methanol supply

[MDTyree]

OK, I live in the central part of Virginia (Lynchburg) I'm in the process of making myself a biodiesel processor. I have a supply of wvo and I can get the lye, I just can't find methanol. I would like to get it in bulk but I can get it in small quantities first to get started. Does anyone know of any suppliers of methanol in or around central VA?



Thanks alot,

Mike

 

[MDTyree]

Never mind, I found a place that is only 20 miles or so from me, that sells it by the 55gal. drum at $3. 25 per gallon. As for now. They said the price goes up and down.

Thanks anyway,

Mike

 

[JoeBioDiesel]

$3. 25 is a pretty good price nowadays. I have to buy 4 drums to get it for under $4. 00 or so. I don't make Bio like I used to though, so I just get a single drum when I need it now.

Joe

 

[MDTyree]

Must be cause I'm in virginia, things are a little cheaper here then in NY. This is my first time making biodiesel on a bigger scale, do you have any advice? I could use some pointers. I making a appleseed processor to make it in.

Thanks for any advice,

Mike

 

[JFaughn]

Do you have these links ?
I could not find the other , it is for purchasing a book from Girl Mark , the same person that started the appleseed .
Biodiesel & SVO Forums - Powered by eve community

 

[MDTyree]

Yeah, I got those links. It's alot of info. on there, I was just looking for some behind the scenes info. that you don't hear about on the internet.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[JoeBioDiesel]

Make mini batches before making big ones. Any time you switch sources of oil, make another mini batch first.

Do your reaction between 100F and 120F for best results.

Joe

 

[MDTyree]

Thanks alot Joe, that's what I'm talking about. I just want to minimize the trial and error, at least a little bit. I thought the reaction temp. was 130F. That's good to know. How about a wash tank, what is the best wash tank set up?

 

[BSMiller]

I have been heating my oil up to between 130-140 and mixing for 2 hours to drop out the glycerin.

I buy 10 gallons of methanol at a time because of Fire Dept and home owners insurance. It is running $5. 50 per gallon plus tax for the last few months. Last year it was $3. 00 per gallon.

 

[JFaughn]

It would seem that if its not on the internet , it does not exist .
Or what is it your looking for .

 

[DPellegrin]

MDTyree- Just a word of caution about methanol. Methanol (wood alcohol) has very wide flammability limits, 6-36% by volume in air and a flash point of 54*F. This means that it is flammable most of the time. I run a hazardous material team and we have had occasion to assist police in serving drug warrants for suspected meth labs. We have found large quantities of methanol and acetone in these places, among other chemicals. So, if you are buying large quantities of methanol you just may get a visit from local law enforcement as to what you are doing with that stuff.



Please be careful in handling methanol. It is less volatile than gasoline but because of the wide flammability limits it is more dangerous to handle, especially if you are heating it!

 

[BPINE]

I have one thing to add, Titrate everytime and use the proper amount of KOH or NaOH. 5 grams + titration NaOH and 7 grams + titration for KOH. People try to reinvent the wheel all the time when it comes to this and it always bits them in the end.

 

[MDTyree]

DPellegrin, Thanks for the heads up, but if the local law enforcment shows up, I will shake there hand and tell them good job. It will be good to see them being on top of things. The place I work, we get some chemicals from this supplier and I just found out that we can get methanol from them to. I can only get it by the 55gal. drum, they don't sell it any other way. I'm just tring to save a little money with the diesel prices going up. Today it is $3. 52 per gallon here and I don't see it going down but so much.



JFaughn, Maybe everything is on the internet, I don't know. I'm new to the biodiesel community. I just thought there might be some tips that you can't find on the internet.



Thanks again everyone,

Mike

 

[Dl5treez]

Know any racers?



Lots of teams with fuel sponsorships are selling fuel dirt cheap to brewers around here.



Just an idea.....

 

[JoeBioDiesel]

A word of caution on that. I was buying takeout fuel from a local racer. That is, any fuel that was left in the tank when the race was over was pumped out of the tank and stored seperately. For whatever reason, that fuel has a pretty high water content, and it made less-than-perfect Bio.

Good tip on finding Meth though...

Joe

 

[Dl5treez]

A word of caution on that. I was buying takeout fuel from a local racer. That is, any fuel that was left in the tank when the race was over was pumped out of the tank and stored seperately. For whatever reason, that fuel has a pretty high water content, and it made less-than-perfect Bio.

Good tip on finding Meth though...

Joe

That is a very good point, and one to remember for those who store methanol..... it's like a sponge, and begins to absorb moisture immediately when exposed to air. It, as any alcohol, is hard to store for prolonged periods in any container that isn't completely full without trapping moisture.



Better to try and get it from the new (sealed) 55 gallon drums, and store it in full sealed containers.

 

[MDTyree]

That's the only way I can get it. It will be in sealed 55gal. drums. The only problem is that I may not be able to use it fast enough, and moisture gets in it over time. We'll see what happens.