well with all the good stuff i've read about naoh, i think i'll give it a try.

Now the question is do i need to make up a naoh titration solution or can i use the koh solution and just do the math?

also what is the best base # for the naoh? I have always used koh with a base of 7.5 with great results, but i know thats to high for naoh.

thanks

It is always advisable to use the same catalyst in your titration solution that you will be using for the reaction.

The base for NaOH is 5gr/Lt + titration. Some have used 5.5 and one professor has even suggested using a base of 9 (but I'm not that adventuresome). I use 5 as a base and NaOH is the only caustic I've ever used for my reactions. Very high titration oils are best dealt with using KOH.

thanks Legal,

sounds good, i just finished my GL type processor and my oil titrates around 1.2 using KOH titration solution. Im planing on doing the wood chip thing and if i understand corectley the naoh is the way to go for that setup.

also the naoh i got is little beads.(like salt size) does that sound correct? i was expecting the beads to be a little larger.

I did run two 120 liter batches with the last of the KOH i had on hand so i guess it's naoh from here on in...............

I use NaOH -mine is salt size-takes 20-30 mins to dissolve with agitation-otherwise works fine-your glyc will go solid quickly if it gets cold-good luck

Graham's GL Eco System is a net departure from what had been the norm for a very long time. In so doing he brought out the principles that enable the residual soaps to drop out of solution one the methanol is no longer present to keep them suspended. This, from what I understand, works best when the catalyst is NaOH.

This precedent is what makes demething prior to resin purification so valuable. Once the biodiesel has been separated from the glycrine layer and subsequently had it's residual methanol removed a modicum of settling will cause the soaps to simply drop out of solution. Once that has occured either water washing or resin use will be greatly simplified. In my own set up I have found this to be the case. The main draw back, if there really is one, is thathigh titration oil (not your case) will require higher amounts of NaOH and that will open the door for geling of the glyc layer. Of course recovering the methanol from the glycerine layer will cause any oil glycerine to stiffen up; it's just the nature of the beast.

Not knowing how you "wash" you may find water a little more troublesome if it is softened and cold using NaOH vs KOH, but NaOH is less than half the cost of KOH right now, so that may be a trade off. If you use resin, then demething the biodiesel and giving time for the soaps to drop out will extend resin life dramatically. The more you ask it to do the less shelf life it has.

I've had trouble with residual soaps in the past when I was switched from well water to super softened city water. Once I switched over to Purolite resin purification I have had no such troubles. It's in the methodology after reaction where the difference is.

You will find, regardless of method, that using a separate settling tank immediately after reaction greatly helps keeping the glycerine and biodiesel apart. Then that is where the two most popular methods of "washing" take different paths. Either water washing or demething would be the next steps, followed by drying in the case of water and resin in the case of demething. It's a matter or preference really (or availability of fresh water). I fell into resin by happenstance once I lost the use of well water and my need to continue processing in the colder months surfaced. The water supply gets turned off for the winter, but resin only requires a bit of heat to keep it viable, so I was able to keep going, so that now I am operational 12 months a year, and have zero waste water to dispose of.

My NaOH is salt-like as well.

HTH