http://www.ida.net/users/tetonsl/solar/page_iii.htm
as i always say, your own rig works best for you. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul S Cantrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 3:16 PM Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Water in recovered methanol? > Joe, > Funny you mention the satellite dish. I am gathering materials to > build a small satellite dish solar concentrator. I am going to glue > mylar to the surface of the dish and have a black pipe at the focal > point to heat the working liquid. My guess is I'll have to figure out > how to regulate flow and track the sun very well. > > What's the best source for a sun tracker? > > On 4/28/06, Joe Street <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Several years ago a guy up the street was out on a sunny day with a >> plastic >> fesnel lens that was about a meter long and 2/3 meter wide and he and his >> son were focusing the sun on about a 10cm sized spot on some asphault he >> had >> added to the end of his driveway. The asphault was smoking. I grabbed a >> twig and put it on the concrete curb stone and asked him to put the sun >> on >> it. He moved the spot to it and it burst into flame in a second! I have >> heard of people getting surplus C-band satellite dishes (the big ones) >> and >> glueing little peices of broken mirrors to the dish and putting a heat >> exchanger up at the dishes feedpoint. It needs to be aimed at the sun >> but >> it would be very powerful and dead cheap! >> >> Joe >> >> >> Thomas Kelly wrote: >> >> Thanks Todd. >> It must have been 25 years ago that a friend was going to prepare >> lunch in a "solar oven". The idea appealed to me at the time, but on a >> warm >> sunny day we watched and waited, and ended up having to fire up the >> grill. >> Solar ovens have apparently come a long way since then or you wouldn't >> be recommending them for regenerating zeolytes. >> I just Googled "Solar Oven". Something about solar cooking still >> appeals to me, but I remain skeptical. In one part of a web page it says >> they "quickly heat up to 360 -400F". In another part of the same site it >> says Superior Cooking is due to the "slow even rise in temp." It's that >> slow >> rise in temp that concerns me. >> Are you referring to the same solar ovens (under $200 US) that can be >> used to cook food (and do they really work?) or is there some other, high >> tech version? >> Tom >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Appal Energy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 1:56 PM >> Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Water in recovered methanol? >> >> >> >> >> >> I came across molecular sieves while reading about ethanol >> >> purification, and was >> >> >> lead to believe (mistakenly?)that they can be regenerated by drying >> >> in the sun. >> >> The temp needed can be achieved in a solar oven. >> >> Todd Swearingen >> >> >> Thomas Kelly wrote: >> >> >> >> Joe, >> Thanks for the reply. >> You wrote: >> 1. "There is a significant energy input into regenerating the seives >> as well. You have to bake them at well over 100 degrees C more like >> 200, but you can get by with lower temps if you bake them out with >> vacuum." >> >> I came across molecular sieves while reading about ethanol >> purification, and was lead to believe (mistakenly?)that they can be >> regenerated by drying in the sun. >> >> "Try putting a thermometer in your condenser and monitor vapour >> temperature to get a better endpoint and you will have an easier time." >> >> I don't know what this will tell me. What would I be looking for in >> terms of vapor temp? >> >> 3. "I have some excellent references on solvent drying I can mail you >> if you want. No soft copy sorry but I might be able to scan them." >> >> I would appreciate them. I am in the early stages of planning >> ethanol ferment/distillation. If the permit is approved, I hope to >> start in the coming months. >> Thanks again, >> Tom >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> >> *From:* Joe Street <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> *To:* [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]> >> *Sent:* Friday, April 28, 2006 10:27 AM >> *Subject:* Re: [Biofuel] Water in recovered methanol? >> >> 3A sieves will work but are normally used for getting tiny amounts >> of water out of solvents to bring them into the low ppm range. >> They will work of course but you might saturate them and have to >> do a second stage. There is a significant energy input into >> regenerating the seives as well. You have to bake them at well >> over 100 degrees C more like 200, but you can get by with lower >> temps if you bake them out with vacuum. Try putting a thermometer >> in your condenser and monitor vapour temperature to get a better >> endpoint and you will have an easier time. You have answered some >> of my own questions. I have recovered some methanol but not tried >> to use it yet. Sounds like if straight distillation is carefully >> done the methanol is dry enough to use without further drying. >> Great news and thanks for the post! :) >> >> I have some excellent references on solvent drying I can mail you >> if you want. No soft copy sorry but I might be able to scan them. >> >> Joe >> >> Thomas Kelly wrote: >> >> >> >> Good day to all, >> After splitting the glycerine coproduct from roughly 1200L >> of processed WVO, I distilled approximately 100L of the >> glycerine/methanol component. >> The first drops of methanol began to fall from the condenser >> at 145F. As the temp rose to 150F there was a steady flow of >> clear liquid from the condenser. Throughout the day I turned the >> heat off when the flow was steady and back on when it slowed. >> I filled a 4.5 gal (17.7L) cubie with clear liquid and >> started a second one. At this point the temp was over 160F. I let >> the still run up to 200F. At this point the second cubie had 4 >> gallons of clear liquid (and it was now 1AM) giving a total of >> 8.5 gal. I was thrilled with the result (and tired). I used the >> first 4.5 gal (17.7L) to run one batch, and while that was >> settling ran a second batch using the second 4 gal of recovered >> methanol. >> The first batch washed OK, but was a little slow to >> separate. It failed the methanol quality test. >> The second batch did not even pass the wash test. >> I have been making consistenly high quality BD for several >> months ... thank you JtF and list members. I don't think I made >> mistakes in measurement or titration. >> My question: >> As my distillation temps rose towards 200F (93C) could I have >> been including water in my distillate? (The methanol recovered at >> lower temps performed better than the methanol recovered at >> higher temps.) If so, can I use Zeolite "molecular sieves" in the >> future to remove it? >> >> Thanks, >> Tom >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [email protected] >> 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/[email protected]/ >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [email protected] >> >> 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/[email protected]/ >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [email protected] >> 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/[email protected]/ >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.4/319 - Release Date: 4/19/2006 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [email protected] >> 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/[email protected]/ >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [email protected] >> 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/[email protected]/ >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Biofuel mailing list >> [email protected] >> 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/[email protected]/ >> >> >> >> > > > -- > Thanks, > PC > > He's the kind of a guy who lights up a room just by flicking a switch > > We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything. - Thomas A Edison > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > [email protected] > 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/[email protected]/ > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.5.1/326 - Release Date: 4/27/2006 > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [email protected] 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/[email protected]/
