Loading...Brian’s Morning Newsletter for August 24th 2009
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Good Morning
We have a lot going on up here and as soon as the coffee begins to wake me up I’ll start telling you about everything.
With the spontaneous and miraculous revival of my work vehicle the 1986 Isuzu Trooper turbodiesel I have been instantly thrown back into the biodiesel game. Thursday or Friday I don’t recall which, I ordered 55 gallons of methanol, it’ll be delivered to Pendleton Oil & Gas in Vegas Tuesday or Wednesday. I’ll need to get the little 55 gallon drum hauling trailer ready to go; one of the new 12 inch tires I put on it last year never did seal properly, but I never had the time to return it to Duran’s A1 Tire Shop to diagnose. Perhaps now would be a good time, but this is what I mean. We have a whole-nother set of projects mostly minor, like the tire to work through to get the biodiesel processor back up and running after almost a year of disuse.
I had just removed the 1 7/8 inch ball from the Trooper, swapping it with the 2 inch ball from the Blazer to haul dad’s little trailer. Now the Trooper is back and I’ll want the ball back where it was. The threads on the 2 inch trailer hitch ball didn’t survive the removal, so I need to deal with that one way or another although not as soon as getting either a second 1 7/8 inch ball for the Isuzu or swap the old one back. The Trooper doesn’t have the power to haul a big trailer so the smaller size ball has always been well sized. Thankfully I was able to put all thoughts of balls aside and get into the critical aspects of getting the bio-shed back online so I can make some biodiesel as soon as the methanol comes in.
Thank goodness I cleaned the processor thoroughly after shutting it down last Fall. It only took a little garden hose action to clean the accumulated grime blown in on the New Mexico winds to get the processor and wash tank looking pretty good. Next, on the hit list was the floor, besides the fact that the shed had accumulated a small amount of junk since its disuse, the floor was covered in little bits of junk spilled from trays and boxes over the last couple of years. Mostly our backyard varmints realize the shed is no place for them to play because of the fairly toxic nature of processing waste vegetable oil into biodiesel.
However with the shed acting only as a shed for the past nine months a few squirrels and field mice gave the shed a romp or two, knocking even more supplies off the shelves and onto the floor. After four years or is this five years of making biodiesel, the floor is pretty sticky. Not so sticky as to trap the little varmints in the goo unfortunately, but for sure with the bio-shed open to the elements on one side, plenty of pine cones and pine needles are stuck down to the floor amongst the screws and little pieces of trash. Needless to say, the floor took an hour or so to square away, but it is done and I feel good about the progress.
This weekend I figured I needed to brush up on biodiesel theory, and see what if any new developments were being done in the field. First thing I noticed is that the inventor of the Appleseed processor (see image above) Girl Mark is nowhere to be found on the Internet. Last I heard she had picked up Lyme’s disease working on the east coast as she had moved to West Virginia from the Bay Area in California. The last time I posted one of her stories found on her site: www.girlmark.com/blog/ Diary of a Mad scientist, she was undergoing interferon treatment. Surviving the treatment is often nearly as bad as surviving the disease. I hope she is alright even though her webpage is down.
Much of the time I spent at my old favorite biodiesel forum http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums was less than informing. I found a lot of bickering about Ford diesel injectors over another auto manufacturers, totally boring, when I was last there at that forum I had my work cut out trying to convince members that American diesels wasted too much fuel already and just because they could burn their own fuel they didn’t need to waste fuel by modifying the onboard truck computer to add unnecessary horsepower over fuel economy. Grrr, waste not want not, is how I was brought up. Anyway that discussion pretty well confirmed what I had heard that the Ford 6 liter diesel blows through fuel injectors at $200 a pop about every 50,000 miles, and there are eight of them.
