Brent,
First we've heard of adding methanol to break an emulsion. But then
again, anything hydrophillic, if it works. Congratulations.
You are aware, however, that methanol boils at 145*F? You were very
close to having instantaneous vaporization when you added it. Hopefully
you're working with a sealed reactor with an appropriately sized vent to
the exterior of your work space. If not, a few more degrees could have
been disastrous beyond your belief.
As for the thin layer? Chances are more than good that it's soap. This
seems to happen more often with the use of sodium hydroxide than with
potassium hydroxide.
The suggestion would be to isolate a sample of the fuel without this
component layer and conduct a sample washing to see if your emulsion
reoccurs. It's as safe a bet as any that it will, indicating that your
reaction didn't reach sufficient completion and it's partially reacted
glycerides that are causing your emulsion. If so, you'll need to conduct
another transesterification to complete the reaction prior to washing in
earnest.
Todd Swearingen
Brent S wrote:
Just a note from my last post. I took the temp of my failure to 140F
and then had a brainwave to add more methanol. I added 4 liters to the
45 gallons. I had almost imediate separation down to about 4 from the
top. A thin layer also was floating on top. Any ideas?
Brent
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