Used oil ester is always darker than new oil ester. But perhaps this explains why my acid-base batch gave poor miles per gallon. I used loads of methanol, but it was a dark colour. Maybe I did not use enough base catalyst.
Or maybe I over-did the acid stage. Does anybody have any timings for the acid stage based on feedstock titrations. Last time we discussed, Alex had not had any oils of various quality to test. Dave --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >You could test for specific gravity (use a hydrometer) > >, viscosity, gel points (temp at which it starts to > >solidify), or flash points. > > > >All of these need to be (about) right for an effective > >fuel, and are easy to test for. I got a catalogue for > >a schools chemistry supplier - they have all sorts of > >cheap(ish) meters - tho we haven't tried em yet - > >they're called Philip Harris and the phone no. is 0870 > >6000193 (UK only ). If you say your'e a school they'll > >sell you chemicals (yuk yuk) > > > >john > > Aleks lists a few useful tests, here, see "Quality": > http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_aleksnew.html > > Also this, from Aleks: > > There is a rule of thumb: the brighter yellow in color, the better > the crack. As a standard you should take virgin sunflower oil yellow > color in see through sunlight. (it's a sort of colourometry)Then take > a glass jar of the stuff and place it in front of a white wall in the > evening. When seen in reflected light of a tungsten bulb it should > not change to orange (a very simple case of absorbtion spectrometry). > > 1.Nicely cracked bio : very pale yellow (less than virgin sunflower > oil) and no change in color with artificial lighting > 2.Acceptable bio : yellow like virgin sunflower oil or straw, but will > get orangy undertone in reflected tungsten light > 3.Deeper color diesel has a lot of glyc in it in form of various > glycerids. Not good for standard engines. > > Remedy: If the diesel is too dark and you are sure that you used the > correct quantitie(s) of catayst(s), add a pinch more of alcohol. Can > be that you are loosing it due to evaporation. (it's getting quite > hot in Slovenija) > > Best > > Keith Addison Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://www.webconx.com/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm 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/