So I posted one thread from the biodiesel forum because they talked about a new to me device called a two stage Eductor. I don’t know much about the eductor, but it has to do with washing raw biodiesel without using water. So, yeah, I’m interested. I’ll be posting more information and pictures as I learn how the eductor is used
Pictured above: a two stage eductor
The other project which comes to the forefront of projects I can think about now that the trooper is back is the stucco project for the new shop. I spent a little time on Sunday fiddling around the exterior; picking up the odds and ends which have already accumulated there since Early Winter when wentertaine decided that the shop was a shop and we ought to get busy using it as such. Jackson is the inspiration for covering the exterior walls before another Winter can weather the wafer board we’ll need to decide whether to use tar paper or go the more modern route and use a building wrap such as Tyvek. Personally I don’t care about the modern building wraps, they aren’t all that great and plain old style tar paper lasted well enough for weather proofing during the last century.
There it is, I hope this is way more information than you planned for this morning. We got to keep our synapses firing. Use em or lose them, that’s what I heard.
I have a big day ahead doing Wifi installations in Rociada and I need to move all the tools and gear from the Blazer back into my restored Isuzu Trooper.
Like I said, busy busy here
Sincerely,
Brian Rodgers
BIODIESEL & SVO DISCUSSION FORUMS
Thinking of NOT washing the BD…
RAMSKI
Member
Posted 31 May 2009 11:16 PM
Howdy – I’m completing my apple-seed processor and gearing up to do my first batch of BD. So far my equipment includes a processor but NOT a wash tank. Due to lack of space and other reasons, I’m thinking of not washing it initially. I’ve seen a video of a guy reacting his fuel and letting it sit for 4 weeks until all the soap drops off and then filtering it and putting it in the car (TDI).
I have an ’85 MB 300DT. What are my options if I decide not to wash it – all advice/opinions are welcome. BTW – I plan on using KOH in my reaction.
THanks,
Jamesi
BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO
edudcator
Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo
Registered: 07 October 2004 This Post
Raften
Member
Posted 31 May 2009 11:47 PM
If you end up not washing beware in using it in the VP44, they can be problematic just using diesel let alone with something that might be loaded with soap. I have been puting my faith on well done BD to prolong my pump’s lifespan. I’ll bet the MBZ would have no problem.
I have let BD settle for over a month and gotten very little fall out but I never took steps to get rid of the methanol.
Location: SF Bay Area | Registered: 02 September 2005 This Post
Ignored post by Raften posted 31 May 2009 11:47 PM Show Post
PwrStrk6spd
Member
Posted 01 June 2009 12:35 AM
quote:
Originally posted by RAMSKI:
Howdy – I’m completing my apple-seed processor and gearing up to do my first batch of BD. So far my equipment includes a processor but NOT a wash tank. Due to lack of space and other reasons, I’m thinking of not washing it initially. I’ve seen a video of a guy reacting his fuel and letting it sit for 4 weeks until all the soap drops off and then filtering it and putting it in the car (TDI).
I have an ’85 MB 300DT. What are my options if I decide not to wash it – all advice/opinions are welcome. BTW – I plan on using KOH in my reaction.
THanks,
James
The washing/not washing debate has been thoroughly answered here on this forum. If you want to burn this for fuel in your vehicle, then you MUST, I repeat MUST remove the Methanol and Lye/Soap from the biodiesel or you risk damage to your fuel pump, injectors, and engine. If you just plan on using it to fuel your next campfire, then knock yourself out.
Since you mentioned that you lack space, then might I suggest an alternate method to cleaning the biodiesel other than washing and drying. For the soap to be removed without water, practice has shown that you must remove the methanol, then the soap can either fall out or be filtered out. I recommend removing the methanol with Graham Laming’s simple and effective design venturi and condenser/still. I use a still to recover methanol on every batch. A great side effect to condensing the methanol is that you get to reuse it if its pure enough. . Then finally remove the soap with either a drywash media or a centrifuge filter.
Water washing is not the only road to paradise when it comes to washing biodiesel but it is probably the easiest and least expensive up front. I say up front because the cost of water and time are the trade off. The centrifuge filter uses no disposable media. A great resource for purchase and info on centrifuges is here. They have a series of youtube videos that I recently discovered here.
I hope that helps. It’s not impossible to implement a methanol recovery setup, especially if a bonehead like me can do it on the first try. I made it out of parts from Lowes and it works great!!
