>There are a few guys out here in KS starting to experiment with our first >batches of biodiesel. We're looking for some additional information on >using ethanol rather than methanol for the transesterification (one guy owns >a nice still)--does this complicate the process? Is there some good >information about it someone could refer us to? > >Thanks! >Matt Cantrell
Hello Matt The information you need is below. Note however that ethanol must be dry to make ethyl esters. The purest ethanol that can be produced by ordinary distillation is only 95.6% pure, the rest being water, which interferes with the transesterification reaction in making ethyl ester. You'll find information in the references below. What kind of still does your friend have? I'd be interested to know the output rate and the proof it produces. Best Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ From: Ethanol resources on the Web: Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol_link.html Ethanol biodiesel "Optimization of a Batch Type Ethyl Ester Process" -- a sure-fire recipe for biodiesel from ethanol (which you can make yourself), instead of methanol (which is toxic, fossil-fuel derived, and you can't make it yourself). Go to Biofuels Library. http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library.html Production and Testing of Ethyl and Methyl Esters http://www.biodiesel.org/reports/GEN-005.html Making and Testing a Biodiesel Fuel Made From Ethanol and Waste French-Fry Oil (Acrobat File) http://www.biodiesel.org/reports/GEN-152.pdf Hydrogenated Soy Ethyl Ester (HySEE) Process Refinement (Acrobat File) http://www.biodiesel.org/reports/GEN-153.pdf Transesterification Process to Manufacture Ethyl Ester of Rape Oil (Acrobat File) http://www.biodiesel.org/reports/GEN-250.pdf Cornmeal Adsorber for Dehydrating Ethanol Vapors -- by Michael R. Ladisch et al., Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, Purdue University. To make ethyl esters the ethanol must be anhydrous -- no water content. About half the ethanol now produced in the US is dried using corn grits. When the corn's drying capacity is worn out, it can be fermented and distilled to make more ethanol. This 1981 paper is the original work on the subject. Go to the Biofuels Library. http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library.html See also "The Manual for the Home and Farm Production of Alcohol Fuel", Chapter 12, Drying the alcohol (full text online): http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_manual/manual_ToC.html Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
