>Upon looking at the reaction of NaOH and methanol I realized that one >equivalent of water is a yield of the reaction. Will this interfere with the >tranesterification reaction? I thought that I read water wil cause >saponification. > >Thanks, >Bobby Clark
If you looked at the messages I reffed in my previous response (below) you'd see it just decreases yield slightly. It's part of the reaction. It's important to keep any extra water out of the reaction, so you use pure catalyst and pure alcohol and dewater the oil if necessary. Besty wishes Keith >Hello Bobby > > >Does anyone have a printable MSDS for Sodium methoxide solution in methanol? > >I am having my first go at biodiesel this weekend and want to be as safe as > >possible. > > > >Thanks, > >Bobby > >I don't think you'll find one. You'll find MSDS for methoxide powder >and for sodium methylate, which are both sodium methoxide but not the >same as you'll be making. > >See: > >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg33399.html >Re: [biofuel] Methoxide Powder > >http://sustainablelists.org/pipermail/biofuel_sustainablelists.org/200 >5-August/thread.html#2803 >The Biofuel August 2005 Archive by thread >Biofuel] Sodium Methoxide MSDS (Sodium methylate) > >Anyway I don't see how an MSDS would be much help to you. This might >be more helpful, from a previous message debunking someone talking >nonsense about methanol: > > >"Methanol is also a very active chemical against which the human > >body has no means of defence. It is absorbed easily through the skin > >and there is no means of elimination from the body, so levels of > >methanol dissolved in the blood accumulate." > > > >Total crap. Try this: > > > >"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 > > > >Other authorities concur. > > > >You can see why I find it difficult to get the the end of it. We've > >hardly begun, but would you buy a used car from this man? > > > >"Caustic soda is also not a very nice chemical and can cause > >irritation and serious burns." > > > >Indeed it can, but it's nonetheless a common household item sold in > >supermarkets and hardware stores, as is methanol, which is quite > >often to be found on dining tables being used as a fuel for fondues > >and Korean barbecues and so on. > >And being used as fuel in boys' model aeroplane engines. > >Not to underplay the hazards of methanol, but there are people who >overplay it for their own reasons. > >See: Safety >http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html#safe > >Best wishes, good luck, let us know how you get on > >Keith _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
