Hi Kevin >Hi Keith, >My titration indicated that I needed 2 ml of the lye/water solution for a pH >of 8-9 > >15 liters of WVO >82.5 grams Lye >3.75 liters of Methanol
Right, not bad oil. Quite a lot of methanol, but no harm in that. 3.3 would do, but since not everything seems to be quite right yet you might as well leave it at 3.75 for now. >I mixed in a 5 gal poly car boy using a drum mixer 15 minutes before added >the catalyst. What's a drum mixer? (Sorry!) The catalyst = the pre-mixed lye and methanol = sodium methoxide? >Mixed for an hour. I did not have a fish heater or any type >of enclosed heater, so I used a better then nothing solution....I used a >heating pad strapped to the side of the carboy, set the temp to the highest >setting and wrapped a towel as insulation around the carboy during the >mixing. Temperature on the heating pad was 105 F. Not sure of how hot the >oil got inside, as the thermometer would not fit in the spout opening. It's a bit low, if the oil was that temp, but probably not critically so. You could try pre-heating the oil first, on a stove or something, then put it in the carboy. Keeping it hot is much easier than making it hot. 130F is a good mixing temp, but remember the temp will go down when you add the methoxide so you could make the oil a bit hotter first. Not too much hotter, methanol boils at just under 150F, keep it well below that. >Next day, I received three separation layers, Bottom: Glycerin, Middle: >White wash: Top: Amber Biodiesel. I assume the white layer to be water from >the WVO I received from a pizza place in Norwalk Connecticut. After >draining, I ended up with approximately 12 liters. (Note: I boiled the WVO >before hand, using my old deep fryer from 212-260 F to try and remove as >much water as possible.) Any idea of the proportions of the three layers? I don't think it's water. If you boiled it off first there shouldn't have been much water anyway. (Heating to 130-140F for 15 minutes then settling might be better than boiling.) You should have got better than 12 litres from 2ml-titration oil though. >I washed the finished 12 liters in another carboy where I used my gardening >hose to spray or atomize the best I could appox. 7 liters water into the cap >opening. Once the container was sealed, a quick gentle shake and let the >container sit for four days. > >Thanks, I did see the bubble wash link before and will try that method soon. > >I own a hydrometer, but it is not rated for thick liquids and did not bother >to use it . Try a couple of tests. Take a small amount of the biodiesel, say 250cc, and mix it with the same amount of water, in a PET bottle or something. Just shake it up a bit, be gentle, not too violent, just enough to get it to mix. Let it settle and separate. Then measure the pH of the water. It should be about pH7. If it's higher than that it's not washed enough. Also the water should be clear, not milky, or again, it's not washed enough. 2nd test: the same, 250cc or so of biodiesel and the same amount of water, but shake it up and down violently for about 10 seconds or more. Then let it settle, and see how long it takes to separate. It should separate cleanly in less than half an hour, with little or no white layer between. If not, your processing didn't go far enough. Considering the white wash, it might be an idea to double-check the titration, and maybe do a series of small test batches with the same oil, varying the amount of lye each time by 0.5 gm/litre. See: Test batches http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_mike.html#testbatch Stock methoxide solution http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make2.html#stockmeth Anyway, Kevin, quibbles aside, you're doing well! It separated, it's biodiesel, and you made it! You're not shy about improvising and using what you've got to hand, which is the spirit of it, IMHO. Keep going, and look forward to the great feeling of running your motor on your own fuel. Best Keith >-Kevin > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Keith Addison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <biofuel@yahoogroups.com> >Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2004 9:42 AM >Subject: Re: [biofuel] Filtering Biodiesel, 100, 50, 5 micron filters > > > > Hello Kevin > > > > >I finally have my batch of 12 liters of biodiesel. I filtered the > > >WVO with a large mesh basket and then using a window screen mesh. > > >Added the catalyst, and watched it separate.Washed it 1x with water > > >and let it sit for 4 days. Drained the water > > > > Did you heat it? How did you agitate it? How much lye did you use? > > And how did you wash it? > > > > Have you seen this? > > > > Bubble washing > > http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_bubblewash.html > > > > >According to Josh's book, the recommended filtration before adding > > >to your fuel tank is a 5 micron filter > > > > There are those who say that book has a lot to answer for. Certainly > > it's wrong about a lot of things. You might care to have a look at > > this: > > > > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/BIOFUEL/31729/ > > > > >I have search the internet for "micron values" of coffee filters & > > >restaurant conical filters, but cannot find any specifications > > >listed. > > > > > >I have been on racor.com maker of advanced filtration systems, but > > >my processor is manual (caveman) and need a basic conical or gravity > > >style filter (with a rating of 5 microns) ...where I can pour > > >biodiesel from a spout. (Yes, me manually pouring into a filter!) > > > > "Vegetable oil filter cones are made of "Pelon", a generic term which > > can be cotton fiber but is more often synthetic, the longer-lived > > usually being synthetic. It can include adhesive versions of both > > ("fusible pelon"). Both cotton and synthetic Pelon run between 1.5 > > and 1.75 ounce for filters. Standard Pelon is usually 1.25 ounce. The > > thicker Pelons can be found in any upholstery supply warehouse in 48" > > or 96" bolts." (Todd Swearingen, Appal Energy.) > > > > I don't know the micron rating of Pelon. > > > > >Sorry for the basic questions, but there is a lot of > > >reading-between-the-lines with the books and articles I have read to > > >date For example, a suggestion of using a restaurant conical filter > > >for filtering biodiesel is recommended, but no micron information is > > >stated. Just to be sure about not damaging my fuel system & > > >clogging my trucks fuel filter, what's the value of this style > > >filter? > > > > > >Or what some of you folks are doing to get a manual 5 micron filtration? > > > > > >I hope to eventually get advanced with pumps, heaters and inline > > >filtration, but I'm not ready with a design and will need to spend > > >some $$$ with this advanced design. I'm am eager to get going with > > >a manual carboy processor > > > > What is a manual carboy processor? > > > > Why don't you rig something like this? > > > > Simple 5-gallon processor > > http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_processor5.html > > > > > and produce 12-15 liters per week and do not know what type of > > >filter to purchase to complete the process. > > > > > >Thanks all! > > > > > >PS: I'm sure some folks have posted this question before and do not > > >know of a FAQ's list, if one exist? > > > > http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html > > Make your own biodiesel > > > > Best > > > > Keith ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. 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