Does anybody make there own biodiesel. I have been making it for almost a year now. But now my filter on my fueling station keeps clogging and there is this white milky stuff that comes out of the filter. I think when it gets hot the white stuff just goes through the filter. Since its been cold i have been having this problem. Any ideas on what this is and how to get rid of it.
:help:

There's alot of info in the Fluids section, check it out.

And off we go!

Lots of us do... You would have to tell me more about your feedstock and your recipe.. But I have a good guess that it is quite a bit colder where you live.. Right?

You can also post your question with details over at:

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/cfrm/f/498605551

If you give more details there are several of us here at DP that will try and help.

Cheers.

Does anybody make there own biodiesel. I have been making it for almost a year now. But now my filter on my fueling station keeps clogging and there is this white milky stuff that comes out of the filter. I think when it gets hot the white stuff just goes through the filter. Since its been cold i have been having this problem. Any ideas on what this is and how to get rid of it.
:help:

Its been getting around 30 degrees at night. I have a chemist trying to figure out what this stuff is. Thanks for the link
Lots of us do... You would have to tell me more about your feedstock and your recipe.. But I have a good guess that it is quite a bit colder where you live.. Right?

You can also post your question with details over at:

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/cfrm/f/498605551

If you give more details there are several of us here at DP that will try and help.

Cheers.

There is about 25 gallons left in my tank and it isnt clear it is hazy. I just made 100 gallons and it is crystal clear. Does it matter what kind of oil i use. Sorry but im lacking details i will add them shortly. I use the titration calculator form extremebiodiesel.com I use 20 gallons of methenol for every 100 gallons of oil

If your fuel in the tank ins't clear, it needs to come out.. Our high pressure fuel systems do not like water or other contaninants. So I suggest draining your tank until you can figure out what is going on.

Try this test, take some from your tank and examine it at outside temps (30F's), take it inside and warm it to room temp (68-70F) then reexamine and lastly heat it to 100F and examine. Tell us what you see at each of the temps.

I would also do the same tests on the 100gallons that is currently clear... but also take this down to 40F and examine, then to 35F and examine. The reason, my feedstock of non hydronated soy and I start clouding at about 36-38F..


I also looked at the calculator - based on Girl Mark's recommendations and the referenced info found here
http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/titratingoil/

Your catalyst seems to be on the light side but until we know what your feedstock was, titration numbers, the catalyst you use, and how you wash and dry - we can only guess.

IIHO based on your info, you could have underprocessed fuel, fuel that isn't totally dry, or fuel that is clouding or something else..

Let us know what you find.



There is about 25 gallons left in my tank and it isnt clear it is hazy. I just made 100 gallons and it is crystal clear. Does it matter what kind of oil i use. Sorry but im lacking details i will add them shortly. I use the titration calculator form extremebiodiesel.com I use 20 gallons of methenol for every 100 gallons of oil

Did you test your oil for the free fatty acids properly. I thought I'd read that if you don't get the exact amounts for the transesterfication, you could very easily end up with cloudy fuel, which is suspended contaminents in the oil.

I would also say to get that stuff out of your tank as something is wrong with it. Now biodiesel does have a higher gel point than diesel fuel. Is it possible that it's starting to crystalize in the tank? If so, a heated fuel filter would take care of it.

I'm getting ready to make my own appleseed processor. I'm reading Girl Mark's book right now, so this stuff is fresh in my mind. Good luck with this and let us know what you find out. She recommends using 22% methanol to be sure you have enough for the process. But the lye has to be right on to make the transformation happen.

Ok I think i have narrowed it down to free fatty acids. Thanks for all your help

partially hydrogenated oils (peanut, soy, and some others) will "fall out" of suspension under cold conditions say under 40 degrees. Some people will skim off the good bio stuff off the top of tank when they dispense to allow the "fallout" to go to the bottom. Now this will happen when you have mixed oils. If one kind of oil is used, other than canola which is the best for winter bio, you will get cloudy conditions under 40 degrees. I say take some and put in fridge at the temps in your area before it goes in tank and observe how it reacts because I know how I would react if I had non cold weather bio. STRANDED and PISSED OFF ... Just my 2 cents:D

Ok I think i have narrowed it down to free fatty acids. Thanks for all your help

Poor conversion... Check for water content of your raw oil and also your titration numbers. As I pointed out above, I think your catalyst numbers are on the low side...

I would also start doing the 27/3 test on future batches.

Cheers.

