I have reviewed the Quik&Dri thread and there seems to be more questions than answers. Has anyone assembled and tested a column of Quik&Dri? If so, what flowrates and results were achieved?
For a producer like myself who produces 50-100 gallons of BD per week, this material promises to help make processing more consistent, convenient, and faster. I plan to construct some prototype equipment for testing but I really don't need to reproduce work that others have already done.
I have other questions. For example the column proposed by Quik&Dri is downward gravity flow arrangement where the flowrate is limited and controlled by the material itself. You might imagine that a different column arrangement, say for instance a upperward flow pressurised system where the flow is controlled by a pump might be more consistent and faster.
Also, currently I spray dry my finished BD in a 55 gal drum. One of the side effects of this system is that any traces of soap (1-2 pints) collect on the bottom of the drum and remain when I remove the fuel. What effect does traces of soap have on the Quik&Dri system, will it collect this soap as well as the water? To spray dry BD I warm it to 55C, will I still need to warm it before processing with a Quik&Dri column?
Finally I haven't tested the water content of washed BD before drying. I test it after drying. Maybe someone has and can report typical values. Let's assume that it is 1%. This means that every 50 gallon batch has roughly a 1/2 gallon of water to be removed. How many batches of BD can be dewatered before the column must be regenerated. Is it possible that simply rinsing the column with a few gallons of methanol remove the water (then add the wet methanol to the methanol recover unit)? Or can you engineer a reverse flow warm air cycle to dry the colunm in place? How much does that cost? Well it takes about 1200 BTU per lb to evaporate water or 3.5 KwH so 1/2 gallon is 14 KwH @ $0.14/KwH or $2.00. Sustainability aside is it worth $2.00 to have an automatic regeneration cycle vs. removing the column bed and air drying?
Any comments?
And we haven't yet considered removing traces of water from the WVO feedstock.

Norm (Nebraska BioPro) & I are going to start working something up to do some testing with as well using bag filters.

We're thinking of about a 4" diameter column, bag filter on the inside (easy way to keep the QnD suspended) and sticking a gate valve down on the bottom to control the flow of the oil through the stuff. We'll post what we find.

I don't know that anyone has established a good flow rate yet. I think as long as you can keep the oil going through it for a minimum of 20 minutes resident time you're getting there (ie. all the oil should come into contact w/ the QnD for at least 20 minutes for it to suck up all the water).

That said, I'd love to hear what you find on your end as well.

-Graydon

Any updates yet ?

Hello Graydon. Looked at your QnD section in your website. Is there any experimental basis for the statement that garden maintenance products will react and break down in biodiesel? That seems to run contrary to evidence gathered here.

Also the bottom section of the MSDS seems to contradict the assurances made on this site by the repackers.

"THE INFORMATION ON THIS SAFETY DATA SHEET IS BELIEVED TO BE ACCURATE AND IT IS THE BEST
INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO COORGA INTERNATIONAL TRADING LTD. THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED ONLY
AS A GUIDE TO THE APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS FOR HANDLING A CHEMICAL BY A PERSON TRAINED IN
CHEMICAL HANDLING.

COORGA INTERNATIONAL TRADING LTD. MAKES NO WARRANTY OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WITH RESPECT TO SUCH
INFORMATION OR THE PRODUCT TO WHICH IT RELATES, AND WE ASSUME NO LIABILITY RESULTING FROM
THE USE OR HANDLING OF THE PRODUCT TO WHICH THIS SAFETY DATA SHEET RELATES. USERS AND
HANDLERS OF THIS PRODUCT SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN INVESTIGATIONS TO DETERMINE THE
SUITABILITY OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES."


How can users and handlers properly investigate a product who's exact nature is unknown and the suppliers accept no liability for?

Graydon,

Aside from the nitpicking any details on your experiments ?

PM me if you want.