Welcome to the world of biodiesel. Once it’s in your blood, it’s hard to get out.
Cheers,
PSD6
Location: Little Elm, TX | Registered: 12 December 2007 This Post
Ignored post by PwrStrk6spd posted 01 June 2009 12:35 AM Show Post
RAMSKI
Member
Posted 01 June 2009 01:10 AM
I found several articles on Gramm’s design – which one is current/recommended to follow. Thx
BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO
Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo
Registered: 07 October 2004 This Post
Ignored post by RAMSKI posted 01 June 2009 01:10 AM Show Post
Jon Heron
Member
Posted 01 June 2009 09:45 AM
quote:
Originally posted by RAMSKI:
I found several articles on Gramm’s design – which one is current/recommended to follow. Thx
The push/pull is GL’s latest design. Look in the equipment section for a very long post all about it…
Jon
Location: Wellington County, Ontario Canada | Registered: 07 February 2008 This Post
Ignored post by Jon Heron posted 01 June 2009 09:45 AM Show Post
RAMSKI
Member
Posted 01 June 2009 09:34 PM
Regarding a centrifuge option, I watched some of the videos on-line but couldn’t figure out if it’s necessary to first evaporate the methanol from the ‘raw’ bd first and THEN use the centrifuge to filter out the remaining suspended soap from it, or if can all be done in one step?!
Thanks,
James
BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO
Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo
Registered: 07 October 2004 This Post
Ignored post by RAMSKI posted 01 June 2009 09:34 PM Show Post
Reece123
Member
Posted 02 June 2009 12:56 AM
quote:
Originally posted by PwrStrk6spd:
PSD6
Good find on the centrifuges. Ive never heard of PA Biodiesel Supply before.
thanks
Registered: 02 March 2009 This Post
Ignored post by Reece123 posted 02 June 2009 12:56 AM Show Post
Raften
Member
Posted 02 June 2009 01:19 AM
Ramski, search for Fabricator and read his notes on ‘fuging to remove soap. He is the resident expert and has taken it to a new level.
edit, Fabricator
Location: SF Bay Area | Registered: 02 September 2005 This Post
Ignored post by Raften posted 02 June 2009 01:19 AM Show Post
Reece123
Member
Posted 02 June 2009 01:24 AM
quote:
Originally posted by RAMSKI:
Regarding a centrifuge option, I watched some of the videos on-line but couldn’t figure out if it’s necessary to first evaporate the methanol from the ‘raw’ bd first and THEN use the centrifuge to filter out the remaining suspended soap from it, or if can all be done in one step?!
Thanks,
James
Even if you fuge your soaps out of your BD, ya still going to have to demeth your BD before use..BD and methanol are miscible at a certain ratio, hence 3/27 tests. If they were immiscible like glycerine and BD then fuge would work well – but theyre not. You really wanna recovery your methanol, it reduces your input costs nicely.
Registered: 02 March 2009 This Post
Ignored post by Reece123 posted 02 June 2009 01:24 AM Show Post
biogirlz
Member
Posted 02 June 2009 04:26 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Raften:
Ramski, search for Fabracator and read his notes on ‘fuging to remove soap. He is the resident expert and has taken it to a new level.
except you need to search "fabricator" if you want to find his thread. He has a new one right now on the general side..
Lisa 2006 Ford F250 6.0L Powerstroke with 12 inch lift
Location: TX | Registered: 20 August 2008 This Post
Ignored post by biogirlz posted 02 June 2009 04:26 AM Show Post
jamesrl
Member
Posted 03 June 2009 06:10 PM
Water washing bio is now a thing of the passed on this side of the pond.
We now demeth the whole batch, NO prewash, based on the stoichiometric measure, 12.5% of the wvo/uco.
To make it simple, If you had a 100gall batch and used 22gall of methanol you can recover 9 1/2 gals at 98%pure.
Transfere the bio to an open top drum and force air through it at a fairly high volume for a couple of hours, most of us now use 70ltr/min Koi aquarium pumps, this is to drive of the last of any remaining methanol.
