Supercritical Methanol

[misterfisher]

Regarding this meathod, http://unit.aist.go.jp/internat/biom...Kyoto-Univ.pdf. According to the paper, it (the process) seems to work, doesn't give you soap, appears to be the holy grail of biod production, etc, etc. What I am wondering here is if anyone can think of a way to build a safe reactor for this technique. I can't think of a way to regulate the temp at 350 degrees C. A way to heat this thing by burning the waste glycerin would make the unit very cost-effective. Since 20mpa (The pressure you get with you heat this thing to 350c) is around 3000 PSI, maybe an oxygen tank would be a suitable heating vessel (Conical bottom as well, if turned upside-down with the valve facing down). You could build a jacket of some sort that you could circulate a high-boiling point fluid through with the tank in the middle, and voila! Does anyone have any thoughts on how to do this without the likelihood of blowing your garage up (Pipefitters speak up!)? It sounds like a good way to take a lot of the bullsh**T out of Biod-D production. You don't add a strong base, hence, no soap formation. And I am willing to bet that if you could put a little vent onj the top of this thing, you would, by having a mechanicly operated valve that can open at the end of the reaction, a simple way to vent the steam, drying your BioD. (It would have to be mechanical, you would not want to be anywhere NEAR the thing when it vents). Any thoughts?

[fabmandelux]

I have researched this before, I don't think it is a viable process for "homebrew".

The pressures and temps involved are very dangerious for the "average" person to mess with.

FABMANDELUX.