Hey Pierre, All very peculiar for virgin canola. The fulcrum between a reaction and no reaction is almost razor thin and should have only left you with fuel and the "glycerin cocktail."
Look forward to seeing the pics. .jpgs would be best. Todd Swearingen ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <biofuel@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:41 PM Subject: [biofuel] Re: first batch > Thanks Todd, that's very interesting. > > I have access to a centrifuge at work. I'll get the 3 layers apart > and do the tests you suggest. > > The oil comes from the grocery store - a 3 litre bottle of generic > canola oil. The political ramifications will be very huge if I > discover there is animal tallow in the canola oil sold to consumers. > > I've taken pictures, I will forward to you off list tomorrow and to > others who may be interested. I will be documenting all my steps. > > Pierre > > > --- In biofuel@yahoogroups.com, "appalenergy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Pierre, > > > > We've seen a similar type of result before, but not when working > > with a 100% SVO. In that case it was an oil that was rich in > animal > > tallow. The white layer was unconverted fats. > > > > If you want to figure out what that center layer is and what > > happened, I'd suggest a couple of things. > > > > 1) Separate the three layers. > > > > 2) Take a sample of the top layer and retreat it to see if you get > > any more glycerol to drop. If it does, you know that your reaction > > didn't complete and the cottony layer may be uncoverted animal > fats. > > > > 3) Take a sample of the "cottony' layer and attempt to melt it. If > > it's an unreacted fat it should melt at hand temperature. If it's > a > > soap it won't melt anywhere near as readily. Rather doubtful that > > it's soap. If so it would have migrated to the bottom layer of > crude > > glycerol due to it's molecular weight. > > > > 4) If a sample of the "cottony" layer melts readily, retreat it. > If > > it is primarily a tallow layer you'll still find that the finished > > fuel may solidify at temps as high as 50-60*F. That's one of the > sad > > facts of almost pure methyl tallowate. > > > > 5) If the "cottony" layer doesn't melt readily and you have some > 85% > > Phosphoric or 95-98% sulfuric acid on hand, see what happens to a > > sample as you add 1/2 ml at a time to a 5-10 sample. Wait several > > hours between each testing and keep the sample's temp elevated. > > > > If for some odd reason that layer has a high soap content, you'll > > see something similar to the separation found in the pics at > > http://www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_glycsep.html > > > > In any event, judging by what you've relayed, it's probably a semi- > > safe bet that the feedstock you used wasn't "pure" canola and that > > the general problem is simply an almost but not quite complete > > reaction. > > > > All in all, it doesn't sound as if you're too far off the beaten > > path. A little prudent foolin' around should get you home free. > > > > If not, please repost. > > > > Todd Swearingen > > > > --- In biofuel@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Is it soap? > > > > > > Pierre > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In biofuel@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > > I sent a message 2-3 days ago. Hasn't shown up yet. I'll try > > > again: > > > > > > > > Hello fellow biodieselers! I can say that now that I made my > > > first > > > > batch. > > > > > > > > It was just a 1 litre batch, here's how I went about it: > > > > > > > > - .2 l methanol (99.9%) with 3.5 g gillett lye (100%) shaken > in > > a > > > > jar on and off over a few hours > > > > - 1 l new canola oil > > > > - mixed all together with mechanical stirrer for 2 hours over > > > > hotplate maintaining heat around 53 deg C. > > > > > > > > Settled over night. > > > > > > > > Top layer (85% total volume) clear honey coloured. > > > > Middle layer (8%) white filamentous & cottony layer. > > > > Bottom layer - almost opaque dark yellow gelatinous. > > > > > > > > I'm pretty sure what the top and bottom layers are. What > about > > > the > > > > middle layer? > > > > > > > > Pierre > > > > > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Biofuels list archives: > http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ > > Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. > To unsubscribe, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. 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