Blending Xylol (Xylene) with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel

[Jeffrey S. Brooks Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffrey S. Brooks]

Xylene

Blending Xylol (Xylene) with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel
Making vegetable oil blend Diesel Fuel (VOBDF) by blending Xylol with vegetable oil
Video: YouTube - Blending Xylol with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel

The point of this experiment and video is simply to demonstrating that Xylene will dissolve readily into WVO. It is purely of academic interest and is in no way an attempt to encourage its use or recommend its use over petroleum distillates. I am just posting these experimental blending videos to show that there is a range of solvents that could be blended with waste oils to make diesel fuel. It is up to the user to decide whether they wish to further the experiment by running it on an engine. If you do, then please post your findings on this thread.

The point is making diesel fuel out of waste oils is a form of recycling. And, there are many people making viable and sustainable diesel fuels by blending various solvents with various waste oils. Therefore, there is no reason why the solvents used to thin waste oil need not also be recycled, therefore it is conceivable that someone may come across some recycled Xylene and consider using it as a solvent for making diesel fuel by blending it with waste oils.

Xylene Data Sheet
(from wiki)

dimethylbenzene (aka) Xylene or xylol is a mixture of three structural isomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon dimethylbenzene. Xylene is a clear, colorless, sweet-smelling liquid that is very flammable. It is usually refined from crude oil in a process called alkylation. It is also produced as a by-product from coal carbonisation derived from coke ovens, extracted from crude benzole from gas, or by dehydrocyclodimerization and methylating of toluene and benzene.[1] It is also manufactured from reformate.

Uses:
Xylene is used as a solvent in the printing (Xylene is commonly found in ink), rubber, and leather industries. It is used as a cleaning agent for steel and for silicon wafers and chips.
· It is used as a thinner for paint, and in paints and varnishes. It may be substituted for toluene to thin lacquers where slower drying is desired.
· It is found in small amounts in gasoline and airplane fuel.
· In animal studies it is often swabbed on the ears of rabbits to facilitate blood flow and collection, although the area must subsequently be cleansed with alcohol to prevent inflammation.
· In histology, xylene is also used for clearing the tissues following dehydration in preparation for paraffin wax infiltration. It is also used after sections have been stained to make them hydrophobic so that a coverslip may be applied with a resin in solvent.
· It is used as a carrier for acrylic based concrete sealers.
· It is used in the laboratory to make baths with dry ice to cool reaction vessels to low temperatures when required, and as a solvent to remove synthetic immersion oil from the microscope objective in light microscopy [5]

Chemical and physical properties:
Some chemical and physical properties differ from isomer to isomer. The melting point ranges from −47.87 °C (−54.17 °F) (m-xylene) to 13.26 °C (55.87 °F) (p-xylene). The boiling point for each isomer is around 140 °C (284.00 °F). The density of each is around 0.87 g/mL (7.26 lb/U.S. gallon or 8.72 lb/imp gallon) and thus is less dense than water.
Molecular formula C8H10, C6H4(CH3)2 or C6H4C2H6
Molar mass 106.16 g/mol
Appearance clear, colorless liquid
Density and phase 0.864 g/mL, liquid
Melting point Xylenes −47.4 °C (−53.3 °F; 226 K)
o-Xylene −25 °C (−13 °F; 248 K)
m-Xylene −48 °C (−54.4 °F; 225 K)
p-Xylene 13 °C (55.4 °F; 286 K)
Boiling point Xylenes 138.5 °C (281.3 °F; 412 K)
o-Xylene 144 °C (291.2 °F; 417 K)
m-Xylene 139 °C (282.2 °F; 412 K)
p-Xylene 138 °C (280.4 °F; 411 K)
Viscosity o-Xylene 0.812 cP at 20 °C (68 °F)
m-Xylene 0.62 cP at 20 °C (68 °F)
p-Xylene 0.34 cP at 30 °C (86 °F)

Health effects

Xylene exhibits neurological effects. High levels from exposure for acute (14 days or less) or chronic periods (more than 1 year) can cause headaches, lack of muscle coordination, dizziness, confusion, and alterations in body balance. Exposure of people to high levels of xylene for short periods can also cause irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat, difficulty in breathing and other problems with the lungs, delayed reaction time, memory difficulties, stomach discomfort, and possibly adverse effects on the liver and kidneys. It can cause unconsciousness and even death at very high levels (see inhalants). Xylene or products containing Xylene should not be used indoors or around food. Xylene is not a controlled substance.

