Ouch. But thanks for the laugh!
Keith Addison wrote:
Hello [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I read somewhere that pure lye is not white but sort of opaque and the white
lye is not pure and you need to use more. About 25% more. Does anyone have
any information on this?
I buy lye from a soap making shop and there is no marking on the
container.
Well, you know how it is, you get little white lyes and big black ones. Sorry.
Probably this is what you read:
"Lye has a really limited shelf life: CO2 from the air neutralizes it
and forms sodium carbonate. Carbonated lye is much whiter than pure
lye, which is almost translucent. The carbonate in the lye won't harm
the reaction, but you'll have to use more lye... [Reprocessing step.]
If you plan to continue using the carbonated lye, make sure to
increase the amount by 25% next time you make biodiesel. Store lye at
room temperature, in dry conditions if possible, with the container
lid really tightly closed."
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_aleksnew.html
Foolproof biodiesel proces
It's white but the texture changes. When it's fresh it's a bit
pearly, it goes more like chalk when it carbonises, both sodium and
potassium hydroxide. Pearly-white vs chalky-white. If you let it pick
up moisture from the atmosphere it goes even more pearly, with a
moist film on the surface, then it sticks together in clumps.
Anyway it shouldn't be any bother as long as you use the same lye for
the 0.01% NaOH/KOH solution to titrate the oil you're going to
process as you use to process the oil.
Best wishes
Keith
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