downsized version ? You got a Winzip? I could fire them off in a matter of
minutes if you like. Let me know
Luc
PS: Congrats on getting started on your way to making good quality BD.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Guttridge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 1:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Biofuel] methanol recovery/first batch results
I did the quality test and it resulted in a milky white layer on the
bottom, a thick white layer in the middle and a milky yellow layer on the
top.
interestingly my siphoned off biodiesel separated again over the following
night into a perfectly clear yellow layer on the bottom and a milky yellow
layer on the top.
I have posted some images here:
www.lightlink.com/jonny5/biofuel/
you will have to excuse the complete lack of processing on the images, I
don't have my tools installed on the new laptop yet.
I think that you are right that I am starting in the wrong place here. I
am going to do another batch this afternoon using the pelly method and see
how it works out.
John Guttridge.
Keith Addison wrote:
Hello John
what kind of a methanol recovery rate can I expect once I start doing
that?
Depends which stage you do it at, and what you want to do with the
by-product. Easiest is taking back the methanol straight after
processing, before separating the by-product, but this is inclined to
cause a reverse reaction in the biodiesel. Still, you can get a lot back
before that happens, especially with a vacuum.
Otherwise, about 70% of the excess methanol ends up in the glycerine
by-product, and about 30% in the biodiesel. A simple condenser will get
most of the 30% back from the biodiesel without too much trouble. As for
the by-product fraction, if you have a market for potassium fertiliser
and/or industrial-grade glycerine (about 80-90% pure) which makes it
worth the cost and time, it's best to separate the by-product into it's
components first, which is hard (or impossible) once the methanol's been
removed. After separation the methanol is left in the glycerine fraction
and can be removed then. See:
http://journeytoforever.org//biodiesel_glycsep.html
Separating glycerine/FFAs
Whether separated or not not, I'm not sure how much vacuum you'd need,
but with heating alone the by-product or the separated glycerine would
have to go to about 150 deg C to get most of the methanol back. We found
it's not really economical to go much beyond about 105 deg C, which does
get a lot back, but far from all of it. A better way is to use a
thin-film evaporator, as Todd has recommended.
I got the product of my first conversion this morning and it looks straw
yellow but a bit cloudy, should I let it sit to clarify or should I wash
it?
Usually it's cloudy at first. It settles after a while. Ours is usually
clear by the next day.
will the cloudiness wash out?
Yes.
does that mean that my reaction is incomplete?
Not necessarily.
should I add more lye and methanol and reprocess?
A better way of finding that out is this:
Quality testing
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_vehicle.html#quality
should I have titrated in the first place?
Well, I'd say yes. I still think you're starting in the wrong place. Up
to you, of course.
Best wishes
Keith
John Guttridge
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