So, I'm planning on using a 55 gallon steel drum with heating band to heat up the glycerin and a insulating blanket. I'll have a reflux condensor on top for meth recovery. I want to use a reflux condensor to get a higher purity. My questions:

Will using a reflux condensor give a higher purity of methanol recovered?

What percentage of methanol do you think I will get?

Will a heating band provide enough heat for distillation?

Will this work at all, or am I just crazy?

I use a reflux condenser, but I have it turned down for minimal reflux. It appears that for methanol recovery, refluxing is not that important. You can get high 90% purity with a good standard condensing system. But, since you've got it, use it.

My recovered alcohol typically tests at 98% or better with an ASTM certified hydrometer.

I'm not sure the band will get it hot enough. I used a converted SS beer keg for the pot and plumbed in a 2000 watt 120v heating element. Recovery starts when the glycerine hits about 165* F. It is usually done just before it gets to about 190* F. I process about 11 or 12 gallons of glycerine at a time. Takes about 6 to 8 hrs to fully distill. You'll have to decide if, based on the band's wattage, it will meet these demands.

-Jay

will more watts allow me to distill faster? How would I control temperature so as not to overboil glycerine and distill impurities?

How much meth do you get from 12 gallons of glycerine? I plan on doing about 30 gallons at a time if I can.

quote:

will more watts allow me to distill faster? How would I control temperature so as not to overboil glycerine and distill impurities

Hey cfunderburn,
It is important to match your heating element with your still. Distilling faster generally means distilling with less purity. It's been so long I can't remember but I think my 30 gallons still has a 4500 watt element. I start out on 220vac and when the temperature reaches the distillation point I switch to 110 vac and let it run. If I leave it on 220 it quickly reaches a temperature that allows water to still out. Distillation is not a fast process and speeding it up just leads to disappointment.
Hope this helps.

-Mcguyver

I routinely produce 98+% pure methanol with a simple atmospheric pot still, without any reflux attachment.

There are some caveats:

1. I always test my wvo prior to biodiesel reaction, and if there is ANY water, I remove it by various methods. So, no water goes in at the begining.

2. I don't do a water "prewash" at the end of the biodiesel primary reaction. This means there is almost zero water in my byproduct. If you do prewash, you will have much more difficulty reclaiming methanol in its pure state

3. I fill my pot still about 2/3 full to prevent foaming issues and contamination of the condensate. The top third of the pot still (converted water heater) may act as a primitive reflux stage, which I do not object to since it doesn't cost me anything.

4. If you run the still too fast, your purity usually goes down, all other things being equal.

Finest regards,

troy

I have some more detailed info on my still.
It is a 27 gallon tank and the heating element is a 5500W. After several batches I finally burned it the other day so I had to find out exactly what it was. When I first blew my element I replaced it with a 4500 w element and it did a terrible job. It made a huge difference.

I can distill 20 gallons with no problem from foam. I believe it is because of the fractioning column.

BTW, the reason I burned my element is because I left a batch in and it cooled and hardened. My wife turned on the element (on 220 volts) with the intent to reheat the glycerin to get it to drain. Because the glycerin was hard it didn't flow much and so the glycerin directly by the element got too hot and the element burned up. If she had turned it on 110 volts this wouldn't have happened. Usually I just use a little air pressure to get the solid stuff out of the still.


-mcguyver