Hello Tom
Have I succeeded in making biodiesel?
Yes. It's a good start, well done, congratulations.
However, there are a lot of things you don't say and that might need
attention when you take your next step. How much KOH (or NaOH) and
how you measured it, how much methanol, how you mixed the methoxide,
the processing temperature you used, how and how much you agitated
it, for how long.
I Last Fall I attended a workshop on producing biodiesel and
was given a recipe.A few days ago I decided to give it a try.
I used a gallon (3.78L) of corn oil from the market. Unable to
find any NaOH, I used KOH instead. I used plastic milk containers
for mixing, reacting, and washing. It was crude I admit,
To continue on an upward path rather than a downward one, please read
this and then just keep going from there:
Start here:
Where do I start?
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html#start
but the results are:
- 600ml clear, reddish-brown liquid on bottom
- about 3L of cloudy, golden liquid on top
I poked a hole in the bottom of the milk container and drained
out the glycerine
After several washings the golden liquid on top is now a
beautiful clear liquid.Biodiesel?
My questions:
The reddish-brown liquid never solidified, even after
refrigeration. Is it glycerine?
Partly. It's a mixture of crude glycerine, soaps (from neutralised
Free Fatty Acids), excess methanol, and the catalyst (KOH).
This by-product cocktail is very unlikely to solidify if you use
KOH as a catalyst (one of the advantages of using KOH). If you had
the idea that it has to solidify, whichever catalyst you use, you
were wrongly informed. Please see:
How much glycerine? Why isn't it solid
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make2.html#howmuchglyc
I strongly suggest you read everything on the two Make your own
biodiesel pages as well as all the further information linked from
them.
The pH of the wash water finally reached 7. However the water
is still coming out cloudy, Will the wash water ever come out clear?
Keep going until it does, and take it as further indication that it
was crude, as you say, and needs improvement.
Should I test the product in my brother-in-law's BMW?
When you've finished washing it and settling it, yes. Even if he's
bigger than you, LOL!
Best wishes
Keith
Thanks,
Tom
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~--
Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar.
Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM
~-
Biofuel at Journey to Forever:
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html
Biofuels list archives:
http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/
Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address.
To unsubscribe, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Yahoo! Groups Links
* To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/
* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
