Blending gasoline with biodiesel

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

Re: Blending gasoline with biodiesel



OK, having trouble with internet connection, so here goes for 4th time.

first photo here - 3/27 test drop out. no surprises, as I only use 3.5 grams of caustic plus titration value.

2nd photo - 0.3ml of drop out. this equates to a 90% conversion.

3rd photo - bio / petrol sample with the beejeesus shaken out of it and left for 1 hour. looking pretty precipitate free there I would say.

4th photo - same sample from different angle.

Seeing the bio I used was from the bottom of my mixer full of glycerine (you can see from the colour) probably soaps and caustic too, I would expect some drop out now anyway. nothing. will see what the next couple of days bring.

by the way - the sample has not been filtered at all. not once. not even the oil through a stocking before I brewed it. there should be food particles galore in there.

the 3/27 test, the colour and my experience would tell me that my sample is from a typical brew.

Sorry Jeffery, but its not looking good for 10:1 bio to petrol as helping to drop out any contaminants. This bio sample is about as grubby a bio sample you could get, and there is no drop out.

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

Re: Blending gasoline with biodiesel

3rd photo - bio / petrol sample with the beejeesus shaken out of it and left for 1 hour. looking pretty precipitate free there I would say.

OK, thanks, Captaincademan, for trying. However, do NOT agitate petrol blends with anything, and wait at least 24hrs for precipitates to form. If you agitate a blend it could take days to weeks for the precipitates to settle out.

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

Re: Blending gasoline with biodiesel

Hang on a tick, didnt you say a while back that if uou blend in your tank all the drop out occurs in the tank? Fuel sloshes around like crazy in a tank?? And 24 hours is ample for anything with a higher SG (such as glycerine) to fall out. I am still having trouble with your basic statements. Can you please shed some light on why you cant agitate a blend in a jar with petrol, but its ok in a cars fuel tank? This is doing my head in. I think I will stick to my proven method of settling over months before use. This thread is all yours Jeffery. I'm out.

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

Re: Blending gasoline with biodiesel

Update
This experiment is now in it's fifth day.
The level of the glycerine is still at the 8mm mark which is only about 80% of the glycerine originally placed in the jar.
The biodiesel is clear.
This indicates that about 20% of the glycerine is still disolved in the petrol/biodiesel mix

There has been some conjecture that by adding a small amount of petrol to biodiesel the petrol will "force" any remaining glycerine in the biodiesel out of solution causing the glycerine to fall to to the bottom or possibly float on top.

My preliminary testing suggests this is unlikely to be the case because both the glycerine byproduct and and biodiesel dissolve in petrol.
It is more likely that the petrol will actually act as a co-solvent and keep the glycerine dissolved in the biodiesel, not allowing it to settle out as it normally does.
So I decided to perform an experiment.

The Experiment
1. I poured recently produced room temperature glycerine to a level of 10mm into a glass jar and marked on the jar the level of the glycerine.
2. I then poured a 10%- 15% blend of petrol and washed biodiesel into the jar to bring the level of the liquid in the jar up to to the 60mm mark
3. I then shook the jar very hard to thoroughly mix the contents of the jar.
4. I sat the jar down and observed.

Results
After the first day a layer of glycerine had formed.
At the end of the second day there has been no noticeable increase in the level the glycerine has reached.
The level of the glycerine is 8mm.
That means that about 20% of the original glycerine is still in the biodiesel.
The biodiesel is fairly clear but not sparkling clear.
I will continue to observe this test over the next few weeks and report back.

Intermediate Conclusion
It does seem that the petrol is acting like a co-solvent in the same way methonal acts like a co solvent and is actually prevention the glycerine from settling out

[bet2000 Biofuels Forum Newbie Find all posts View Profile Close bet2000]

Re: Blending gasoline with biodiesel

In China, more and more methanol is added into gasoline, or even 100% used as car fuel called M100(with a special ECU to switch ejection of fuel volumes). M15, M30, M50, M85.

Biodiesel sometimes is added as content of additive, which may help to vapor lock.