Washing

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

If i was to take some perfect biodiesel thats been washed and dryed.

And if i was to mix it with water 50/50 and shake violently forever will it emulsify, should it emulsify.

Perfect biodiesel washed and dryed, if i wash it will i get milky water and what should the ph of the wash water be.

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

Re: Washing

[b]Hello dodge,
The things that will usually cause an emulsion are soap, byproduct and mono and di Glycerides.
If none of these things are present in the biodiesel it should not make an emulsion.
The pH of the wash water will probably be higher than the water you are washing it with if there is soap in the biodiesel.
The only thing that causes the pH of the wash water to change is the soap in the biodiesel. If there is no soap present and you did not put acid in the wash (A BIG No No) then in your hypothetical the water should seperate out clear with no change in pH or colour.

Reading the pH of the wash water is of no real value. It only tells you that the quantity of soap in the biodiesel is decreasing. Your eyes can tell you the same thing a lot quicker.

The Chemist Neutral recommends that if you are following the pH of the wash water you should leave it above 7 so tnat if any water gets into the biodiesel it will be caustic which does not attack steel.
Biodiesel is an Oil and as such does not itself have pH.

Neutral has performed some tests which shows that any excess NaOH in the biodiesel is used up making soap out of biodiesel.

Tilly