First of all, I want to offer my sincere condolences to Don on the loss of his close friend. It is an awful hard thing to deal with.
I have been going through some old posts trying to draw up some plans that will suit me for processing BD. I downloaded Fabman's plans and although quite large,I did get some good info from it. A few questions did arise from all this info I am studying. According to what I THINK I am reading, The heater goes in the storage tank. The mixer and the open barrel is the mixing tank. The screen filter gets out the krispies AFTER heating and on the way to the mixing tank. Add methoxide,mix for 30 mins. Pump out to settling tank for 12 hour sit. Drain Glycerol off bottom. At this point I get foggy as to manner of adding Magnesol and how to remove it after it cleans batch. I don't understand the process with the vacuum pump. Please explain. I sure do appreciate the help. Tom

 

Thanks Tom, Dealing with Earl's cancer was extremely hard, but he's in a better place now. I still feel his presence around me, and keep expecting him to walk in the shop door.....

You have a good understanding of the process I think. My "holding" tank is higher than my mix tank, so after I remove the glycerol I Pull a vacuum on the tank and remove the methanol vapor from the top and run it through a condenser to recover the methanol. Once the methanol is removed I release the biodiesel by gravity through a 5 micron bag filter to remove the soap. The "de-soaped" biodiesel then goes into the same mix tank that I used to make it in the first place, where the Magnesol is added, and GENTLY stirred for 30 min. After mixing I run the biodiesel through another 5 micron bag filter, then through a 1 micron bag filter. It is now ready for use. Rather simple really.

I'm working on a new process for removing the Methanol that is simpler and much faster. I've got a few more tests to run on it and need the paper work back from my attorney and will post it here first. Things have piled up on me lately so it may be a couple of weeks yet before I can post the plans tho........
I have finished my lab tho, and will soon be offering GC testing of biodiesel for "homebrewers" at a MUCH lower price than what is currently availible.

 

Sorry, just a few more questions to make this clear in my head. 1.The holding tank and settling tank are one and the same? 2.You mix the methoxide for 30 mins also (same as magnesol?) 3.Can methanol be vacuumed off to air rather than thru condensor? 4.What material is condensor made of? 5.Can 5 micron and 1 micron filters be reused as long as I keep the PRE magnesol and POST magnesol filters separated? 6. What danger is involved by running methanol through vacuum pump and also adding Methoxide to mix with an electric pump? I have downloaded your BD diagram but it is somewhat confusing with all the different options and the size of the setup. I realize it can be downsized but I was only planning on having one pump to transfer BD from mix tank to settling tank and vacuum pump for meth recovery. All other transfers are by gravity. If I can figure out how to do it I will post diagram of system for your approval. OK Thanks alot Tom

 

#1. Yes #2. Yes #3.Yes, but by recovering the methanol you can save$$$$$ #4. My condenser is a 30" piece of 3" al irrigation pipe with a coil of 1/4"X 10' length of copper tube inside. The outer pipe is sealed at top and bottom, with a cold water inlet at the top, and a warm water outlet at the bottom. #5. The bag filters can be used over and over again. I just through them in the washer, and they come out clean. The vacuum pump I use is an old Gast vacuum pump that was used on a milking machine. It is a vane pump, and I've never had any problems with it. You should use mechanical mixing on both the methoxide/oil, and the magnesol mixing. Pump mixing of the Magnesol can cause major problems with trying to remove the Magnesol.

 

OK first of all, I used the search option to obtain ALL posts concerning BD Processors. Whew, that was exhausting but very informative. It also brought up some interesting items I would like to comment on. Don, in one of your posts, you commented on the risk of using an open electric 4500 heating element in your tank. You can correct that by using the 240 volt Ground fault interrupter that is in one of those junked spas you have. It will trip out the power if the element faults. Question for you, one of the posts mentioned not using galvanized steel in the processor. Is that true? I was planning on using an old water storage tank for heating or settling.

 

One of my reasons for not liking submersed elements can be found here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...-screw-up.html Sorry Andy

I once wrote a post about using a 240 volt element on 120 volts in my Methanol still, because of a fear that the element on 240 would boil the glycerol into a vapor, burn out and cause an explosion because of the methanol vapors.

I tried a new system this fall that I'm using in my new processor, not quite finished with the testing yet, but it has been working good all winter. You might think about using it yourself. What I did was to use a cook-top element and control UNDER the tank in a recess that I welded into the bottom of the tank. The control is much more stable, and keeps the temp at setting + - 2 degrees. I built an insulated tin cover that fits over the element to trap the heat in. All the heat goes into the very bottom of the tank, with no chance of the element catching fire.......

Galvanized is fine for a mixing or settling tank. Once the biodiesel is settled out you don't want it in a galvanized tank until the bio is cleaned. Uncleaned biodiesel contains excess Methoxide which is highly corrosive to Zinc.

Everybody told me not to use an aluminum tank for mixing, but I've been using a 75 gallon mix tank made out of a 150 gallon saddle tank from a semi. I cannot find any corrosion anywhere, including the aluminum pipes I welded to the tank.......................

 

Cook top element sounds like great idea. Am I correct in saying I need to heat the WVO tank to 150 deg before transfer to mix tank, then I will mix with Methoxide in mix tank but DO NOT need to heat in mix tank, then when I transfer to settling tank, I will have to reheat AFTER draining off Glycerol into another tank which will also need to be heated. The reason for the heat in the settling and glycerol tanks is to vaporize the Methanol to run thru condensor. If all this is correct, what temp do you recommend to heat those tanks to vaporize the Methanol? I'm getting real excited about building this processor. The reason for all the questions is I HATE tearing things apart to fix something that should have been done in the first place. Any suggestions where I can get Methanol and KOH for a decent price? Everything I found is quite pricey. I live in East Central Florida. Thanks Don.

 

Hey Don, sorry ive been away from the computer for a while. Sorry for the loss and Ill talk to you later. Troy

 

You have it down pat! BUT, I wouldn't build the heating system just yet for Methanol recovery. PM me your regular email address and I'll give you an advance look at my new recovery system. Uses a LOT less energy, works a LOT faster, and doesn't need heating over 100 deg! I haven't gotten the paperwork back from my attorney yet so I can't post it in a public forum, but nothing says I can't share it with you on a personal basis.........

In your email to me just add a short sentence that says you won't reveal the process to anyone else without my approval. Gotta protect my rights!

 

Greetings Troy! I thought you fell off the planet.........Ya, it's been a bad month for me. We buried Earl last Saturday and I've spent most of the week with attorneys for the family. Their forming an LLC to run the farming operation, and have offered me the position of general manager. The wife and I will probably move out to the ranch shortly. Call me if you get the chance. Don