Re: 55gal processor

It sounds like you got an emulsion from mixing too much.  That is not necessarily a fuel quality problem as much as suspended glycerol which has yet to settle out.  You should not dispose of it--it will seperate into biodiesel and water layers in a few days to a couple of weeks and can be speeded up by more water washing, heat, or just time.  It is pretty normal to have a a good amount of suspended glycerol in unwashed fuel and that is what causes the emulsion.  That is why rough mixing before it has settled will cause an emulsion.  I do a mist wash of my fuel first with a short bubble wash, then drain off that water.  There is usually quite a lot of glycerine in there.  After that, I can be a little rougher without getting emulsion.

As for your processor, you will also need some sort of vent on the top to allow air to escape as you add oil, methanol, etc, to allow air back in as you drain, to allow for expansion when you heat, and to pipe gaseous methanol to somewhere other than your work space (or possibly to a distiller).  Two heating elements in 55g might be a bit of an overkill.  I have 1 220V element in a 50g hot water heater and it is FAST.

Cheers,
Brian S.

----- Original Message ----
From: Zetan Drableg <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, March 9, 2007 6:24:30 PM
Subject: [pdx-biodiesel] 55gal processor


Hello,

I'm about to build a 55gal processor and wanted to run the design past 
ya'll.

I've got a 55gal drum w/ top + ring seal.
I'm going to have a buddy weld a drain pipe in the bottom and an inlet 
pipe near the top on the side. Not using the cone
bottom design.

I'll be putting the barrel up on a stand to allow clearance 
of the drain pipe.

I'm going to get two 220v water heater elements + themostat from 
HomeDepot. Drill two holes in the sides and mount the
elements in the holes, seal & weld it up.
The plumbing of recirculation, methoxide mixing, draining, will be done
similar to the appleseed piping.

I've got two food grade barrels for storage of wvo and fuel.

Any issues I should think about before punching holes in my steel drum?

I'm still working on my 1/2 liter process with old canolda oil + KOH + 
methanol. First batch failed the wash test and turned into a white 
solution on top, dirty water on the bottom. Is there any recovery from this point 
or should I dispose of it?

People say 'wash gently' or 'mist' but it seems like those are avoiding
what is really a quality problem.

Thanks
-Zetan

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