Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

Hi smithy,

SNIP

Originally Posted by smithy


So the savings can be considerable with a minimum cost of electricity if doing the mixing at ambient temps with a compressor.

Compressors are not cheap to run- it is the compressor that makes refrigerators so expensive to operate.

I agree, it is much cheaper to run a small pump or stirrer than to run a compressor. Even if they are the same size motor, the losses in compressing air mean that the impact on circulation is far less than a stirrer or pump.

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

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

Just to share the procedure I used this past summer to make the biodiesel I will use this year.
My diesel engine does not require high conversion biodiesel

At about 5:30 am I turn the heater on to heat 130 litres of WVO to around 50C that is already in a reactor . This takes about 2 hours.
Around 7:30 am I remove the heater from the reactor and add the methoxide made to the formula 14%-140ml methanol mixed with 10g KOH per litre of WVO being reacted.
I then mix that for at least an hour using both a pump and drill for mixing.
By 9:00am this batch is finished and ready for further processing

Because I only have one heater, at 7:30, after removing the heater from the first 130 litre batch of WVO, I start heating another 130 litres of WVO to around 50C that is in another reactor. This takes about 2 hours.
At 9:30 am I add the same formula methoxide to this batch and mix for another hour or so.
By 11:00 am I have finished reacting two- 130 litre batches of biodiesel which is roughly 1/7 of the biodiesel I will likely use this year.

[timorcoco Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close timorcoco]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

[QUOTE=tillyfromparadise;64970]
At about 5:30 am I turn the heater on

I like your methodology Tilly , but is the timing critical ? bugger starting work that early

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

Easily done using a timer and mains contactor to suit the current rating of the element.
Set the start time, set the stop time, turn on the power to the timer. Come back after the oil is heated up.
Simple technology.

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

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

Hi timorcoco

I like your methodology Tilly , but is the timing critical ?

No, the timing is not critical.
I tend to get up with the sun.
I live in Queensland where there is not Day Light Savings.
At that time of the year, the sun is well and truly up by 5:30am.
There is no sense in wasting sunlight

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

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

There is no sense in wasting sunlight

Ya got a point there. Not like ya can actually 'save' it.

[WesleyB Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close WesleyB]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

Qwarla; In Spanish language and in English language to a lesser extent an "a" on the end of a noun, a name may indicate you are a woman rather than a fat old bearded man. Anyway photosynthesis catches energy from the sun, a nuclear explosion. Vegetable oil production from plant material is caught energy from the nuclear explosion sometimes called the sun. Using fatty acids from plants to make biodiesel does harness catching energy from a sizeable nuclear explosion (our sun).

[gsmiley Member Find all posts View Profile Close gsmiley]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

I have tried this mixing an entire batch of glyc to clean the next lot of oil. The result was astounding with beautiful clean oil from crap with a tiny titration. Unfortunately the glycerol thickened so as it would not drain from my heating vessel and although I managed to separate the oil and process it by taking it off the top I had to dig out the byproduct and the guy who takes my byproduct for handcleaner promised that if I ever did it again he would stop picking up my glyc.
QED.

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

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

yep you do have to drain it while it's hot.

[Tony From West Oz Vice Chairperson of WARFA Find all posts View Profile Close Tony From West Oz]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

Gsmiley, were you using KOH or NaOH for the reaction that provided the byproduct?

[gsmiley Member Find all posts View Profile Close gsmiley]

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

KOH only and always

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

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

3DB, Hello. I have to do a 10/90 dropout (Warnqvist) test on my glyc washed oil. As I can glyc wash my oil multiple times with ex process glycerol there is always some conversion, so to calculate chemicals the dropout test needs to be done.

The test usually shows between 10 and 25% conversion. I do a 2 stage reaction and use a total of additional methanol of between 10.5 and 13.5%

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

Re: Glycerol / glycerine / byproduct pre wash

KOH only and always

Yep i find the same thing - if you let it sit for too long and cool then it will only just creep through a 1 inch hose to drain it - then once it is in your 25 litre drums it is a slow process to get it back out once it has set in there - but it will eventually drain out.

Craig