I've been making biodiesel (BD) since 2002; now use a modified appleseed I built and put into a solar shed/greenhouse I also built for this purpose.
#1 - I agree on the source oil - most important thing of all for good BD, esp in cold climates. For making my BD, I only pick up from smaller restaurants that use Clear Frying Oil, no creamy shortening or hydrogenated grease as this stuff clouds, crystallizes, and plugs filters at too high a temperatrure (~40*F). Also, make sure your suppliers don't add water or fryer cleaner to their waste oil.
#2 - Get the chemistry right for known oil source - I titrated 6-7 times for my current oil supply, and haven't altered the recipe since about two years ago - it works, I get complete reaction, minimal soap/FFA, easy washing and drying (learned the hard way). 25 G oil, 5 G Methanol, 575 grams Lye. I use a 5% water prewash for 15 minutes at the end of 1.5 hr reaction time at 140*F.
#3 - Wash it completely (2-3 times at 1/3 batch size), then settle, wait...settle until clear enough to read your fuel additive directions through. When you transfer it over to drying tank, be conservative and don't transfer over ANY wash water, and any of the white layer between the BD and the water. Flush lines before settling.
#4 - Some disagree with this, but I dry my fuel THOROUGHLY by bubbling air through with aquarium bubbler and wooden air 'stone.' I bubble for 24-hrs minimum, and run the transfer pump to recirculate while bubbling. BTW, this pump runs it through a fuel filter so all fuel gets filtered multiple times, down to 5-micron nominal.
#5 - My finished fuel sits in the drier for a while (2 days-2 weeks, depending on use) and settles more, then it goes up into a 30-Gallon hopper for dispensation into 5-G Jerries, 30-G or 55-G barrels, and I never take the dregs (if there are any) from the hopper, just to encourage further settling and deposition on the plastic barrel. Then use STABIL or similar for fuel storage (BD oxidizes), and I add Stanadyne when I fuel up.

I use higher percentage blends in the summer, up to B80, and have been dropping the % as temps get colder. Overnight lows are in the 20s here, and I'm using about B35. Pictures of my processor and 'shine shed are available if anyone's building an appleseed-style processor. I've learned from a few mistakes that GIGO holds true for making fuel. And luckily my worst mistakes were on inexpensive vehicles that were very tolerant of water in fuel, or unwashed BD, or other crud. Worst result was wife breaking speaker on telephone after second time getting stranded with frozen fuel lines - nothing really beats cleaning out a diesel fuel tank and lines in 0 degree weather in December!

Welcome to DP and good writeup....



I've been making biodiesel (BD) since 2002; now use a modified appleseed I built and put into a solar shed/greenhouse I also built for this purpose.
#1 - I agree on the source oil - most important thing of all for good BD, esp in cold climates. For making my BD, I only pick up from smaller restaurants that use Clear Frying Oil, no creamy shortening or hydrogenated grease as this stuff clouds, crystallizes, and plugs filters at too high a temperatrure (~40*F). Also, make sure your suppliers don't add water or fryer cleaner to their waste oil.
#2 - Get the chemistry right for known oil source - I titrated 6-7 times for my current oil supply, and haven't altered the recipe since about two years ago - it works, I get complete reaction, minimal soap/FFA, easy washing and drying (learned the hard way). 25 G oil, 5 G Methanol, 575 grams Lye. I use a 5% water prewash for 15 minutes at the end of 1.5 hr reaction time at 140*F.
#3 - Wash it completely (2-3 times at 1/3 batch size), then settle, wait...settle until clear enough to read your fuel additive directions through. When you transfer it over to drying tank, be conservative and don't transfer over ANY wash water, and any of the white layer between the BD and the water. Flush lines before settling.
#4 - Some disagree with this, but I dry my fuel THOROUGHLY by bubbling air through with aquarium bubbler and wooden air 'stone.' I bubble for 24-hrs minimum, and run the transfer pump to recirculate while bubbling. BTW, this pump runs it through a fuel filter so all fuel gets filtered multiple times, down to 5-micron nominal.
#5 - My finished fuel sits in the drier for a while (2 days-2 weeks, depending on use) and settles more, then it goes up into a 30-Gallon hopper for dispensation into 5-G Jerries, 30-G or 55-G barrels, and I never take the dregs (if there are any) from the hopper, just to encourage further settling and deposition on the plastic barrel. Then use STABIL or similar for fuel storage (BD oxidizes), and I add Stanadyne when I fuel up.

I use higher percentage blends in the summer, up to B80, and have been dropping the % as temps get colder. Overnight lows are in the 20s here, and I'm using about B35. Pictures of my processor and 'shine shed are available if anyone's building an appleseed-style processor. I've learned from a few mistakes that GIGO holds true for making fuel. And luckily my worst mistakes were on inexpensive vehicles that were very tolerant of water in fuel, or unwashed BD, or other crud. Worst result was wife breaking speaker on telephone after second time getting stranded with frozen fuel lines - nothing really beats cleaning out a diesel fuel tank and lines in 0 degree weather in December!

Welcome to DP and good writeup....

Hey, thanks! Nice to 'meet' some other pioneers in teh biodiesel world. After I bought this behemoth, it took me a while to feel confident (and lucky!) enough to put my homemade fuel in such an expensive and high tech machine. I figured that if biodiesel really is a viable alternative fuel, it needs to be able to run with the big dogs! I'm still hoping for the best with my $20,000 experiment. But to hear about people even considering just tossing even well washed waste vegetable oil, without system modification, into their $40K fuel tanks...I'm baffled. Making good biodiesel fuel just isn't that hard.

For those who want to run WVOin their Duramax, check out this forum where most of the serious R&D work is happening. http://www.frybrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=601
I have no commercial interest in this company, I just want to see more of the world powered by vegetables!