Hello Todd
Thanks for the help everyone. I wasn't aware that the wash tank
should also be sealed.
Closed, with a vent to outside while the tank's filling.
I thought most of the methanol went out with the glycerine drain.
Most does, the rest is in the biodiesel. The warmer the fuel the more
the methanol will fume.
Are other people using a sealed wash tank?
So is anyone recommending a virgin reprocessing like JTF suggests?
Why not? It's bound to tell you something useful.
Will a complete wash (until water is clear and ph neutral)
... or pH the same as your tap-water.
remove all of the unreacted contaminates (glycerides, methanol, lye)?
Not necessarily all the glycerides.
Why don't you try Jan's recent suggestion too?
http://sustainablelists.org/pipermail/biofuel_sustainablelists.org/200
5-August/002500.html
[Biofuel] Quality Test
Or:
http://snipurl.com/gzty
For some perspective on methanol toxicity:
"Methanol occurs naturally in humans, animals and plants. It is a
natural constituent in blood, urine, saliva and expired air. A mean
urinary methanol level of 0.73 mg/litre (range 0.3-2.61 mg/litre) in
unexposed individuals and a range of 0.06 to 0.32 µg/litre in
expired air have been reported...
"The two most important sources of background body burdens for
methanol and formate are diet and metabolic processes. Methanol is
available in the diet principally from fresh fruits and vegetables,
fruit juices (average 140 mg/litre, range 12 to 640 mg/litre),
fermented beverages (up to 1.5 g/litre) and diet foods (principally
soft drinks). The artificial sweetener aspartame is widely used and,
on hydrolysis, 10% (by weight) of the molecule is converted to free
methanol, which is available for absorption...
"Elimination of methanol from the blood via the urine and exhaled
air and by metabolism appears to be slow in all species, especially
when compared to ethanol. Clearance proceeds with reported
half-times of 24 h or more with doses greater than 1 g/kg and
half-times of 2.5-3 h for doses less than 0.1 g/kg...
"The minimum lethal dose of methanol in the absence of medical
treatment is between 0.3 and 1 g/kg."
Also:
"Many national occupational health exposure limits suggest that
workers are protected from any adverse effects if exposures do not
exceed a time-weighted average of 260 mg/m3 (200 ppm) methanol for
any 8-h day and for a 40-h working week."
From: United Nations Environment Programme / International Labour
Organisation / World Health Organization: International Programme On
Chemical Safety, Environmental Health Criteria 196 - Methanol
http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc196.htm
Sure it's poisonous, a lot of things we use all the time are
poisonous, treat them with care and respect, but there's a certain
amount of fear-mongering about methanol (especially by SVO people).
"The minimum lethal dose of methanol in the absence of medical
treatment is between 0.3 and 1 g/kg."
That's at least half an ounce, or up to three ounces, rather more
than a quick whiff, and if you can get to a doctor fairly quickly
that's not much of a problem either.
Anyway methanol exposure is easily avoided.
Best
Keith
Thanks,
Todd
On Aug 16, 2005, at 11:03 AM, Greg and April wrote:
I have made soap before, and it sounds like the what soap smells
like before the lye has completely reacted. Any possibility that
you have an un-completed reacted BD?
Greg H.
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Todd Hershberger
To: <mailto:Biofuel@sustainablelists.org>Biofuel@sustainablelists.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2005 8:22
Subject: [Biofuel] emulsion wash test
<Snip>
Is that just smell of unwashed biodiesel with contaminants?
Thanks,
Todd
Todd G. Hershberger, CTS
ITSMedia - Goshen College
574.674.2149 - Pager
574.535.7735 - Work
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