Studies of unborn animals indicate that high concentrations of xylene may cause increased numbers of deaths, and delayed growth and development. In many instances, these same concentrations also cause damage to the mothers. It is not yet known whether xylene harms the unborn fetus if the mother is exposed to low levels of xylene during pregnancy.

Besides occupational exposure, the principal pathway of human contact is via soil contamination from leaking underground storage tanks containing petroleum products. Humans who come into contact with the soil or groundwater may become affected. Use of contaminated groundwater as a water supply could lead to adverse health effects.

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

Re: Blending Xylol (Xylene) with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel

Jeffrey,

I think that the information you are posting here is great as it gets people thinking in a different line of thought and generates interesting debate and discusssion.

However I think that any 'new' blends using anything other than recognised bio fuels or petro chemical fuels (they have had infinite amounts of studies done on their burn characteristics) need to be treated with caution. I think one of the prinicple problems with this is there is so many unknowns with regard to the chemical composition of the exhaust gases.

You mention lots of nasties associated with exposure to this xlol. the reality is that the vast majority of forum users here will be filling their cars with a jerry can or cubie, and spilling it on their right big toe on a weekly basis as they fill their cars. with the exception of a few enterprising individuals like Matt who have their own shell bowser, most have every oppurtunity to, and do get the fuel on their hands, arms, feet on a regular basis. just seach for "WVO spill" on this forum and see how many hits you get.

As an avid Bio diesel user, (Not blender or WVO user) I use Methanol with everybatch. however when handling it, I wear a face mask, respirator (effectiveness not proven though) have a hose charged and layign at my feet and have a fire extinguisher on standby. I take every precaution I can to limit my exposure to the nasty stuff, and frankly, if it wasnt for the fact that my wife drives the cruiser everywhere and isnt so crash hot with a spanner and pair of vice grips, I would run WVO purely for the health and saftey instead of Bio.

My point is that I believe a lot of caution should be exercised before advocating the use of toxic, nasty, soluable chemicals in your fuel.

If you get your funding that you are chasing (which I think you have buckley's personnally), in order to make any real differnece, you ned to deal with the Health and saftey issues first. Look at your exhaust composition and the real problems associated with its use and regular exposure to bare skin.

If you can prove to an outsider that it is safe to mix, handle and burn, then consider posting the information. otherwise you could be signing someones early retirement.

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

Re: Blending Xylol (Xylene) with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel

I won't be rubbing any of that Xylene on my ears that's for sure.
It's an interesting read as always JSB. It's educational to find out where these derivatives are used in our daily life. You never know there may be a reader that works in the printing industry and has drums of the stuff they throw away and is brave enough to test the stuff out....hopefully without poisoning everyone in the back of the car.

[Jeffrey S. Brooks Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Jeffrey S. Brooks]

Re: Blending Xylol (Xylene) with Vegetable Oil to Make VO Blend Diesel Fuel

Jeffrey,

I think that the information you are posting here is great as it gets people thinking in a different line of thought and generates interesting debate and discusssion...

You mention lots of nasties associated with exposure to this xlol. the reality is that the vast majority of forum users here will be filling their cars with a jerry can or cubie, and spilling it on their right big toe on a weekly basis as they fill their cars. with the exception of a few enterprising individuals like Matt who have their own shell bowser, most have every oppurtunity to, and do get the fuel on their hands, arms, feet on a regular basis. just seach for "WVO spill" on this forum and see how many hits you get.

As an avid Bio diesel user, (Not blender or WVO user) I use Methanol with everybatch. however when handling it, I wear a face mask, respirator (effectiveness not proven though) have a hose charged and layign at my feet and have a fire extinguisher on standby...

My point is that I believe a lot of caution should be exercised before advocating the use of toxic, nasty, soluable chemicals in your fuel...

You never know there may be a reader that works in the printing industry and has drums of the stuff they throw away and is brave enough to test the stuff out....

Thank-you Captaincademan and cuppatea for posting your interesting comments. I agree Captaincademan, anyone engaged in blending or making biodiesel should most definitely wear protective gear, such as safety goggles or shield, respirator with activated charcoal cartridge, chemical apron, have a water hose under pressure and a fire extinguisher handy whenever processing fuel. That process should also be done in a well-ventilated shed or out building or outside away from buildings, because the biodiesel process has gotten away from some people, exploded and caused severe burns on major portions of the operator's body and set the house and even neighborhood on fire. However, there is no report yet of a blender having the same accident.

cuppatea is correct, there are people who are engaged in industry or research who have access to large quantities of a wide range of solvents and/or oils, who are in a position to recycle these materials which could serve to prevent them from contaminating the environment through disposal, when they could be burned as fuel.