hey guys i just started making my own bio diesel not long ago. I have made 2 successful batches and my trucks seems to love it. now on to my problem, this batch i had no glycerin separation, i found out after the fact it was most likely from wet WVO. is there any way to "fix" this batch or just pitch it?
Thanks
Dean
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2006 F 250 SUPERDUTY 6 INCH LIFT, 37'S, 5 INCH EXHAUST, LIBERATOR TUNED SCT, LIBERATOR O-RING HEADS, LIBERATOR EGR DELETE, LIBERATOR STAGE 1 TURBO, APR STUDS, SOUTHBEND CLUTCH, PRO COMP TRACTION BARS....AND A 6 INCH TIP
Dean
if you got 0 glycerin drop you need to re titrate and run it again... if you got seperation and had spongy looking junk floating at the top i'd add another 150 or so grams lye ( im using koh so it might be different if your using poh) and reprocess.. what did the oil titrate intially?? where do you get from?? chinese, seafood , burges-n-fries??
The oil is from a local diner, so more burgers and fries. I got little to no separation, it titrated at 4.25 grams KOH per liter. plus i use the base line number of 9. I processed it 13.25g/liter or 50g/gal. that was pretty much the same titration number as my last 2 batches. Im heating it now to try and dry it out and im getting spongy floating junk on top with the oil pushing 200 degs.
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2006 F 250 SUPERDUTY 6 INCH LIFT, 37'S, 5 INCH EXHAUST, LIBERATOR TUNED SCT, LIBERATOR O-RING HEADS, LIBERATOR EGR DELETE, LIBERATOR STAGE 1 TURBO, APR STUDS, SOUTHBEND CLUTCH, PRO COMP TRACTION BARS....AND A 6 INCH TIP
Dean
the spongy junk is from water in the oil.. you need to add 150 or so grams of lye (this is for a 40 gal batch)with just enough methanol to desolve it and reprocess....
btw be careful your oil is kinda hot methanol boils at like 150 degrees( i think) i process at 125-130... the chemical reaction adds another 8 degrees.
Ok so should i just retitrate or just just go with 150 grams per 40 gals, and how much methonal should i use...1 or 2 gallons?
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2006 F 250 SUPERDUTY 6 INCH LIFT, 37'S, 5 INCH EXHAUST, LIBERATOR TUNED SCT, LIBERATOR O-RING HEADS, LIBERATOR EGR DELETE, LIBERATOR STAGE 1 TURBO, APR STUDS, SOUTHBEND CLUTCH, PRO COMP TRACTION BARS....AND A 6 INCH TIP
Dean
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2006 F 250 SUPERDUTY 6 INCH LIFT, 37'S, 5 INCH EXHAUST, LIBERATOR TUNED SCT, LIBERATOR O-RING HEADS, LIBERATOR EGR DELETE, LIBERATOR STAGE 1 TURBO, APR STUDS, SOUTHBEND CLUTCH, PRO COMP TRACTION BARS....AND A 6 INCH TIP
Dean
The oil is from a local diner, so more burgers and fries. I got little to no separation, it titrated at 4.25 grams KOH per liter. plus i use the base line number of 9. I processed it 13.25g/liter or 50g/gal. that was pretty much the same titration number as my last 2 batches. Im heating it now to try and dry it out and im getting spongy floating junk on top with the oil pushing 200 degs.
Yes, water is bad in WVO because it absorbs some of the methanol that would be used for the reaction itself. So making sure your WVO is dry is imperative. You don't need to heat the oil to 200 F. Just heat it to 130-140F max and recirculate it in your drum or container using a spray head. The spraying action will expose more surface area of the oil and the air will suck up the moisture from it. Run it for a couple of hours depending on the RH in the air in your area. You can do a fizz test on a frying pan to make certain.
Base of 9 is pretty high. I would use more like a 7 or 8 at most.
Did you make your own titration fluid?
If the purity of the KOH is not 100% (normally about 90%), you will have to factor that in your calculations. That will make your 13.25g a little more.
Yes, water is bad in WVO because it absorbs some of the methanol that would be used for the reaction itself.
Water absorbs methanol? That's a new one on me. So those floaty things are little methanol sponges? Can I dip them off the top and run them thru a still to recapture all that lost methanol?
Methanol encapsulates water. Remember the Heet you dump in the gas tank? Perfect example. Our methanol carries KOH (or NaOh) in suspension.
Those floaties are chunks of soap. When you make homemade soap you add lye water to vegetable oil, you just did it on a grander scale by adding the KOH solution to wet oil.
Get the chunks of glop out of the processor and reprocess it. Take extra care to dry the oil first. Most of the water will be gone when you get the floaties out. Be extra careful when you wash this load, you are going to have a lot of soap in the BD and agitation will cause an emulsion.
Norman
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97 F250 CC PS Tymar intake, 3" downpipe, 4" exhaust, turbo muffler installed backwards, 299,000 miles, running B100 when possible. "NEW 90 F450
Yes, water is bad in WVO because it absorbs some of the methanol that would be used for the reaction itself.
AGAIN BDPlace can't stand someone setting his bad advice straight, so he has to send a snarky PM to me. I ignored the previous one after considering the source. If anyone else has a bit of constructive information to add to this thread, post it for all to see.
Posting answers that are uninformed, unresearched and against fully accepted tenants of biodiesel production serve no purpose other than to proliferate the vast amount of misinformation already circulating on the internet.
Norman
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97 F250 CC PS Tymar intake, 3" downpipe, 4" exhaust, turbo muffler installed backwards, 299,000 miles, running B100 when possible. "NEW 90 F450
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So those floaty things are little methanol sponges? Can I dip them off the top and run them thru a still to recapture all that lost methanol? 
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