10 year old biodiesel

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

Hi everyone.
I have/had a 20 litre drum of biodiesel that has been sitting in the shade at the back of my storage area for the last 10 years.
I have no idea what it was made from or what formula I used. It would have been water washed.
It was in a 20 litre oil drum filled to the top with the top screwed down tight.

Every now and then I notice it sitting there by itself but have just let it sit.
A couple days ago, out of boredom and curiosity, I picked it up and noticed the bottom of the drum was very rusty, no doubt due to being in close proximity to the ground for al these years.
I poured the biodiesel into a frytol pail and clipped on the lid. I noted that there was a coating of "gunk" on the bottom of the old drum.
There was no smell to the biodiesel to indicated it has oxidized.
Today, after allowing this biodiesel to settle for several days, I opened the top of the pail and this 10 year old biodiesel is bright and clear. I would not hesitate to use it in my car.
I doubt that it would pass 3/27.

I also still have the very first litre of biodisel I ever made. It still looks fine.

What is the shelf life of biodiesel?

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

Re: 10 year old biodiesel

Tilly,
it depends on how it is prepared and how it is stored I suppose.

Regards,
Tony

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

Re: 10 year old biodiesel

Tilly

I would have said a couple of years depending on the storage method and how well you prepared the fuel.
Obviously good washed and dried Bio stored in the correct container will store better than poor fuel in clear containers in sunlight.

It appears you have made some decent Bio but by the sounds of Gunk in the bottom there may be Glycerin dropout.
10 years is a bloody good effort. A recent visit to a storage on the sunshine coast proved that in excess of two years was possible.

If it smells like Biodiesel , looks like Biodiesel and works in the car then great news.

Michael

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

Re: 10 year old biodiesel

If you kept the bug out of it, kept a lid on it and kept it in a dark container, I reckon it would last as long as the container will. I cant see it degrading. even poorly made bio would continue to improve if it wasnt washed, as the residual meth and caustic will continue to react and form glycerine dropout. Joshua Tickell suggests that .25 and 4 grams of glycerine / litre will continue to drop out of the bio per year. He also says that you should fill it right to the top (as already suggested elsewhere to reduce the air/bio interface). He also reckons it can be stored indefinetly in cold cimates.

I cant see any fault with his reasoning?

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

Re: 10 year old biodiesel

Hi Cade,

If you kept the bug out of it, kept a lid on it and kept it in a dark container, I reckon it would last as long as the container will.

That seems to be the case

Joshua Tickell suggests that .25 and 4 grams of glycerine / litre will continue to drop out of the bio per year.

I doubt that is the case. Do not forget there is also a side reaction producing soap that is consuming the NaOH/KOH. I imagine the reach reaches equilibrium very quickly.
The drop out I was referring to was white, more along the lines of high melting point esters and partially reacted oil.

also reckons it can be stored indefinetly in cold cimates.

It looks like it does not need to be cold climates.

[gsmiley Member Find all posts View Profile Close gsmiley]

Re: 10 year old biodiesel

Well, I just sold a Peugeot that had been sitting for a couple years and went to siphon out the fuel - it was clear, runs the vehicle OK but the vapour in the (slimy) tank smelled like turps.

[peter1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peter1]

Re: 10 year old biodiesel

What is the shelf life of biodiesel?

I VERY recently read something from a highly respected source that indicated it should be over 10 years.

The Americans still living in America and those that go completely by what they read on forums rather than have any hands on experience or do any research for themselves, would no doubt say that you had to add a bunch of concoctions in the way of additives and enhancers etc. to get the stuff to last over winter let alone 10 winters and summers as well!

If anyone in the US had a Bio plant, they could cash in on all those " Preppers" that are busily salting away long life everything for some unknown catastrophe of unknown proportions and unknown duration.
Propane seems their pet fuel because it doesn't go off like Diesel. Now if it could be shown Bio would last 10+ years...... There are a lot of people scared of their own shadows that would no doubt love that to put 10KL of that away and fuel their " bug out" vehicles with.