Not being of the chemestry sciency set I figured it might be a good idea to build a glossary of terms for others like me. It could help newcomers orient themselves and read through all the data more efficiently. (how do you use the instant faces)Also common names or chemical names to find items from dealers.

lye -
svo - S traight V egetable O il?
wvo - W aste V egetable O il
Bubble Wash -
Transesterfication - Process of creating esters from oil?
Esters
Titration -
Optimal PH for Biodiesel-
TFF-
NoHo-

I am not attched to any of these if you guys want to change them. Shaun you might consider putting this on the main page when it gets done it might help alot.

KOH
NaOH
ethanol
methanol
soap
methoxide
emulsification

If somebody wants to put together a list I'm sure it can be edited here and Shaun can post it on the MauiBiodiesel website.

In the mean time look at the recipes and methods on www.webconx.com (biodiesel links). It's also worth doing a web search on "biodiesel" there is loads of information out there.

Some comments to amend to Bill's list.
The methanol one is most important you don't only have to drink it to get done in.

Saponification
The reaction of an alkai (base) with a fatty acid or ester to form soap

Optimal PH for Biodiesel
Add this... But ususally the ph of the local mains water is acceptable.

KOH Potassium Hydroxide.
Change to... Another base (alkali) used for making biodiesel. Byproducts are a good fertiliser. KOH often used with ethanol when maximum renewable energy content is required.

Methanol
I would add... A cumulative ultimately lethal brain poision. It enters the body by injestion, via respiration or absorption through the skin. Dangerous doses will build up if a person is regularly exposed to fumes or hadles liquid without skin protection.
Note: When reacted with vegetable oil, the methanol molecule is broken and attached to an ester molecule. It is no longer toxic.
Methoxide is also a major component of some paint strippers
(BTW the top fuel guys also use nitrates in their fuel to boost power)

Emulsion
A homogenous mixture of two normally non-miscible liquids such as oil and water.

[This message was edited by Dave UK on 01 December 2000 at 08:12 AM.]

obviously, i like the idea of a glossary. it should be more informative than a list of simple definitions...it should indicate how an item is used in biodiesel production, along with any safety precautions.

taxiguy suggested that at some point shaun should post the result on the main page, and that's a good idea but that puts a burden on shaun that he has not volunteered for. you know, final editing, merging stuff from many authors, etc.

one alternative is to simply post a big pile of stuff here in this corner of the discussion, but that may be difficult to reference, with one person's contribution to a given subject in one place, and an important update in another place. soon, it would be unusable.

here's another alternative, perhaps a bit dangerous, but let's think about it. let's keep the glossary in one "big post".

i will create a new user named "glossary" and i will send you the password. you log-off as yourself and log-on as "glossary" and make any changes/additions you wish to the "big post" of the glossary by simply editing the existing copy.

when someone wants to request additions to the glossary, they should simply post them here as taxiguy did earlier. when those requests have been added to the "big post", the poster should simply edit/delete his request.

when a new committer wishes to add new content to the glossary, he may simply post his additions here as a "teaser post". then one of us who has the password will send him the password by ordinary email so that he can log-on as "glossary" and merge his content to the "big post". later, he can log-on as himself and remove his "teaser post".

it's the only way i can think of that will allow us to have an "open source" document on this forum.

it's not a perfect idea, and if it really sucks, i can delete this post too...

dave, when you merge your changes, please delete my references to "dnfwts" i'm short on time.

on emulsion, do you think it makes sense to mention that the particles are larger than colloidal size? nah, that's too technical.


bill

Biodiesel - An environmentally safe, low polluting fuel for most diesel internal combustion and turbine engines, containing methyl or ethyl esters made from fresh or waste vegetable oils (triglycerides), a renewable energy source. Biodiesel is made both commercially and by hobbiests around the world. The process of making biodiesel is relatively safe, and can easily be performed by conscientious persons in small batches using materials and resources found in a typical hardware store. Substantially reduced engine emissions are experienced with biodiesel to fossil diesel ratios as low as 1:4 (20% biodiesel a.k.a B20). By retarding injection timing slightly, emissions can be almost eliminated. As Muhammad Ali (or any rapper) would say: "It's the solution to pollution."

Biodiesel Recipe - Like a recipe for making a cake, a biodiesel recipe specifies the ingredients required, and the steps for combining and processing them to make biodiesel fuel. The most common recipe uses waste vegetable oil (WVO), methanol (wood alcohol), and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) to produce biodiesel and glycerine. The most common steps are: (1) cleaning/heating WVO, (2) titration of WVO sample, (3) combining methanol and sodium hydroxide in exact amounts, (4) combining (3) with (1) and mixing at 50c, (5) waiting for separation, (6) separating the biodiesel from the wastes, (7) washing and drying the biodiesel, (8) disposing of the wastes.

