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  • Methanol purity.

    How can you tell that your methanol does not have any water in it.

    My 20lt drum says it is 100% pure but who knows.

    I dont think there is water in my methanol but i would be nice to check though.

    And what about ph meters can anyone explain why they do or dont work for titration and the final product clean dry biodeisel.

    I have 500ml of perfect bio deisel, although it did start out as 1lt but after draining it out from one bottle to another 4 times for washing, Leaving some behind so i didnt get any muck with it, i am happy with the result.

    And how do i upload an image into my post, a little screen pops up and says enter the url source of the image.

  • #2
    Re: Methanol purity.

    Originally posted by Dodge
    How can you tell that your methanol does not have any water in it.

    My 20lt drum says it is 100% pure but who knows.
    get an alcohol hydrometer (alcometer trailles), it is calibrated for ethanol but should be very close for methanol.

    I dont think there is water in my methanol but i would be nice to check though.

    And what about ph meters can anyone explain why they do or dont work for titration and the final product clean dry biodeisel.
    pH meters only work accurately in aqueous solutions. They will work in a titration, but not accurately in the oil or biodiesel due to the lack of water. pH meters are relatively expensive, require maintenance (buffer solutions, calibration etc) and are never as accurate as using an indicator solution like phenolphthalein of curcurmin (tumeric indicator)

    I have 500ml of perfect bio deisel, although it did start out as 1lt but after draining it out from one bottle to another 4 times for washing, Leaving some behind so i didnt get any muck with it, i am happy with the result.
    While your biodiesel may LOOK perfect, you cannot know the conversion%, the mono/di and free glycerides, or any other parameters which are the subject of the biodiesel standards.

    Even so, I am sure that your biodiesel will work well in any diesel without causing any damage to the engine.

    And how do i upload an image into my post, a little screen pops up and says enter the url source of the image.
    Under the "Additional Options" section below the post window. there is a button [Manage Attachments] click on this button to add or change attachments on your post.
    Tony From West Oz
    Vice Chairperson of WARFA
    Last edited by Tony From West Oz; 18 April 2006, 12:41 AM.
    Life is a journey, with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.

    Current Vehicles in stable:
    '06 Musso Sports 4X4 Manual Crew Cab tray back.
    '04 Rexton 4X4 Automatic SUV
    '2014 Toyota Prius (on ULP) - Wife's car

    Previous Vehicles:
    '90 Mazda Capella. (2000 - 2003) My first Fatmobile. Converted to fun on veggie oil with a 2 tank setup.
    '80 Mercedes 300D. 2 tank conversion [Sold]
    '84 Mercedes 300D. 1 tank, no conversion. Replaced engine with rebuilt OM617A turbodiesel engine. Finally had good power. Engine donor for W123 coupe. (body parted out and carcass sold for scrap.)
    '85 Mercedes Benz W123 300CD Turbodiesel
    '99 Mercedes W202 C250 Turbodiesel (my darling Wife's car)[sold]
    '98 Mercedes W202 C250 Turbodiesel (my car)[sold]
    '06 Musso Sports Crew Cab well body. [Head gasket blew!]
    '04 Rexton SUV 2.9L Turbodiesel same as Musso - Our Family car.
    '06 Musso sports Crew Cab Trayback - My hack (no air cond, no heater).

    Searching the Biofuels Forum using Google
    Adding images and/or documents to your posts

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Methanol purity.

      Dodge, remember that there is a difference between conversion rate and yield.

      Conversion is the % of oil that has been converted to biodiesel.

      Yield is the amount of fuel you produced from the oil.

      The amount of fuel you produce is not only related to how much FFA you had to neutralise, but also how much oil is left in the biodiesel fuel. If you produced 85% converted biodiesel, then 15% of your fuel is a mixture of mono, di and triglycerides. It is not uncommon to find someone making biodiesel that has a yield slightly in excess of 100%.

      What Tony said about your biodiesel working well without damage has been borne out with many years of people reporting back their results. 90% converted biodiesel will work in virtually all injector systems. 85% converted works fine in indirect engines. That is running B100. If you blend with petrol diesel, then there is even less concern with running low conversion fuel.

      Commercial biodiesel must be 96% in order to meet the standard.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Methanol purity.

        Thanks Tony And Terry.

        Will keep using tumeric, but should i make the tumeric solution with methylated spirits or isopropanol. I add the 1ml of oil to isopropanol.

        I think my coversion would be better than the yield, i started with 1lt and finished with 500ml. But its looks good. I loaded a picture of it, i hope.


        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Methanol purity.

          That is nice, crystal clear bio!
          Use Metho, there is no advantage I know of making the indicator from isopropyl alcohol. Many people even use metho for the titration, dissolving the oil in slightly heated metho (around 30°C should be fine - use a water bath of hot water from the tap to heat the metho).
          This has accessability and cost advantages for the user.
          Life is a journey, with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.

          Current Vehicles in stable:
          '06 Musso Sports 4X4 Manual Crew Cab tray back.
          '04 Rexton 4X4 Automatic SUV
          '2014 Toyota Prius (on ULP) - Wife's car

          Previous Vehicles:
          '90 Mazda Capella. (2000 - 2003) My first Fatmobile. Converted to fun on veggie oil with a 2 tank setup.
          '80 Mercedes 300D. 2 tank conversion [Sold]
          '84 Mercedes 300D. 1 tank, no conversion. Replaced engine with rebuilt OM617A turbodiesel engine. Finally had good power. Engine donor for W123 coupe. (body parted out and carcass sold for scrap.)
          '85 Mercedes Benz W123 300CD Turbodiesel
          '99 Mercedes W202 C250 Turbodiesel (my darling Wife's car)[sold]
          '98 Mercedes W202 C250 Turbodiesel (my car)[sold]
          '06 Musso Sports Crew Cab well body. [Head gasket blew!]
          '04 Rexton SUV 2.9L Turbodiesel same as Musso - Our Family car.
          '06 Musso sports Crew Cab Trayback - My hack (no air cond, no heater).

          Searching the Biofuels Forum using Google
          Adding images and/or documents to your posts

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Methanol purity.

            Hey Tony,
            By metho do you mean methylated spirits or methoxide? I've been using methylated spirits for my titration, but I was unaware that it required heating it to 30C....

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Methanol purity.

              Thanks Tony.
              Is it methanol and then methylated spirits in your last post.

              Comment

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