quote:

Originally posted by Tilly:
The SG of methanol is around 0.8 and the SG of veggie oil around 0.92

Therefore 200ml of methanol is not 20% of 1 litre Veggie oil by mass, however it is 20% by volume.

But that's my point. 200ml of methanol in 1 liter of oil is 1200ml of stuff with 200ml of methanol -- 17% methanol, not 20%.

I am getting a processor up soon, and I just need to know what works: 200ml of methanol per liter of oil, or 250 ml. Or something else?? My test batches have worked well with 220 ml, but the stuff isn't cheap.

Yes, when most people talk about the amount of methanol to use it is traditional to relate it to the amount of oil being used.

200ml methanol is 20% of the amount of oil being used and that is just how people talk with refrence to amount of methanol used when making biodiesel.

If you said you were using 17% methanol people would understand you to be saying that you use 170ml of methanol/ litre of oil, not 200ml methanol in 1 litre oil.

This way of talking has become an acccepted way of talking and everyone understands it.

Now you do too.

Properly made biodiesel using 20%= 200ml mthanol/ litre WVO works fine. So does 25%= 250ml methanol per litre WVO.
Tests I have seen suggests 250ml methanol will increase the conversion over the 200ml batch by nearly 1%.

Or to put it another way, for every litre of oil you use you need 200 ml of methanol.
regards
dva

I appreciate the information. I come from an engineering background, I'm sure that's what was confusing me. Thanks.

I have just had a skim read through this thread and it is very comprehensive about the art of biodiesel making, particularly in the first few pages. One small point was not mentioned however regarding yield. There are claims of 103% being achieved. This is certainly impossible with properly washed and dried biodiesel if measured by weight. It is not impossible if measured by volume however as the density ratio of veg oil to esters is about 0.92 to 0.88.

I just finished making my first batch of BioDiesel using the Dr. Pepper technique last week, and although at room temperature I did not get the fuel to be perfectly clear, from everything I read online about the fuel, I decided that there was no real harm done to try and use in the car.
I think what I did wrong in making the fuel is that I separated the biodiesel from the byproduct too early, and perhaps I did not keep the bottle hot enough during the reaction. I later read you should perhaps wrap the bottle in a towel to keep in the heat.
Regardless, the thin layer of biodiesel I left in another bottle with the byproduct cleared up perfectly.. it was only that fuel that I took out and put in another bottle that remained slightly cloudy.

In any case, I waited for my car to get down to approx 5 Litres of fuel, and poured in the biodiesel. I was amazed at how quickly it made a difference. By that I mean, by the time I drove from my house to my office, about 15KM, my car no longer put out the noxious smell that normal petro diesel sends off. The smell was actually quite pleasant, and I wasn't sure if it was coming from the car until I leaned down to the tailpipe to check for sure.

I'm looking forward to setting up an appleseed system in the near term!!

ThnkBig

welcome to the forum and congrats on making and using your first biodiesel fuel, of course you must realise that your life is forever ours now! if the thin layer of biodiesel you left in another bottle with the byproduct cleared up perfectly then then stuff you used probably just needed more settling time,

best wishes for further batches and making your processor, keep us up to date with your progress..

Chug

Hello ThnkBig, congratulations on your first batch of biodiesel!

Another Satisfied customer!

Makin biodiesel is so easy it should be illegal.

Only another 53,458 litres to go before you start paying royalties.

I strongly recommend that you wait until the Biodiesel is crystal clear before using it (Although Dhill of the World Famous Flat Stick Technique (Pat Pend) does not.)

Good Luck and keep us informed.

Guess what I made for today for the first time.
3 liters of emulsion.
1 liter of biodiesel.

Once I wash the last liter, it will probably be an emulsion too. The first couple of washes go fine. The third through the fifth are when I get into trouble. I guess I’m mixing a little to rough. I’m going to try making some more this weekend and figure it out. If I don’t succeed, I will start bothering the hell out of ya’ll to figure this out. I’m using new oil, and the correct measure of methanol/lye. I’m getting good glycerin separation. I have not checked on the amount. I wonder if it could be that I’m using the Diet Dr. Pepper method instead of the Dr. Pepper method. I do have one question though. Is it as easy to make an emulsion with bubble washing or mist washing as with the DPM of washing?