Bubble Wash - A method of final washing of biodiesel through air agitiation. Biodiesel floats above a quantity of water. Bubbles from an aquarium air pump and air stone are injected into the water causing the bubbles to rise. At the water/biodiesel interface, the air bubbles carry water up through the biodiesel by surface tension. Simple diffusion causes water soluable impurities in the biodiesel to be extracted into the water. As the bubble reaches the surface and breaks, the water is freed and percolates back down through the biodiesel again.

Canola - a trademarked hybrid of rape initially bred in Canada. Rape Seed Oil was produced in the 19th century as a source of a lubricant for steam engines, and the oil has a bitter taste due to high levels of acids. Canola has been bred to reduce the amount of acid, yielding a palatable oil. Canola = CANadian Oil Low Acid. (unverified)

Esters - a product of the reaction of acids (usually organic) and alcohols. ch3cooch3 - methyl acetate is the simplest ester. one of the oxygens has a double bond. you can replace the 'ch3' part on the right with more ch2 chunks, and you get other methyl esters, including biodiesel's methyl stearate. many of the esters smell good.

Ethanol - ethyl alcohol - c2h5oh - ch3-ch2-oh = the intoxicating stuff in beer, and a good solvent. "beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy" :: ben franklin.

Glycerine - A byproduct of biodiesel production: ch2-oh--ch-oh--ch2-oh each of the "oh" sites is one of the three places where an ester is broken off of the triglyeride molecule (veg. oil).

KOH - Potassium Hydroxide. used to make biodiesel from ethanol. a metallic base.

Lye - a quaint american term for NaOH - Sodium Hydroxide

Methanol - methyl alcohol - ch3oh - the stuff they burn in top fuel eliminator dragsters and toy airplane engines. a good solvent and a component of gasahol. lethal if consumed. In biodiesel production, methanol is used to make methoxide. Methanol absorbs water from the air, so keep the container closed tightly, and purchase methanol which is known to be dry (anhydrous) or is 99.9% pure. solvent or paint grade methanol may not be anhydrous, and you will run the risk of making soap.

Methoxide - a.k.a. sodium methoxide a.k.a. sodium methylate - (Ch3-O+ Na-) - an organic salt, in pure form a white powder - In biodiesel production, "methoxide" is a product of mixing methanol and sodium hydroxide, yielding a solution of sodium methoxide in methanol, and a significant amount of heat. sodium methoxide in methanol is a liquid that kills nerve cells before you can feel the pain. rinse with water, seek medical attention immediately. also highly explosive. making sodium methoxide is the most dangerous step you deal with when making biodiesel. for this reason, you should carefully consider the safety of the design of your equipment and workspace before using, and you should wear protective clothing and a respirator when handling. you should also make only what you intend to use immediately.

NaOH - Lye, Sodium Hydroxide, Caustic Soda, a.k.a. Red Devil Drain Cleaner... a metallic base. strongly alkaline and extremely corrosive. mixing with fluids usually causes heat, and can create enough heat to ignite flammables (such as methanol), so add slowly. For biodiesel, this is one of the main reactants. Make sure you are purchasing "anhydrous sodium hydroxide." Anhydrous means it's dry, and water turns biodiesel into soap. Store this product in an airtight container to prevent NaOH from absorbing water and CO2 from the air. Store separately.

Optimal PH for Biodiesel - 7 (seven)...neutral, same as distilled water (and most tap water).

pH - (mirriam - webster) a measure of acidity and alkalinity of a solution that is a number on a scale on which a value of 7 represents neutrality and lower numbers indicate increasing acidity and higher numbers increasing alkalinity and on which each unit of change represents a tenfold change in acidity or alkalinity and that is the negative logarithm of the effective hydrogen-ion concentration or hydrogen-ion activity in gram equivalents per liter of the solution; also : the condition represented by a pH number.

Rape - Rape Seed - Rape Seed Oil - a.k.a. Cole seed. A member of the Mustard family. Any of a number of crops grown for oil from the seeds. Canola is a member of this family. Another early term for this oil is Colza. Makes good biodiesel.

Saponification - the reaction of an ester with a metallic base and water ...the making of soap.

Soy - Soy Oil, a vegetable oil pressed from soy beans.

Soy Diesel - a media term for biodiesel which accentuates the renewable nature of biodiesel. Popular in soy producing regions.

SVO - Straight Vegetable Oil - burns well in many diesels, but does not start engine, and will coke in the injectors as a hot engine cools. a separate tank of petro diesel or biodiesel is often used during starting and stopping engine, and an electric valve allows transfer to the SVO tank. See links to SVO sites at the Maui Biodiesel main page.

Titration - as applied to biodiesel, titration is the act of determining the acidity of a sample of WVO by the dropwise addition of a known base to the sample while testing with pH paper for the desired neutral pH=7 reading. by knowing how much base neutralizes an amount of WVO, we discern how much base to add to the entire batch.

