I made another batch the same as the first that sepparated good. I added about 5 gallons of water to the 40 gallons of diesel that I had to wash, and heated it to about 90F as I did for the first. When I went back to change the water, I found 45 gallons of cream. I have reheated it to over 100F but it hasn't broke yet. Any Ideas? Brent ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] 45 gallons of cream(part 2)
Just a note from my last post. I took the temp of my failure to 140F and then had a brainwave to add more methanol. I added 4 liters to the 45 gallons. I had almost imediate separation down to about 4 from the top. A thin layer also was floating on top. Any ideas? Brent ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
