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I have just tried a method suggested in this forum of bubble washing for about 48 hours, but not using any water. The other articles I have read say to add about 5% water right up to even 33% water to bio ratio. If the water is needed to bubble up and then 'draw down' the glycerin through the oil to the bottom, how does just bubbling air without any water do the same thing?Maybe a dumb question, but if it works, I like the idea of saving water. Also, I am leaving the batch I have dry bubbled for 48 hours to settle for 2 days as well. Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated, and a great Christmas to all. J
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Re: bubble washing
cant be sure because I'm not a soap molecule, but I think they bond with methanol. If the methanol is bubbled to the top with the air bubbler action and then evaporated then the soap has nothing to bond with and then falls to the bottom. I was speaking with old mate just today who swears by this method and he says there is a sludge that is drained off after 48 hours of dry bubbling. He says its dark and very solid. He says that after bubbling, then draining the tank of bio he needs a guerney (high pressue hose) to clean the tank from what the hell ever is setting on the bottom.Joe Morgan
Brisbane Biodiesel Site Admin
http://www.brisbanebiodiesel.com
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Re: bubble washing
RedOriginally posted by Red Angus View Post
Based on a 100litre batch using KOH:
No prewash no water - only water used is during soap testing.
Have bubbler 50mm from bottom of the washtank. Depending on the bubbler size you may have to bubble between 2 to 5 days. There maybe soap appear on top of bio and glycerine/soap will goto the bottom of the tank, skim and drain the soap away. I get no soap on top and only glycerol and soap mix drained from the bottom of the tank, I think this is because I keep the bubbler off the bottom.
You test that the fuel is finished when a simple soap test is done using a sample in a jar with 20% of water and a light shake. If water is clear bio is finished. it will be a matter of hours between unfinished bio and finished bio i.e. one morning the test water will be cloudy and 6 hours later clear.
NB: the fumes given off are methanol so make sure you are venting the fumes safely and don't go breathing the stuff you'll only make yourself ill. mind you after the first few hours the fume level drops off quickly. Best practice is to distill off the methanol from the straight bio (glycerol removed) first before bubbling. Keep in mind if you bubblewashed with water you are still venting a lot of methanol to the atmosphere...maybe not as much....
BTW the fuel will give your vehicle much more power/torque than conventional bio production and with next to zero water usage can only be good, also you can now use extra caustic without the worry of emulsion. I also filter to 1 micron before fuel goes into the 80.
Another point - if you use NaOH the washtank will be lined with solid glycrol and you won't be able to drain it away but instead you will scrap it off after the tank is mt'd.
Good luck isn't needed just patience......HDJ80 (aka Kiwipete)
Canberra
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