Some Pictures of my set up.

[dgs]

Typical amount of sub micron glycerol wiped out of centrifuge bowl (each square of paper is from 1x 190/200 litre batch.)


Drying tank with turbo dryer and processor to right.

Centrifuge with pressure gauge.

Turbo dryer, R/H sensor display is on plywood bench and sensor is hung @ 25mms above extractor fan.

Right to left; processor, wash/drying tank, bio storage tank, Glyc washed oil storage tank.

From the other direction.

This was taken a few years ago when there was less junk in there and the floor had just been painted. Different processor, no wash tank and 2x large filtration columns (I think rbdazza has one of these now)


M67 in jrl tank with tam 120. used for glyc washing and sometimes ambient processing.

1000 litre conical linked to M67.

[Jamesrl]

Call that a bio shed?

Where's all the crap, empty cubies, cardboard and knee deep sawdust on the floor, and all that space!!!

Nah, there's something seriously amiss with that shed.

[Bio-boy]

Nice set up there Dave. By the looks of it we both have the same processor tank albeit mine is slightly bigger. Unfortunately I don't have a warehouse for a shed unlike yourself so my processor has to do everything. lol

Great work.

[Dickjotec]

Very nice. Looked at top pic and thought, they are big tanks then looked again at the cubies and relised the compression effect! Have you considered bunding? My insurance company insists.

[dgs]

Thanks for the comments guys. I try to keep it as neat and tidy as possible, but as you all know it's easier said than done.
I've considered bunding but so far I seem to have avoided a major spill, probably more luck than anything. I also partly insulated a processor once but it looked so untidy I 'uninsulated' it straight away, just my way. As I process at ambient and only heat on the last reaction prior to de-mething the insulation isn't really an issue.

The M67 set up is round in the hay barn and there is a lot of room in there and ventilation for the exhaust.
About 1 year ago I think I just touched the 6500 litre mark for stored oil. I had a major re-think and now manage to keep it to around the 3500 litre level.

[neisel]

You can't possibly be a genuine bio maker, you're using plastic FGS!

[Julian]

Very nice ... now suffering from a severe bout of space envy.

I operate in a 6' x 6' shed with as much storage outside as I can get away with until I get moaned at.

Impressed with how little glycerol the centrifuge appears to picking up ... or do you think more will be evolved with a bigger pump?

[dgs]

It's not as big as it looks.
We have a large brick built barn next door, approx 45x35 feet, was thinking of using that until we filled it with rubbish!

Julian, I'm sure the centrifuge will collect a lot more contaminants when I get the pressure up to 95psi. I've PM'd and emailed Nathan about the pump he had left but so far no contact.

niesel, I used to use metal and in fact still have a ss 400litre grundy tank that is modified to use as a processor. I had thoughts of processing at higher temperatures using 1 bar pressure then going on to WBD but as I can now get completion on 10.5 to 12.5% added methanol there is little point in even trying to reclaim any methanol.

I may be the exception to the rule but I get on well with plastic. I had the wash tank specially made, It's 400 litres and was installed when I had a larger processor. It cost me £400, very expensive.
We are all different!

[Bio-boy]

I may be the exception to the rule but I get on well with plastic.

Likewise Dave.
It seems to make great quality fuel for me or so a forum member tells me. 

[dgs]

At 23degs the settled sample (left) shake up test mists, wheras the right hand sample (water washed ) stays clear until below 20degs. Mono's?

[Dickjotec]

It may well be documented on here (if it is post me to it!) but I would be very interested to hear timings for your ambient temperature processing. In particular how long do you mix stage one for and typically what conversion do you get?

[Bio-boy]

It may well be documented on here (if it is post me to it!) but I would be very interested to hear timings for your ambient temperature processing. In particular how long do you mix stage one for and typically what conversion do you get?

I would be interested to hear this also.

[dgs]

Here is a link to the ambient processing thread;

                         http://www.biopowered.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2442.msg30857.html#msg30857

Maybe my figures on KOH usage are a little confusing on the thread so to clarify,

If I glyc wash 200 litres of oil with 60 litres of glycerol (from a friend that uses 20% methanol) then the wash alone with 5 litres of methanol added to the 60 litres produces around a 25% conversion.

The rest of the process will then complete in 1 or 2 stages with a total amount of 'about' 4.7gms/litre KOH and another 10% max added methanol (so total methanol usage of 12.5%

If my friends glycerol isn't available and I have to use my own with it's much lower excess amounts of KOH and methanol, I still add the 5 litres of methanol and get less conversion during the pre wash stage, something like 10% in which case the KOH total is more like 5.7gms. methanol usage is still a max of 12.5%

I have experimented with glyc washing at lower temps and it doesn't work as well. Which is why I use the M67 tank to do this.

Reaction times at ambient are only slightly longer, probably + 15 mins on each stage.

I add about 90% of the total expected KOH amount for stage 1 with 8% methanol. In the past if the conversion after the pre-wash has been high I have added only 6 to 7% methanol for stage 1 and used a total added amount of methanol of only 10.5%
I do realise it is impossible to get full conversion on this amount without the glycerol pre wash which extracts probably far more methanol and KOH than we realise, especially leaving it to mix at 60degs for 1 hour.

[Dickjotec]

Interesting. I think that the secret is in the pump, you are clearly giving it massive mixing. I glyc wash with NaOh at 40 ish C then let it stand overnight, having drained the glyc, and reheat to an eventual 65C as I process. Next time I will give it a go at the temp it arrives at in the morning. I only have 2 105s on mine, with educators on one, so nowhere near the same mixing.

[dgs]

My ex-process bio is always cloudy nowadays since I have used larger pumps and eductors. I'm sure it is due to suspended glycerol because of the intense mixing. It clears after de-mething so it's not a problem except for the fact that it's impossible to do an accurate soap test.