HI

New to this, so Hi everyone. Hope you can help.


Don't know what the answer is......







Anyone have an idea as to what the "snowflakes" are floating around.

Thanks for your time and input.

What is the liquid?

If I let my hummingbird feeders go too long that stuff grows in them. You're not making hummingbird food biodiesel...are you?

No kidding this time. Really, what's the liquid?

I figure someone spit in the methanol. Old greasers trick to make better bd.

The liquid is finished, reacted biodiesel.

The oil we start with is usually new (although once used sometimes) and this is more or less it's normal colour.

Well i never seen bio that clear looks choice, i have never seen flakes that large, but then again my bio is amber at best so you would not see that. Wonder if it could be hmp fats right on the temperature cusp? what temp are those samples at? very puzzling

Temp at the time of pic?

bio from new oil doesn't even look like that, But it looks like soap? are you using naoh? What is the feed stock? Tom

What type of oil for feedstock?

quote:

Originally posted by Crowley:
HI

New to this, so Hi everyone. Hope you can help.


Don't know what the answer is......







Anyone have an idea as to what the "snowflakes" are floating around.

Thanks for your time and input.

That's not biodiesel.

I've seen that kind of thing in water, usually something trying to become a viable lifeform or two.

If the pictures you had posted were actually biodiesel, many easy (possible) answers would already have 'surfaced' on this forum, such as: fats with higher melting points, soap, FFAs, etc.

That they haven't 'surfaced' begs the question: what is this stuff in the photo?

quote:

Originally posted by Raften:
Temp at the time of pic?

As far as I can remember it was late afternoon and the temp was about 18 celcius. I'll take another photo, noting the time and temp.

quote:

Originally posted by Biotom:
bio from new oil doesn't even look like that, But it looks like soap? are you using naoh? What is the feed stock? Tom

I am told that it's Soya based Vegatable oil, new and normally used for the manufacturing of frozen Beef Burgers for the supermarkets.

quote:

Originally posted by clean and green:

quote:

Originally posted by Crowley:
HI

New to this, so Hi everyone. Hope you can help.


Don't know what the answer is......







Anyone have an idea as to what the "snowflakes" are floating around.

Thanks for your time and input.

That's not biodiesel.

I've seen that kind of thing in water, usually something trying to become a viable lifeform or two.

If the pictures you had posted were actually biodiesel, many easy (possible) answers would already have 'surfaced' on this forum, such as: fats with higher melting points, soap, FFAs, etc.

That they haven't 'surfaced' begs the question: what is this stuff in the photo?

Sorry, but not exactly sure how to respond to this one. I can take as many photos as you like of this stuff and it usually always looks like this. I can video it being poured into my truck and used if you like.

How you can make a diffinative statement such as this, having never spoken to me, never seen how it's made and certainly never taken the time to find out if Biodiesel can look like this,
and then imply that I'm some how trying to pull a fast one, seems just plain rude and unfriendly............


I can most definately assure you it is Biodiesel. It's normally made in batches of 180 litres, mixed with 36 - 38lt Meths with something like 1050-1100 grams NaOH, depending on titration. The new stuff titrates at about 0.8 so is rounded to 1.0 and a base of 5g.

It's then washed and dried and transfered into 25lt barrels and left to sit ready for use.

We have tried to work out what it is, but have now had a number of batches with this in. The Bio has been filtered to 1 Micron, but to no avail.

When heated, the whole batch will go crystal clear, but then, as it cools down reverts back to having the "snowflakes" as per the photos.

The fact that no one seems to know what the stuff could be is also beginning to astound me. Surely I'm not the only one in the whole of the Biodiesel making fraternaty that has had this stuff appear.

Which leads me to posting the photos in the hope that someone else recognises the "snowflakes" and can help me with some constructive and well informed possibilities for me to explore.

Crowley,

If it is Biodiesel and I have never seen colorless BD before, the suspension is probably gel. The oil has a high gel point. Just a guess.

I wonder what color Crisco or coconut oil would be if converted to biodiesel.

the fact that it is just on the edges where the glass is cooler and the appearance makes me think its high melt point fats or waxes. How it gets into brand new oil, dunno. Maybe from the pressing process. That looks like some primo fuel though. On your final wash, how do you tell the bio layer from the water layer if they both look that clear?

Crowley, you have to understand that no one has ever seen bd that clear before. I may have missed it but does your fuel pass 3/37, and what happens when you do a fridge test?

quote:

I am told that it's Soya based Vegatable oil, new and normally used for the manufacturing of frozen Beef Burgers for the supermarkets.

I am thinking it is more than likely Safflower or subflower oil to be that light, and the flakes, tallow; it's been in contact with "beef burgers".
My .02

It has to be either tallow or soap.

quote:

Originally posted by Crowley;
How you can make a diffinative statement such as this, having never spoken to me, never seen how it's made and certainly never taken the time to find out if Biodiesel can look like this, and then imply that I'm some how trying to pull a fast one, seems just plain rude and unfriendly............

Unfortunately there seem to be several people on this forum who fall into that category.

Your snow flakes are probably methyl stearate or glycerol monostearate. At what Temperature do they disappear?
Just a small point on methyl stearate. It will be present in every batch of biodiesel. Whether or not it will crystallize out depends on the proportion, higher in tallow, lower in veg oil, but always present.

quote:

Originally posted by Raften:
Crowley, you have to understand that no one has ever seen bd that clear before. I may have missed it but does your fuel pass 3/37, and what happens when you do a fridge test?

Sorry, didn't mention it, we do the 3/27 test on it and it passes OK.

quote:

Originally posted by Legal Eagle:

quote:

I am told that it's Soya based Vegatable oil, new and normally used for the manufacturing of frozen Beef Burgers for the supermarkets.

I am thinking it is more than likely Safflower or subflower oil to be that light, and the flakes, tallow; it's been in contact with "beef burgers".
My .02

We did think of tallow, but the photos are of new oil and so we can't quite figure it out.

quote:

Originally posted by Eurocab:
Crowley,

If it is Biodiesel and I have never seen colorless BD before, the suspension is probably gel. The oil has a high gel point. Just a guess.

I wonder what color Crisco or coconut oil would be if converted to biodiesel.

It is Bio, but the photos don't really do the colour justice. It does have a very pale colouring to it.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin Gray:

quote:

Originally posted by Crowley;
How you can make a diffinative statement such as this, having never spoken to me, never seen how it's made and certainly never taken the time to find out if Biodiesel can look like this, and then imply that I'm some how trying to pull a fast one, seems just plain rude and unfriendly............

Unfortunately there seem to be several people on this forum who fall into that category.

Your snow flakes are probably methyl stearate or glycerol monostearate. At what Temperature do they disappear?
Just a small point on methyl stearate. It will be present in every batch of biodiesel. Whether or not it will crystallize out depends on the proportion, higher in tallow, lower in veg oil, but always present.

Not everyone has fallen into that catorgory.... ;-)

But now your way over my head.... If these things are pesent, how do I minimise them ?

quote:

Originally posted by fabricator:
It has to be either tallow or soap.

Ok then......

Tallow (not really sure about that one), Gel or Soap seem to be the most likely culprits...


Help me understand .....

1. how are they made ? - We thought we had the process sorted,

2. How do we get rid of it/them ?