making bio diesel

[glen Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close glen]

hi guys,
im very new to this scene about making the fuel etc
i have made a small batch using wvo started with 4gms caustic & 20% methanol.i never heated oil i let it settle for a few hours and had glycerine on the bottom.i washed it before draining glycerine out and ended up with orange juice like stuff which settled out overnight... the end result was amber fuel but was cloudy and ph was 8.3..
what am i doing wrong is ph too high
should i nitrate & how do i
i have heated the oil on another sample & have had a bad experience
explosion burns to my face etc
not put off by this as they were minor
however i am nervous about heating to remove water from the oil
can someone give advice
regards glen

[joe Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close joe]

Re: making bio diesel

Hi Glen,
some good advice for you is to do some more reading before trying anything again. If you've burnt your face then you could well have blinded your self. Your very lucky.

Sounds like there was nothign wrong with your first lot except it needed to be washed/settled. What is nitrate?

How did you do the ph test? Ph tests on bio is unreliable. You should wash it with some water and them measure the PH of the water.

I'm a bit reluctant to tell you to do too much incase you go and hurt your self again. It sounds like you need to spend some quality time reading about safety and how to do it all properly. Noone can tell you that. You must read and learn it .

Also how hot did you make the oil. You need only heat it to 60degrees and allow the oil/water to seperate over 24 hours. If you are going to boil the water off it will spit.

Sorry about your injury and about not being to helpful but you have learned a valuable lesson and you are lucky.

Joe

[Captain Echidna Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captain Echidna]

Re: making bio diesel

every time I spray myself with oil, spill it, or get it all over me (hopefully only the once) I remember why I am not smart enough to make biodiesel. (I changed the car instead to run on SVO) Sounds like you are having some succusses on your small batches, keep it up, it may only be a few "tweaks" and you could be there.

When you get the bugs sorted out and you are driving knowing your fuel is cleaner that fossil fuel it all becomes worthwhile. You will know the feeling when it comes.

Just keep the safety glasses handy. and the gloves. And the coat. and the ventilation.

[glen Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close glen]

Re: making bio diesel

hi guys thanks for the reply
i made a very silly mistake thank god i wore saftey glasses
i will take your advice and research some more although the more you read the more confusing it all gets...
i did measure ph of bio,i will measure pf of the washed water
i will be doing a nitrate test on weekend 1st attempt
thanks for the advice
regards glen

[Terry Syd Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Terry Syd]

Re: making bio diesel

Glen, I recommend that a person NEVER try to boil off the water from WVO. If you just make a mess, you are lucky.

As you found, the water turns to steam down at the bottom of the pot and a geyser of hot oil results. Some times the pot will actually jump off the burner from the resulting release of energy.

Just heat the oil up, allow the water to settle to the bottom of the pot, then pour off the top oil. Leave the water laden dregs for the compost heap.

Others may have a system for drying the oil by boiling. For me, I just find the risk isn't worth that little bit of lost oil.

[Sauman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sauman]

Re: making bio diesel

Glen, I recommend that a person NEVER try to boil off the water from WVO. If you just make a mess, you are lucky.

Others may have a system for drying the oil by boiling.
For me, I just find the "risk isn't worth that little bit of lost oil".

Well said Terry.OH&S should be a mogor consideration with home brewers.Please be care full.Prevention is better then care.

Thanks for Sharing Terry.

Cheers
Sauman

[Captain Echidna Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Captain Echidna]

Re: making bio diesel

I have filtered some "wet" vegetable oil through an old shirt, what comes out is clear, and what is left in the shirt is milky.How much oil is likely to be in it? Will it make a difference if I heat it before I filter it? (I am running SVO, but I dont think it is relevant as they both need to be dry)$

[glen Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close glen]

Re: making bio diesel

I have filtered some "wet" vegetable oil through an old shirt, what comes out is clear, and what is left in the shirt is milky.How much oil is likely to be in it? Will it make a difference if I heat it before I filter it? (I am running SVO, but I dont think it is relevant as they both need to be dry)$

captain echidna,
hi there i am a novice at this stuff as you can see by my 1st post however i do heat the oil 60 deg c & strain using shade cloth its easier to pour/filter. i dont know about svo sorry. i have since learnt alot in a week or so no more burns no more explosions after its heated & strainedinto a container i let it settle overnight then titrate (i think you call it) that batch of oil and collect from the top to make a new batch of bio
i bubble dry the bio as its cloudy after washing and this gives excellent results
regards glen

[Bill Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close Bill]

Re: making bio diesel

I think you need to do a bit more research on the www.

There are basic steps in making biodiesel.

The first is you need to neutralise any free fatty acid in the oil by adding hydroxide.
The second is you need the following amounts:
Oil 100 parts by weight, methanol 20 parts by weight of the oil and potassium hydroxide 1 part by weight of the oil:

For example 100g oil, 20g methanol and 1g of hydroxide plus the amount to neutralise the free fatty acids.

You need to dry the oil if it is wet because that stops the reaction. The best way I have seen is to pass it over a hot tray with baffles to stop any spitting or bumping of pots --- too dangerous.

When adding the oil to the methanol and hydroxide, the oil must not exceed the boiling point of the methanol (65C) or the methanol will explosively boil.

You need to let it sit to separate out the glycerol and then gently wash it with a gentle rain of water to remove the soaps. If you leave in the soaps and the glycerol you will damage your engine.

So, it is complicated and not for those who aren't prepared to do the research on how to do it properly. if you produce biodiesel with too much glycerol, too much unreacted cooking oil, still caustic from the hydroxide and full of soaps it will all end in tears.