High FFA in WVO, now what?

[AHowell]

Need a little advice on what to do now. I was getting ready to make my first batch and the titration test revealed that my WVO (which I have exclusive access to about 30 gals. a week) needed 6. 5 milliliters of lye-water to change the color. I'm just getting started and I am not interested or prepared to do the 2 step acid process. What other options do I have? Can a rookie like me expect to have any success turning this "Bad oil" into fuel? Is it possible that mixing say 20% virgin oil with the used stuff will bring the numbers down to an acceptable level? Any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated, $3. 50 @ gallon is killing me!

 

[WVSumeren]

this is a very good web site to get info on brewing bio diesel. 6. 5 isn't as bad as some think of course you will use more lye/methonal to break it down. I did a batch that was at 10 milliliters and it came out okay. what method are you using? If you use koh insteed of lye it will not cke up so bad especiaaly with high ffa. Do you have a good spread sheet or recipe for your methonal/lie mix



http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/mainpage/

 

[AHowell]

I'm planning to use red devil lye/methanol. I have a copy of Rich Rielly's titration table, but the fact that it only went up to 4. 5ml really scared me, I can do the math to figure out how much I need for 6. 5ml, but I didn't want to waste all the ingredients only to produce glop/soap. It's good to know that it can be done with this quality of WVO beacuase I have access to enough WVO to run nearly 100% biodiesel if I can get at least a 80-90% yield of useable fuel to WVO. If you have a better spreadsheet for the methanol/lye mixture please let me know. Thanks for your help.

 

[BPINE]

6. 5 isn't to bad I have done it many times with no problem. Here is a great calculator for figuring out what you need to add. http://www.kitchen-biodiesel.com/Biodiesel calculator.asp





One thing I do is try to get some oil that has a lower titration and mix the two together.

 

[WVSumeren]

Here is another calculator.



Willy



http://www.biodieselcommunity.org/recipecalculator/

 

[AHowell]

Thanks Guys I need all the help I can get. I noticed both of these calculators have a default setting for 22% methanol, I was planning on 20% based on my research and for the sake of round numbers. Anyone see a problem with this line of thinking? I don't know how accurate my additional 0. 4 gallons needed for a 20 gallon batch to make up for the 2% would be anyway.

 

[BPINE]

Thanks Guys I need all the help I can get. I noticed both of these calculators have a default setting for 22% methanol, I was planning on 20% based on my research and for the sake of round numbers. Anyone see a problem with this line of thinking? I don't know how accurate my additional 0. 4 gallons needed for a 20 gallon batch to make up for the 2% would be anyway.

I use 22% and error to the high side, it is better to waste a little than have a bad batch especially on high FFA oils.