Leave to settle for 12-24hrs and it’s ready to use, just run it through a 5 micron filter for peace of mind.
As no water is used there’s no mayonaise and because the methanol is no longer in the bio the soaps fall out of solution in no time.
My personal record from WVO/UCO to bio to the car and driving away is 7hrs.
Location: Suffolk, UK | Registered: 08 November 2006 This Post
Ignored post by jamesrl posted 03 June 2009 06:10 PM Show Post
biogirlz
Member
Posted 03 June 2009 07:50 PM
James most will tell you I just spent alot of money on my truck for doing it that way and not letting it settle long enough. I demethed and ran it thru my Thermax tower.. I was unaware of the fallout when you demeth like that.. I think it settled around 48 hours and then into my truck.. the soap continued to fall out for even the next few days in my tank and caused a fuel pump failure, clogged regulator and 1 injector bad. Not saying it would happen to you but it did me. The nice people on the forum explained that I really needed more like a week to let it settle since I used KOH and demethed..I now how gone back to water washing and then the Thermax after I dry as a polish..
Just curious.. are you passing all your soap test?
Lisa 2006 Ford F250 6.0L Powerstroke with 12 inch lift
Location: TX | Registered: 20 August 2008 This Post
Ignored post by biogirlz posted 03 June 2009 07:50 PM Show Post
Reece123
Member
Posted 03 June 2009 08:01 PM
James demething the whole batch dont you get back reactions?
Registered: 02 March 2009 This Post
Ignored post by Reece123 posted 03 June 2009 08:01 PM Show Post
jamesrl
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 06:54 AM
Hi Reece, My last batch had a very small reverse, I now do a 5/45 test. The test before demeth was good the second, after demeth showed a pinhead size reverse. Having said that I’ve used poorer conversions in my car before with no adverse affects.
I’ve been running 3 engines on B100 for 2 years one of which is a commn rail, without ANY problems, filters, injectors, tank pumps or hi-pressure pumps.
I have never water washed 1cc of bio, just demethed and settle, it’s only 3months since I put a filter on the settling tank..
Biogirlz, are you not aware of the 50/50 soap test. How do you quantify the soap content of your bio. Of course you’ll get soap dropout in your tank if you put soap laden bio in.
How good was your demething, what percentage of the batch did you get back, did you do a prewash settle and drain down the glycerol then demeth or was it a whole batch demeth, did you work to the stoichiometric measure?
Location: Suffolk, UK | Registered: 08 November 2006 This Post
Ignored post by jamesrl posted 04 June 2009 06:54 AM Show Post
PwrStrk6spd
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 01:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by jamesrl:
Water washing bio is now a thing of the passed on this side of the pond.
We now demeth the whole batch, NO prewash, based on the stoichiometric measure, 12.5% of the wvo/uco.
To make it simple, If you had a 100gall batch and used 22gall of methanol you can recover 9 1/2 gals at 98%pure.
Transfere the bio to an open top drum and force air through it at a fairly high volume for a couple of hours, most of us now use 70ltr/min Koi aquarium pumps, this is to drive of the last of any remaining methanol.
Leave to settle for 12-24hrs and it’s ready to use, just run it through a 5 micron filter for peace of mind.
As no water is used there’s no mayonaise and because the methanol is no longer in the bio the soaps fall out of solution in no time.
My personal record from WVO/UCO to bio to the car and driving away is 7hrs.
My old friend Jamesrl…
Please enlighten us yanks on this side of the pond. What is UCO? I’m not familiar with this abbreviation.
What kind of lye are you using? I can’t imagine that NaOH would be a good candidate for this process because it would settle in the bottom of your tank and harden if it gave it a chance to cool (ask me how I know). Maybe you are using NaOH and you haven’t found it to be an issue.
So let’s say that you demeth the whole thing, glycerin and biodiesel. It’s still mixing or stirring or pumping. You shut off the mixing and allow separation but you probably don’t let it sit there overnight. You drain the glycerin as soon as you have adequate separation. Then you transfer it over to an open top tank where you bubble the heck out of it for 2 hours. Then you let it settle and filter it. Let me know if I’m missing something.
