I titrated my first batch of WVO today and got a titration of 6.5ML for what I think is good clean oil... golden in color, even in the 35lb cubie. I know the restaurant changes their oil every 2 weeks and doesn't use it much compared to most places. I preheated to settle out excess water so I don't think there's any water in the oil. It's clean and fresh oil and I got a tiration reading of 6.5 ML. Then i checked the well used oil from another place that's more black in the 35lb cubie. That titrated at 20 ml.

the "bad" oil was higher, but the better oil still titrated at 6.5 ml. Based on that I did a Dr Pepper Test batch with the "good oil" and it settled beautifully. the stuff on top is just a touch cloudy, but still a very nice golden color. Bottom layer is darker and very defined transition point with no "extra" line in there.

I was expecting the bad oil to titrate about 10 and the good to tirate near 3 ml based on everything I've been reading and numbers I've seen for most titrations... what's up here? Am i doing something wrong? What's the best way to check my test batch and see if everything reacted as it should?

If the bad oil is really accurate at 20 ML what do I do to process that effectively?

thanks

If you think your oil should titrate lower, make a new batch on titration solution and recheck it.

For oil that titrates above 6 ml NaOH, you would be better off doing an acid/base process. You will get better conversion and less soap. You can check on the Acid Esterification side of the forum for good information on how to do this process.

If it titrates lower than 6, I would probably do a glycerine pretreatment, but if this is your first run glycerine pretreatment is out of the question.

Double check your titration solution and then check for repeatability.

OK AE 2 step process.. nothing like jumping in full force huh?

I did a 3/27 test on the bio made from the "good" oil and it didn't settle at all. A little cloudy- but no settling which is good. So I'm guessing the titration was correct? I haven't remade the titrating solution yet but will try that as well.

And speaking of the glycerine pre wash/ pre treatment (whihc I plan to do)... does that remove all the methanol from the glycerine? Or after the pre-treatment do I still need to de-meth the glycerine before neutralizing the lye and disposing?

You can get someone on the AE forum to hold your hand through the process. They are all very helpful over there.

Glycerine pretreatment transfers some of the methanol to the oil, so there is still methanol present in the glycerine afterwards. You will still need to demeth. Build a condensor and reclaim it.