Hello all, first off i have been reading quite alot the posts about making BD from WVO & i am in the process of starting to make my own processor, the process as far as i understand it could be something like this,
1-sieve the big lumps out of the WVO
2-heat the WVO to 130f & turn on the pump
3-add the methoxide slowly & hold at 130f for about 1hour then turn pump & heater off
4-leave overnight & drain off glycerin,
5-add 5% water & turn on pump for about 15mins & allow to settle & drain off water
6-reheat biodiesel to 70c to remove any water/methanol (LID OPEN ON PROCESSOR)15mins & allow to cool,
7-pump through filters down to 5 micron & check finnished BD.

my question is how many filters should i use to get to 5 micron , is it better to have 4 or more filters from50-5 micron ,or use 1 & change the elements from 50 micron down to 5? i'm just curious how you guys do it.

Hhhold,
Steps 4 and 5, You do not drain off the glycerine when doing the 5% pre wash and it is not necessary to wait overnight to do it. The 5% prewash can be done right after processing is complete. 15-20 minutes recirc is what is commonly agreed upon. THEN you drain the glycerin and water.
6-You can then do a complete wash. Some don't, I always do.
7-15 minutes at 70 degrees is not long enough to dry wet BD. Spray drying is good (fast) or just let settle for a couple weeks. Use ONLY crystal clear BD! Cloudy or hazy BD still has water in it. I run it through a 5 micron filter before it goes into the vehicles tank. You don't need progressive filters with BD, most of the particulates settle with the glycerin and the rest is taken out with the wash process. HTH

ok then so is this more like it?


1-sieve the big lumps out of the WVO
2-heat the WVO to 130f & turn on the pump
3-add the methoxide slowly & hold at 130f for about 1hour then heater off
4-add 5 % water for prewash for 20mins
5-drain off glycerin & water
6-add 10% water & pump for 20mins & allow to settle
7- drain off water when settled
8-reheat biodiesel to 70c to remove any water/methanol (LID OPEN ON PROCESSOR)1 hour using pump & spray into top of processor & allow to cool,
9-pump through 5 micron filter & check finnished BD.
thx for your reply Joe_M

I would amend #2..

"2-heat the WVO to 130f & turn on the pump"

The heater should never be on BEFORE the pump is turned on. It's good practice to have the oil flowing before ever turning the heater on.

hhhold,
Where did you come up with step #6? After draining the water/glycerin from the pre-wash, you would do a mist (spray) or bubble wash. Adding a lot of water to raw BD and turning on the pump runs the risk of making an emulsion, especially if you have high titrating oil and made a lot of soap.
#8 the methanol is removed with the mist wash. After washing the BD it looks like orange juice and milk. That is wet BD. Soap and methanol should be gone by now. Heat and spray drying is one way to dry it, but it will take longer than an hour.
You're welcome.

ok thx GunDr, i'll amend 2- so pump goes on before heating element,

Joe,just bare with me please
on step 6-
from reading posts i see that others are washing the BD to remove any soap & impurities then draining the water off, i planned to have my return line high near the top in my processor to allow the fluid to fall through a numder of holes drill at the bottom of 1" pipe, the processor size will be 18"D x 18"W x 20"H so its only a small one just for my 2500lts a year i can make,so my question is are you meaning that 10% water is to much & it should be 5% wash with water instead?
Also step 8- would 2 hours be enough?

hhhold

Have you made any small, trial batches as per www.biodieselcommunity.org? It's a really good place to start and will give you a feel for the subject.

thx for your reply Paulus, i am just trying to get a understanding of what a good procedure is & trying to build a processor to suit that as i see alot of different idea's & different setups,i will try a small batch first as you sugest , i find this interesting that when you get up & running how much money can be saved from spending a little time with WVO & already stock piling just want to end up with a design that will work first pop out of the bag if possible ,

Hello hhhold

For the easiest method of making your first few minibatches of biodiesel you can not beat the World famous Dr Pepper Technique (Pat Pend)

By doing these smaller batches you run a lot less risk of creating a big mess. I was in your shoes not too long ago and it is hard to accept but you have to start off small. Get the feel of it and make all the mistakes you can. In small batches means it cost you a liter not 151 liters and a substantial amount of money. It cost you a liter's worth to learn from your mistakes. I also believe unless you have guidance don't build the processor until you know exactly what you want. Otherwise you will be building it again. Now so far as money it will be a long time before you start saving money. I got in this for the long haul but I have another year to go before I see the savings. You have the right mindset by asking, just keep at it and good luck.

