Aluminum reactor tank

[Prickle Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prickle]

Hi

Is there are any issues using a aluminum tank as reactor ie does methoxide react to / with aluminum or even BD.

As aways

Stuart

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

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

DON'T us aluminium. The caustic used will eat it away.


Simple experiment. Coke bottle, add 1/2 litre water, add some caustic, then add some aluminium foil. Stuff from inside the top of a cigerette packet would do.
In no time it will be all eaten away. The little bubbles that are given off are hydrogen.

[Prickle Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prickle]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Opps ... of course dam .. forgot about the caustic soda

... found a lovely aluminum tank

Thanks Qwarla

[kamel Member Find all posts View Profile Close kamel]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Old hot water systems or the larger gas bottles aren't too bad.

Saw a 5 foot gas bottle at the recyclers at the Margate tip today.

Would have grabbed it if I'd had the 4WD.

[Prickle Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prickle]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Old hot water systems or the larger gas bottles aren't too bad.

Saw a 5 foot gas bottle at the recyclers at the Margate tip today.

Would have grabbed it if I'd had the 4WD.

Hmmm saw it there myself and wondered



Stuart

[kamel Member Find all posts View Profile Close kamel]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Thinking an old gas bottle is the go.

Can pressurise to allow higher temp reactions without Methoxide boiling off.

Can put under vacumn to remove methanol after reaction.


Wonder if bottles are galvanised inside or not...

Might get a smaller one to try it out.

[Westwinds Donating Member Find all posts View Profile Close Westwinds]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Gday,I have cut open 3 100 lb lpg bottles and they were not galvanized inside.regards Westwinds

[RODEONICK Too Busy To Bio. Find all posts View Profile Close RODEONICK]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

to allow higher temp reactions without Methoxide boiling off.

and what the hell would the point of that be?

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

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

and what the hell would the point of that be?

Im no expert in the field but I might venture to suggest that shortening reaction time possibly with a view to continuous flow would be the object of that exercise.

[kamel Member Find all posts View Profile Close kamel]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Im no expert in the field but I might venture to suggest that shortening reaction time possibly with a view to continuous flow would be the object of that exercise.

Bingo!!

I already do similar, but manually. Pressures are relatively low... but it doesn't take a lot to increase the usable temperature range... and a 10 - 20 deg increase in reaction temperature decreases reaction time dramatically.

[RODEONICK Too Busy To Bio. Find all posts View Profile Close RODEONICK]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

why? whats the rush? it seriously takes less than an hour.
i just can't see how the engineering will be worth the gain? maybe im missing something???

[kamel Member Find all posts View Profile Close kamel]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

why? whats the rush? it seriously takes less than an hour.
i just can't see how the engineering will be worth the gain? maybe im missing something???

One can't have something overengineered just for fun?

But seriously... a sealed unit totally contains any vapour. Predetermined level of oil + methoxide at 70 - 80 deg causes some initial, boil off, that pressurises the unit, then is absorbed back into the mixture as the temp drops.

After reacting, the still fairly hot mix in pumped into a settling tank, over a yet to be designed flash evaporator to remove the meth, which settles out in a condensor. Mix settles out in a couple of hours, with the soap falling out of suspension due to no meth.

Scoop bio off the top, already clean... no water required.


That's the plan anyway. We'll see what reality has to say about it.

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

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

After reacting, the still fairly hot mix in pumped into a settling tank, over a yet to be designed flash evaporator to remove the meth, which settles out in a condensor. Mix settles out in a couple of hours, with the soap falling out of suspension due to no meth.

Scoop bio off the top, already clean... no water required.


That's the plan anyway. We'll see what reality has to say about it.

I could be wrong, but it has been said that if you remove the methanol before you seperate the bio and glyc that the reaction will start to reverse.
So if you do it the way you propose you may be surprised to end up with UCO as your end product.
However if you seperate first then it should work no problems.

[kamel Member Find all posts View Profile Close kamel]

Re: Aluminum reactor tank

Oooh. Good point.