Anybody have info on freezing oil and biodiesel to remove wax?
I just tried freezing a cubie of used oil, and the top half seemed only
slightly less viscous and waxy than the lower half. Am I wrong here? Is
wax simply an inevitable state for frozen oil? I thought I read somewhere
that you freeze biodiesel to remove wax and make 'winterized bd'.
Kenji Fuse
Hi Kenji
It doesn't remove wax, it separates out any oil that has a high
melting point, which you keep for summer fuel.
Some people find their WVO biodiesel starts to gel at around 4-5 deg
C (40 deg F). This is because any saturated fats/oils in the WVO
will crystallise (solidify) at higher temperatures than unsaturated
fats and oils and separate out, clogging the filter. That includes
tallow, lard, palm oil, etc.
To make WVO biodiesel for winter, heat the oil first, then cool it
to near 0 deg C (32 deg F); the saturated fats will crystallise out
and sink to the bottom. Use the clear oil off the top to make winter
biodiesel, keep the stuff at the bottom for summer. But even this
winterized biodiesel still won't go much below -5 deg C (23 deg F)
without gelling.
-- Winterized biodiesel
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_winter.html#winterize
Not quite cold enough here yet, I'll do it as soon as it hits freezing.
Best
Keith
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