Getting it right the first time out of the box is not the norm as far as I can tell. Plan on giving your first stuff to someone with a IDI motor or blend it very lean. Depends on what you want to run it in. You will find that it is more than a little work if you want to make good quanties. All this is just IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by hhhold:
ok then so is this more like it?


1-sieve the big lumps out of the WVO
2-heat the WVO to 130f & turn on the pump
3-add the methoxide slowly & hold at 130f for about 1hour then heater off
4-add 5 % water for prewash for 20mins
5-drain off glycerin & water
6-add 10% water & pump for 20mins & allow to settle
7- drain off water when settled
8-reheat biodiesel to 70c to remove any water/methanol (LID OPEN ON PROCESSOR)1 hour using pump & spray into top of processor & allow to cool,
9-pump through 5 micron filter & check finnished BD.
thx for your reply Joe_M

2-turn on pump and heat to 130 degrees
3-when you reach 130 TURN OFF HEAT!
4-add methoxide and circulate for 1-2 hours starting at 2 and working towards 1 depending on conversion results at the end of the circulation time add 5% prewash and circulate for 15 minutes.
5-settle for at least six hours then drain glycerine
DELETE SIX OR YOU WILL END UP WITH ONE HELL OF A MESS! IT IS HARD TO DRAIN WATER FROM AN EMULSION.
7-this would be the normal spot for water washing, you will NOT flash off methanol and water in 1 hour.

Quick question...what is a 27/3 test and how do I do one?

In a small cvontainer add 27 ml of methanol at close to 70F then add 3 ml of the bio you want to test, shake well for a few seconds, observe the mixture, if anything settles out you have unreacted oil in the bio, if it stays cloudy with little or no fall out you have close to passing bio, if it clears up and stays crystal clear you likely have a high conversion that will come close to ASTM quality.

i built & tested my processor & am starting to store wvo , thx for all your tips, i have also aquired a hot plate & 1.5ltr jar for a small batch, also going to try tumuric in my titration.i watched some of graydonblairs tube vids ,they are very helpful also!

Hello seth.parsons

quote:

Originally posted by seth.parsons:
Quick question...what is a 27/3 test and how do I do one?

The Warnqvest Conversion test is also called the 27/3, 3/27 test.

That's an awfully nice looking reactor, especially for a first try! Did you build the tank yourself, or convert one that was already built?

hello Wayne, i built it myself , the tank is 304L s steel which i got from a local fabrication firm, they cut the 4 sides to size for me & the lid & i cut the bottom from the left over sheet with a few cutting disc's on a grinder , i got the fittings 316L s steel from BES,used 309L stick 2.5mm ,the insulationis from a diy store , 40mm+6mm angle iron & wheels from machine mart.i have just got to make a spray bar for the 5% water wash part & it should be just about it i hope. 100ltr is about 3/4 of the height of the tank so a guess about 80ltr batch of oil possible i hope.

Hey all,
I built my own reactor out of a used aluminum pot and I've recently made an awful lot of emulsified soap. Not my aim, I was hoping for biodiesel.
I'm looking for suggestions for turning this really pretty, creamy, Frappucino looking stuff into bio-diesel. Also, I've heard that some materials just aren't good for making biodiesel. Is part of my problem the fact that I'm using an aluminum reactor vessel?

quote:

Is part of my problem the fact that I'm using an aluminum reactor vessel?

Yes, aluminum reacts with the caustic.