Transesterfication - Process of creating esters from vegetable oil (a triglyceride), and sodium methoxide. Products are Glycerine, Methyl Stearate, Methyl Oleate, Methyl Linoleate. (assuming soy veg oil)

Viscosity - the "thickness" or "thinness" of a fluid. methanol is "thin", having a low viscosity, while vegetatable oil is "thick" having a high viscosity. (mirriam - webster) the ratio of the tangential frictional force per unit area to the velocity gradient perpendicular to the direction of flow of a liquid.

WVO - Waste Vegetable Oil - WVO is the usual starting product for the making of biodiesel. WVO may be hot-water-washed for use as SVO.

[This message was edited by glossary on 05 December 2000 at 02:09 AM.]

[This message was edited by bill on 28 December 2000 at 05:42 PM.]

Oooops! My bad!

[This message was edited by Bill 0-0 on 04 December 2000 at 11:07 AM.]

Aerosol - a dispersion of a liquid or solid in a gas.

Anhyrdous - without water, dry. Liquids and solids (powders) are sold as "anhydrous" when they have been processed to remove water from the end product.

Colloid - A stable system of small particles dispersed in something else. A multi-phase system in which one dimension of a dispersed phase is of colloidal size. Colloids are the liquid and solid forms of aerosols, foams, emulsions, and suspensions within the colloidal size class. Milk and smoke are both colloids.

Colloidal size - .001 micron to 1 micron in any dimension. Dispersions where the particle size is in this range are referred to as colloidal aerosols, colloidal emulsions, colloidal foams, or colloidal suspensions.

Dispersion - A stable or unstable system of fine particles, larger than colloidal size, evenly distributed in a medium.

Emulsification - to emulsify - to form an emulsion...as in mixing oil and vinegar in a blender. voila: salad dressing.

Emulsion - a usually unstable dispersion of two liquids which do not normally mix (they are immiscible). Emulsions can be formed either by mechanical aggitation, or by chemical processes. Unstable emulstions will separate over time or temperature, stable emulsions will not separate.

Foam - A dispersion of a gas in a liquid or solid.

Hydroscopic - a common spelling of hygroscopic (not found in any dictionary).

Hygroscopic - The tendency of something to absorb water (usually from humidity in the air). Biodiesel absorbs water to about 1200 parts per million (PPM). Methanol and NaOH are also hygroscopic. Keep containers closed.

Suspension - A dispersion of a solid in a gas, liquid, or solid.

[This message was edited by bill on 28 December 2000 at 03:51 PM.]

Excellent work. I'll put it on the Maui Biodiesel Project web site soon, if you don't mind.

Shaun

shaun,

thanks for the compliment -- go ahead and move it. it's my hope that this glossary can be a place where more than one person can contribute content, make corrections and embellishments to content from others, and help expand the glossary so it remains current in the future. for this purpose, i have created a fake user named "glossary" and i'll be happy to email the password to anyone who wants to add content. that person is welcome to pass it along further so that the glossary grows like the knowledge base here in the forum ...everyone should have equal access. i would like to see some content from others. this can be a great way for new biobrewers to get a handle on what it's all about.

maybe the easiest way to do that is to make a separate discussion out of it, and link to it from the main page.

bill: What do you think of making the glossary into a forum all its own so that you can moderate it?

I noticed that it's been completely left alone since I made the change.

Shaun

shaun,

yep, i think that's a good idea. any more good ideas? pass 'em on.


bill

PODEE : Palm Oil Di Ethyl Ester, a renewable liquid bio-based fuel, made from crude palm oil.

Well, I was wondering. if any one would object to me including the Glossary in a home page. I am working on. I feel this is a great idea and would like to thank all that have made this possable.
Regards Jophn Qld

John: Please feel free to use the glossary in your home page.

Shaun

How about these terms ?

Phytodiesel = the fuels for diesel engine made from plant oil by methods different from esterification.

Phytoleum = biofuels from plant oil.

Phytoline = fuels for gasoline engine made from plant oil.

see www.phytoleum.org (But in Thai for the time being, English version will come up later)

quote:

---

Originally posted by glossary:


NaOH - Lye, Sodium Hydroxide, Caustic Soda, a.k.a. Red Devil Drain Cleaner... a metallic base. strongly alkaline and extremely corrosive. mixing with fluids usually causes heat, and can create enough heat to ignite flammables (such as methanol), so add slowly. For biodiesel, this is one of the main reactants. Make sure you are purchasing "anhydrous sodium hydroxide." Anhydrous means it's dry, and water turns biodiesel into soap. Store this product in an airtight container to prevent NaOH from absorbing water and CO2 from the air. Store separately.

---

At the factory that I work at they use liquid Sodium Hydroxide to clean the waste oil tanks, I'd always wondered if they had made biodiesel by mistake & then flushed it down the drain, but since you say dry Sodium Hydroxide is required I guess that has never happened.

Eric78, It doesnt't have to be in dry form to be used in making BD. There is quite a lot on the forum about using aquase (?) caustic.

Regards dva

But you do need an alcohol.

You can find a good Glossary here:--

http://www.northwales.org.uk/bio-power/glossary.htm

Hope this helps.