I think I remember Graham Laming posting something about adding in a small amount of acid to neutralize and halt the reaction so he could demeth the entire batch. Have you tried this and found it to be unnecessary?
Location: Little Elm, TX | Registered: 12 December 2007 This Post
Ignored post by PwrStrk6spd posted 04 June 2009 01:42 PM Show Post
jamesrl
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 02:09 PM
How strange that UCO is new to you, I got it off this forum, it’a Used Cooking Oil the same as WVO Waste Vegetable oil.
I use NaOH lye, once the methanol is removed Glycerol/Soap dropout happens in minuites, Chug has a video of the settling speed. I think it was a 4ltr sample, it settled in 6 mins, for a 150ltr batch an hour is ample and 99% of soap and glyc will have dropped out.
We haven’t heard of any of any adverse effects caused by the method.
Yes Graham does use HCL to neutralize the lye prior to whole batch demeth, as soon as I can get hold of the acid I’ll be giving that a go.
For those who haven’t seen it here’s my prototype 2 stage Eductor, this is the one that did the 35min reaction
Location: Suffolk, UK | Registered: 08 November 2006 This Post
Ignored post by jamesrl posted 04 June 2009 02:09 PM Show Post
jdoughy
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 02:21 PM
Ok, we’re totally off topic. But that eductor is effing cool! Never seen one like that before, but it makes sense. Care to share calcs with us?
Registered: 03 June 2008 This Post
Ignored post by jdoughy posted 04 June 2009 02:21 PM Show Post
RAMSKI
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 03:37 PM
quote:
stoichiometric
Boy oh boy… stoichiometric, 50/50 test, Eductor… I see I got some reading to do… Smile
As I read the posts above, one thing seems to be getting more clear to me and that is: water washing may indeed be a thing of the past and that there are now better methods for finishing the BD, so that’s exciting! There are obviously many, many paths to follow in refining the raw product, so at this point I’m really confused on all the choices I should make, so need a little help shaking it all out, please.
Once the reaction in appleseed is complete, I was originally thinking of performing a popular pre-wash with 10% of hot water to stop the reaction – that step may be in question now that I read the posts from jamesrl above… let’s leave that one open for now.
I know I have to provide adequate settle time for the glycerol to fall out to the bottom following the reaction (say a couple of hours) and then drain the glyceral out of the bottom of the reactor into a tight container. That’s clear, but I’m a little confused on what to do next and how I should best proceed with methanol recovery in my space. I guess my goal would really be to remove as much of the methanol from the raw BD as possible in the simplest possible way. Need your help deciding on the proper steps to take in achieving maximum de-mething with minimum investment in equipment (and of course safety).
I’ve read much about boiling out methanol out of BD batch by heat and vacuum and it’s an appealing solution (though a little scary.. Smile Question here: could I leave the ‘raw’ BD in the apple-seed after draining the glycerin and just start heating it up again (say 140-155F) and then start applying the vacuum to get the methanol to boild out of the liquid, and recover it using a version of a still (plumber’s delight, or some other coil)?! Is that a good option or is that too dangerous?! Seems a little scary to tell you the truth.
The other option (by jamesrl) of blowing a lot of air though the BD seems like an attractive option as well. Could that be done in the appleseed, or must it be done in a separate vessel?!
Thanks again -
BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO
Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo
Registered: 07 October 2004 This Post
Ignored post by RAMSKI posted 04 June 2009 03:37 PM Show Post
PwrStrk6spd
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 04:36 PM
quote:
Originally posted by RAMSKI:
quote:
stoichiometric
Boy oh boy… stoichiometric, 50/50 test, Eductor… I see I got some reading to do… Smile
As I read the posts above, one thing seems to be getting more clear to me and that is: water washing may indeed be a thing of the past and that there are now better methods for finishing the BD, so that’s exciting! There are obviously many, many paths to follow in refining the raw product, so at this point I’m really confused on all the choices I should make, so need a little help shaking it all out, please.
