BIOMAN ENERGY
Your BioDiesel Connection
What are the differences and benefits between Water Wash and Dry Wash?
Q: What does Dry Wash Resin do?
A: The Resins are specially formulated ion exchange resins engineered to maximize the removal of soap, glycerin, trace metals and mono-glycerides from raw biodiesel fuel. The quality of feedstock will impact on the life of the resin, but if properly used, the final Biodiesel quality will remain within specification.
Q: Water washing is very time consuming. Is ‘washing’ with Dry Wash Resins quicker than the water washing process?
A: The biodiesel is run at approximately 3 litres per hour per kilogram of Resin. For a column containing 120 kg of resin, the biodiesel flow rate should be 360 litre per hour. Because the Bioman Dry Wash system operates with a dedicated pump (on most units), this process can be run independently from the reaction process; offering a less ‘hands-on operation’ and is much less time consuming than a water wash process.
Q: Does the dry wash system clean the biodiesel better than the bubble wash method? Will it remove more caustic than the water wash?
A: The resin removes all the remaining catalyst, soap & glycerol, but does not remove the methanol, allowing recovery of this methanol from the purified biodiesel via distillation etc. It is indeed much more effective than any type of water wash method, and at very little additional cost, without the generation of large quantities of waste water which presents a treatment/disposal problem.
Q: Does Dry Wash Resin assure you of a better quality biodiesel?
A: Biodiesel properly treated with Dry Wash resin conforms to ASTM D-6751-06, EN14214 & SABS standards.
The quality of feedstock and the efficiency of the settling process, for example, will impact on the life of the resin, but if properly used, the final Biodiesel quality will remain within specification.
What is the difference between using Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) and Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) ?
KOH stays liquid, while NaOH gels.
Practically, KOH is easier to use due to the staying-liquid property - making glycerine elimination from the settling tank easy.
Also, you don't have the pump clogging up due to the gelling property of NaOH.
KOH is a natural fertilizer and makes liquid soap, should you wish to apply the glycerine
by-product to this end.
There is a large price difference between KOH and NaOH, - KOH being more expensive.
Remember to do the titration test with the same caustic product you will be using in the batch reactions.
Q: What can the glycerol by-product be used for?
A: Methanol Recovery
The methanol evaporates when heating the glycerol to around 72 degrees C. Methanol can be recovered from the glycerol by distillation and re-used in the biodiesel-making process.
The raw glycerol can then be used for:-
B: Natural Fertilizer
Storing the glycerol in a separate tank; adding water and using the mixture to irrigate gardens; or add to a compost heap and turn over well.
C: Soap-making
The raw glycerol produces a dark, high-quality glycerin soap which can be used for all domestic applications.
D: In a Bio-digester
Add glycerol to a bio-digester to produce a natural gas.
How does biodiesel compare to mineral diesel ?
One of the major advantages of using biodiesel is the fact that it can be used in existing engines and fuel injection equipment with little impact to operating performance.
Biodiesel has a higher cetane number than US diesel fuel. In more than 50 million miles of in-field demonstrations, B20 showed similar fuel consumption, horsepower, torque and haulage rates as conventional diesel fuel.
Biodiesel has a superior lubricity and it has the highest BTU content of any alternative fuel.
A number of independent studies have been completed with the results showing biodiesel performs similar to petroleum diesel while benefiting the environment and human health compared to diesel.
Biodiesel is the first and only alternative fuel to have completed the rigorous Health Effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act.
Currently more than 300 major U.S. fleets use the fuel.