Along with my reactor, I have an Amberlite/Purolite lead/lag soda keg setup I just finished building. But all I can find is debate on the issue about how to actually use them.

Here is what I was PLANNING on doing:

* Process as normal in my Apple Turnover.
* Let settle for 2 days after last glycerin bleed off.
* Pump into elevated holding tank. (I have a standpipe in the reactor so I should be getting only the best stuff)
* Dribble into kegs at 1 gal/hr. (There are filters between each stage)

Is it this simple or do I need go out and start buying barrels and misters and bubblers and fans and a bunch more gizmos before allowing it to go through the kegs? (Which would seem to defeat the purpose of convenience, resource consumption reduction and speed)

I was about to crank this thing up....but now....

- Chris

Your setup sounds good to me. I would let the BD (after removing glycerin) settle for about a week or two. You would be amazed at how much more soap and glycerin fall out beyond two or three days settle time.

You might also want to look at what others are doing using wood shavings for filtering out the bad stuff.

Chris;
I am double settling; the first tuime is straight out of reaction and into a separate settling tank equipped with a standpipe.
Afte a minimum of 24 hours I then purge the transfer line and send the settled BD to the second settling tank where it is heated to just over 150F to get the methanol to begin evaporating. What evaporating the methanol does is release the residual suspended soaps in the biodiesel and lets it drop out. This second settling tank is also equipped with a standpipe and it is from this standpipe that the biodiesel will be pumped into the lead/lag resin tanks, after which it goes thorugh a final CAT 2 micron canister type fuel filter and either into storage or directly into the tank.

HTH

quote:

Originally posted by Legal Eagle:
Chris;
I am double settling; the first tuime is straight out of reaction and into a separate settling tank equipped with a standpipe.
Afte a minimum of 24 hours I then purge the transfer line and send the settled BD to the second settling tank where it is heated to just over 150F to get the methanol to begin evaporating. What evaporating the methanol does is release the residual suspended soaps in the biodiesel and lets it drop out. This second settling tank is also equipped with a standpipe and it is from this standpipe that the biodiesel will be pumped into the lead/lag resin tanks, after which it goes thorugh a final CAT 2 micron canister type fuel filter and either into storage or directly into the tank.
HTH

This is what I'm going to have to do. My secondary tank has a lot of glycerin in it....and I'm fearful it might have messed up my resin beds. Although they continued bleeding through till it was done.

What do you do with the junk leftover that is below the standpipe(s)? Use it as pre-wash for the next reaction? Just put it in with the next reaction? Use it to make sawdust logs? (this is what I did & they are awesome!)

Also, are you recovering your Methanol?

Thanks!

- Chris