Once the reaction in appleseed is complete, I was originally thinking of performing a popular pre-wash with 10% of hot water to stop the reaction – that step may be in question now that I read the posts from jamesrl above… let’s leave that one open for now.
I know I have to provide adequate settle time for the glycerol to fall out to the bottom following the reaction (say a couple of hours) and then drain the glyceral out of the bottom of the reactor into a tight container. That’s clear, but I’m a little confused on what to do next and how I should best proceed with methanol recovery in my space. I guess my goal would really be to remove as much of the methanol from the raw BD as possible in the simplest possible way. Need your help deciding on the proper steps to take in achieving maximum de-mething with minimum investment in equipment (and of course safety).
I’ve read much about boiling out methanol out of BD batch by heat and vacuum and it’s an appealing solution (though a little scary.. Smile Question here: could I leave the ‘raw’ BD in the apple-seed after draining the glycerin and just start heating it up again (say 140-155F) and then start applying the vacuum to get the methanol to boild out of the liquid, and recover it using a version of a still (plumber’s delight, or some other coil)?! Is that a good option or is that too dangerous?! Seems a little scary to tell you the truth.
The other option (by jamesrl) of blowing a lot of air though the BD seems like an attractive option as well. Could that be done in the appleseed, or must it be done in a separate vessel?!
Thanks again –
Stoichiometry- calculation of the quantities of the reactants and products in a given reaction.
I remember this subject in High School. Basically, by performing a mathematical practice to the chemical reaction we want to perform we can calculate exactly how much of "A" and how much of "B" is necessary to carry the reaction of given quantity of "C" (WVO) to completion without wasting the reactants (methanol and lye) or having leftover A, B, or C. Said another way, how much of each is required for perfect balance without waste. That’s great for theory. Theory tells us that we need about 12.5% by volume of WVO of methanol. For 100L of WVO, we will consume 12.5L of methanol. BUT practice has shown that 12.5L isn’t enough to carry a consistent full reaction because the Glycerin soaks up Methanol as the reaction progresses. SO, we super saturate the reaction with excess methanol of about 22% by volume of WVO to get a complete reaction with very little unreacted WVO left over. Then we can "reclaim" the excess 12% of methanol to reuse by distillation of the biodiesel and glycerin.
The practical application of safely removing and capturing methanol has been done even by a bonehead like me.
The Graham Laming method of using a venturi and a water-cooling condenser works very well for me. I use it for every batch. It has since been surpassed by his push/pull design in terms of improving reclaimed methanol purity. What either method accomplishes is the same. Remove methanol. With methanol absent, the excess soap/lye will fall out of suspension in the biodiesel fluid and is not removable by a method OTHER THAN WATER WASHING. Settle, sock filter, drywash medium, or centrifuge. It’s totally up to you and your goals.
Location: Little Elm, TX | Registered: 12 December 2007 This Post
Ignored post by PwrStrk6spd posted 04 June 2009 04:36 PM Show Post
RAMSKI
Member
Posted 04 June 2009 06:33 PM
quote:
The Graham Laming method of using a venturi and a water-cooling condenser works very well for me.
Yeah, I’ve been looking at GL’s Push-Pull design processor and I have to tell you – I don’t think I can do that… I’m sure it works great, but it’s just too complicated for me…
Maybe I will look at his ‘eco processor’ design… see if I can adapt my junk to it – I’m frustrated and discouraged.
BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO
Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo
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something else to think about..
