Strange Samples

**Macca81** · 4th January 2009, 04:54 PM

hey all,

just started getting set up to make bio with a mate, and to start with we did a few small sample batches, to sort out the amount of lye needed etc.

well, MOST of the samples did what we expected, to varying degrees. but one did something a lil strange in that it just gelled up with a tiny amount of bio surrounding it (see first pic)

it has us stumped as its right in the middle in terms of the molarity of the lye mix. if we had too little or too much it would make a lil more sense, but its smack bang in the middle (see 2nd pic)

can anyone shed some light?

note the distinct gelling (this is about a week of settling)

from left to right we have weakest to strongest lye solution. the one in question is right in the middle.

p.s. its been quite some time since this was done and the sample has started to break down but is still mostly gell

**maverick_sr71** · 4th January 2009, 08:16 PM

Did you do a titration and if so what did you come up with? KOH or NaOH? What base did you start with? Is the gelled one the correct lyre based on titration and base used?

Sorry, need more info.

**Sunshine Fuels** · 4th January 2009, 09:11 PM

Is each jar made with the same oil or differnt samples? The only time I had anything that looked like that was after making a batch on used Palm Oil in the winter when the temp got down to about 8 degrees C. When I blended the Palm Oil with other oil I had it seemed fine. But that might not be the case with your samples. Also, did you heat and mix the oil thoroughly before titrating? Apart from that I'm stumped given that the other samples seem fine.

**Tony From West Oz** · 4th January 2009, 11:38 PM

Could there have been some water in the bottle when the oil was added, causing soap production?

Happy New Year,

Tony

**joe** · 5th January 2009, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Tony From West Oz

Could there have been some water in the bottle when the oil was added, causing soap production?

Happy New Year,

Tony

That has been my experience and small amounts of bio will slowly be released from the soap.

**Macca81** · 5th January 2009, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by joe

That has been my experience and small amounts of bio will slowly be released from the soap.

that may well be the case then, because its definatly starting to release bio. the oil we used was just blended vegie oil bought from the supermarket so in theory that should be fine. and the same oil was used for each one.

we used NaOH, and we did titrate it, but i cant remember what we came up with...

**maverick_sr71** · 5th January 2009, 08:11 PM

What was your goal when you set out to do this, just curious why you were experimenting with different lyre values around the titration + base.

**Captain_caveman** · 5th January 2009, 08:52 PM

Gday
If you bought the oil at the supermarket there should'nt be any water in it, looks like you added to much lye and its gelled
thanks caveman

**Tony From West Oz** · 5th January 2009, 10:49 PM

Gday
If you bought the oil at the supermarket there should'nt be any water it, looks like you added to much lye and its gelled
thanks caveman

My point was that (if the bottles had been washed) there may have been some water remaining only in the jar for this sample, not present in other sample jars.
As the oil was from the same source, I do not see any simple explanations other than water or inadvertant excess of Caustic.
Regards,
Tony

**Macca81** · 5th January 2009, 11:24 PM

doubtfull it was to much lye, as the one at the far right had a stupid amount in it (just dumped in a shitload to see what would happen) and that one didnt gel up at all.

maverick, the goal was just to see if there is any noticable differance from having to much or to little lye mixture. give us an idea for what to look out for once getting larger scale. figure its better to cock up 250ml than 250l. didnt really want a barrel full of the sample in question