Hi,
I'm thinking about learning to regenerate some of my Purolite.
I understand the methanol flushing,
But how will I dry it out/remove the methanol.

Maybe spread it out on sheetmetal in the sun?
If so, how long? I dont want too much exposure to humidity.

Do any other home brewers do this?
And how many times can this be done before depleting the qualities
of the resin?

TIA
Brian

I am not so sure you will be able to pull it off. I think you will have to return it to Purolite and let them regenerate it for you.

Legal or GCG might have better advice.

Weldshop.. after the methanol wash, can you not then flush with finished biodiesel?

Yes,
There is plenty of biodiesel here.
Maybe run bio backards to the wash/settling tank and demethylate it again?
Sounds like it's worth a try.

I only have about 6 pounds of it in my bag filter housing.
I think I sent soapy wet bio thru it in a previous batch.
That batch was re-water washed this weekend, and I have 55
gallons of wvo on deck, settling next to the processor.

Also, I dont think the bag filter idea is very efficient as
biodiesel can escape high in the filter lessening the residence time.

I have a 4" steel column in construction, just need mesh to finish it out.
Biodiesel will then have to go thru all of the resin the exit the column.

I only got a 5 gallon bucket full (30-40lbs) of the resin.
Not sure what a hastle it would be to send it to Purolite.
If I can regenerate it at home, it would last along time.

Thanks for the replies.
Brian

Brian,
I flushed my Thermax with methanol. Took 10 gallons til it ran clear. Then everybatch I processed after that I would use 1 gallon of the dark soapy meth so that it got used.

After I was done with the meth flush then I did flush it with BD. This is what the arbor fuels video I had watched instructed to do. For me personally the sitting it out in the sun etc is to much work.

I just took the suction side hose on my metering pump, put it in my bucket of methanol and ran it at 4 gallons per hour..

Lisa

Ok,
Thanks Lisa,
Very helpful. I'll try it. It's only a 6 pound test run.

Brian

I am still on my first beds of resin (although that may change soon) and I don't plan on regenrating it. Purolite claims it can be safely composted, although obviously any methanol present would have to be removed, so where it can be pulled off it is my opinion that tossing it in a drum followed by a lit match should take care of it quite efficiently, and then you can esily compost or toss the residuals. You have to determine if it is worth the extra time and energy to do it or not.
A regeneration will not bring the resin back to 100% usability or make it like new again, it will simply extend it's life a bit longer.

Of course using biodiesel to remove the excess methanol once it has been flushed would entail demething the biodiesel by distillation otherwise the exercise is moot. I have neither the time or inclination to do it, however I do have another lot of resin waiting in the wings for when I do need to do a swap.

Brian,

It is not as easy as a simple methanol flush. You are dealing with a gel type resin. Thermax is a macroporous polymer. It doesn't swell up like Purolite. You can send it back to have it regenerated or you can toss it or maybe you can figure out how to make it work.

My advise is to either buy Thermax or maybe rely on the wood shavings treatment alone. The only reason I use Thermax now is because I have it.

Euro,
My Thermax swelled up to more than half of my column. Should it not?
The methanol flush worked for me but I do agree it does not return it to 100%..

Here is from Arbor Fuels and Utah Bio pertaining to Purolite

How Do I Maintain The Resin? (Resin Clean-out)
The most common way to maintain your resin is by flushing it with methanol. To do this, ABC recommends the resin column be filled with methanol until it completely covers the resin bed. After the column is filled with methanol let the resin bed soak overnight (12 hours). Then slowly pump methanol through the system until you've pumped approximately 5 vessel volumes through the column.

This "flooding with methanol" technique allows the glycerin and entrapped soaps that have been absorbed by the resin bed to be flushed out by re-dissolving them into methanol and moving them away from the resin beads.

Initially when flushing the impurities out of the resin bed, the outlet methanol will be dark brown or at least very cloudy with these impurities until the column is totally flushed. Once the beads are totally flushed, the methanol will be clear. At that point stop the flushing and allow all the remaining methanol in the column to drain out. It may be best to let the unit drain overnight to ensure as much methanol as possible to be removed.

How Do I Remove The Excess Methanol?
At this point the resin beads are still holding methanol and should be "dried" before reusing the resin. Arbor Biofuels Company recommends drying the resin beads by using one of these three options:

1- Flush With Biodiesel
The methanol in the resin bed can be flushed out by pumping Biodiesel through the column, however, the Biodiesel used to flush the column will need to be demethylated before being used.

2- Remove Beads And Air Dry
The beads can be removed from the vessel and air dried. To do this, carefully remove the beads and place on a flat surface and allow to dry. Sunlight and a fan will greatly speed up this process. When the resin beads are dry they can be re-installed in the dry wash vessel and Biodiesel processing can begin again. CAUTION! If this method is used, be sure to air dry the resin beads in a well ventilated area to avoid excessive methanol fume buildup.

3- Air Purge The Beads
A dry air or gas purge system can be used to force dry the methanol out of the resin beads.


I want to try the Dwr-10..

quote:

Originally posted by biogirlz:
I want to try the Dwr-10..

I read the DWR10 website a few times.. the best part about it seems to be the price. Do you know if there is any differnce between the dwr10 to purolite/amberlite?
I tend to think its in the same bag.. any reason why you wanna get dwr10? just to try something new?

I havent read many posts from people here using it.. would definitely be interested to here feedback on it

Lisa,

quote:

My Thermax swelled up to more than half of my column. Should it not?

I don't know what that means. The swelling of Thermax is hardly noticable until it starts absorbing the glycerin & soap. They say allow for up to 50% expansion in the vessel. So if the vessel was 2/3 full it could expand as much as the extra 1/3. Gel type resins expand at a much higher rate.

The instructions for the methanol flush appear to be for the macroporous type resin. I have never seen Arbor demonstrate how to flush Purolite. If I had some, I would probably give it a try, but expect not to have good results. I think the beads need to be reionized (if there is such a word).

The neat thing about Thermax is I think you can treat it with sulfuric acid to recharge it, but that is further down the road. It isn't necessary until it stops working.

Thats about what mine did swell.. 1/3 of the vessel. T thought it was half but I looked last night to see what I originally did. I am not an expert on the purolite. Never used it. I just got the instruction from both the websites listed above.

I just assumed if they say it can be rejuvinated by meth flush then it could.. If its really not good to do then I certainly would not waste the methanol..

quote:

I tend to think its in the same bag.. any reason why you wanna get dwr10? just to try something new?

Just mostly because of the cost and you can buy it in smaller portions. Also it also absorbs water and the others do not..

both purolite and amberlite absorb water as well.. they are marketed as dessicants..

"PUROLITE® PD 206 has a high loading capacity to adsorb free glycerin and trace methanol and water"
from the website..one of the benefits of gel resins.. if ur BD is too wet your resin will be saturated with water very quickly and not absorb the glycerine..

but yeh dwr10 is a lot cheaper..