what’s the micro rating of our filters..the Md and cummins? I ask because… wife bought an ’06 liberty(33kmiles)..after a couple of filter we thought the system would be clean..a couple of filters more…not good.they’re not cheap..I should mention that ther’re also 3micron…oops…I was filtering to 5..not less.. got a ’99 dodge with a Vp 44..yep several filters in it, but the last one has lasted the longest..changed just after using the 2 micron filter at the end of the process.. SO what are you going to filter too? what are you requirements?? On your dodge do you have a fuel pressure gauge?? if not GET ONE!!!! lets see $50 or less verse spending 1000-1500( if you change the VP yourself)..you decide..no saying a fuel pressure will save you VP but keeping the PSI over 10 should help. -dkenny ’84 bluebird school bus, DD8.2L turbo |
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yes I am very aware of the 50/50 shake test.. weird thing is after it went thru the Thermax it passsed and at that point should not have had any soap. I did not learn til later if you use KOH and demeth then it takes a lot longer for fallout. I do not recover my meth..it evaporates. I did prewash, then dried and circulated for hours to demeth before running thru the drywash… I just never had the goopy dark dark soap fallout before.. using virgin oil it was never that dark, but it sure did a number on my truck.. I learned my lesson and changed my process.. |
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Has anyone tried heating up raw BD in their appleseed after settling and draining the glycerol?! I wonder if it would be safe to heat it in the same appleseed to say 160-180F?
BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo |
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Dude, you NEED to read www.graham-laming.com like 10x. There’s so much info and experience that you haven’t been exposed to yet. Yes you can heat it in the water heater. That’s part of the methanol recovery stage. Heat, mix, vacuum, condense. If you want pure methanol, limit the temp to around 155F. Build a plumbers delight condenser and contact Jamesrl about fabricating a venturi for you. Read read read. Most of your questions have been answered here and your future questions will already be presented and answered too.
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I have been reading GL’s post(s) – each one is well over 30 pages… needless to say it takes time to study and digest it all. From what I’ve read he uses Appleseed-like device to react and a SEPARATE vessel for de-mething and reprocessing…
That’s great if he’s got the room for it and the equipment… I don’t, so I’m trying to figure out how to adopt my appleseed to his method without having to scrap what I have or without having to build a dedicated de-mething device like he has (at least in the plans that I saw). I’m just asking some questions as I go in hopes of adopting my rig the best way that I can, so please… BD-maker wannabe… Denver, CO Vehicle: 2002 Dodge RAM with Cummins Turbo-diesel; 1985 MB 300D Turbo |
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Nope. React and demeth in one vessel. Settle out soap in a different vessel. If you want an all in one solution, get the BioPro.
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He uses a single reaction vessel in both the GL-1 Ecoprocessor and the Push/Pull processor. He does have a separate settling tank, which everyone has anyway. It really doesn’t take much space. |
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yep, all in the same tank. works great. thought would recover more methanol but not complaining. Anyway as others stated, there are good instructions on the GL eco processor. We did add a step of adding 1st run glycerine from the previous batch, which reduces the titration…
2003 Ford Excursion 7.3 |
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could someone point me in the right direction, with simple steps, to react & demeth in the reactor.
I’m not (currently) bothered about recovering meth yet, I need to get the demeth process correct first – I tried it in a seperate vessesl but got ‘back reaction’ I think I heated the bio up too much for too long – so I also need to know the temp & time for demething…… I tried water washing my second batch, but it completely immulsified, but that was simple to sort – 3ml salt in 25 litres of warm water did the trick in less than 6 hours. Thanks for the info on this forum. |
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Smitty,
If you are emulsifying that easy are you passing the 3/27? It shouldnt be that bad if you are. If you are going to demeth and using KOH make darn sure you understand the later soap fallout and let it settle for quite some time or you will end up with soap in your tank even if when you dry it the BD looks great… |
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Member |
Sometimes if your a little heavy handed on the catalyst you can run into problems washing..
To answer this thread tho my last batch after demething, I then left the bubbler on for at least 24 hours? not touching the bottom of cone bottom tank. Switched off. Came back the next day and my soap titration was only 0.2mL of HCL so approx 60ppm. Shakem test had crystal clear water. Also sandy brie water test was well under 100ppm water (due to excessive bubbling). I Was really surprised with the quality and I hadn’t done any washing techniques. Today I put thru my purolite to further increase quality and for piece of mind with final product. But I can see how some people can get away with no washing just settling and final filtering. It takes a little longer not washing but seems to work fine |
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Hehehehe, look at those registration dates, 2008, 2009 these people are a bunch of newbies. I really do need to get back in there and give them some old timer advice, don’t you think?
Brian
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