Justin

Hello jhijxf564

Congratulations on your first successful batches of biodiesel.

The shape of the Diet Dr Pepper bottle has been scientifically optomised for biodiesel production.

What method are you using to wash, the World Famous Dr Pepper Wash Technique (Pat Pend)
My limited experience with bubble washing suggested that bubble washing was more likely to form an emulsion than mist washing.

The emulsion will probably break if you pour it into a pan and heat to around 100deg C.

Yes, I'm using the WFDPWT. I did heat one of the batches and it sepertated. When I poured it back into the DDP bottle it mixed back up. I poured the glycerin from another batch into the emulsion and it broke up some of the emulstion. The last batch is the one I'm betting the farm on. I think I might be getting into a hurry and shaking up the wash a little to soon. You can guage my success by my next post. If it's a question I lost the farm!

Justin

hi your post are very interesting ! you seemed to have expriced alot ! I was wondering when you wash do u use like a home depot mister and is it held 12 inches above you wvo oil and maintain this distance ! then when you dewater it do u just pump off the top ! after it has set for a couple weeks ?

Hi,
Am trying my hand at BD from Sri Lanka. Have done 3 batches as of now. 1st batch was 1 litre of new veg oil, 3.6 g NaOH and 200 ml methanol in a blender. Result was 3 layers. Dark layer at the bottom (glycerol?) hard colourless layer next(Soap?) and BD. To getrid of the layer of soap I tried the next litre with 3.4 g NaOH and 210 ml methanol and it worked. 3rd Batch was with used veg oil which was dark in colour. Titrated and added a gram to 3.5 g (4.5g) and used 210 ml methanol. There is seperation but the end product is still very dark in colour. It has to be held up to the window to see through or a light has to be held from the other end of the glass jar. How can I improve on this and how best to determene quality?

regards,
arittha.

Hi Arittha

welcome to the forum, I have just made some very dark biodiesel myself, because the feedstock was very dark, it will lighten a little when I wash it but it is nothing to worry about, there are not really any home tests for biodiesel quality but you can get a good idea by putting some in the fridge/freezer, also you can do some viscosity tests, search for Dr Pepper Viscosometer (Pat Pend) using the find function at the top of the page.

Chug

Hi Chug,

Thanks a lot. read a lot of the letters in the forum and learnt a lot. Will go through more letters and conduct more experiments.

Arittha.

quote:

Originally posted by Chug:
Hi Arittha

welcome to the forum, I have just made some very dark biodiesel myself, because the feedstock was very dark, it will lighten a little when I wash it but it is nothing to worry about, there are not really any home tests for biodiesel quality but you can get a good idea by putting some in the fridge/freezer, also you can do some viscosity tests, search for Dr Pepper Viscosometer (Pat Pend) using the find function at the top of the page.

Chug

Dr Pepper Switches to biodiesel!

The oldest Dr Pepper bottling company in the world, Dublin Dr Pepper, is converting over to Biodiesel!

And for something interesting, type biodiesel dr pepper into google and see what comes up.

I can see a need to open up another numbered Swiss Bank Account!

i just mixed my methoxide into the veggie oil and shaked vigerously.. it did not turn a dark milky color but more of a light yellow.

what has happened? i put 250 ml of methanol 6 grams of lye and added to 5 degrees C veggieoil then shaked vigerously for 10 seconds.

could the methanol of been bad? i got it from my chemistry teacher. or could i have mixed it at the wrong angle or somtheing (joke)?

DonTSA,
Re...added to 5 degrees C veggieoil

That should be 55 degrees C,
regards
dva

Don,
Welcome to the forum.
You will find most the the answers you seek in the Find / Search function.

Yes, 5°C seems a little cool for making biodiesel

it is 55 degrees celcius..can someone tell me what went wrong