BioDieselNow - Renewable biodiesel fuel

has anybody had a problem with fuel filters clogging due to fats finding there way into the final product .... any reason why this is a problem during the colder months ...My oil supply comes from mostly mexican resturants some fast food .

 Just like Crisco and lard ... its going to gell and thicken in colder weather. About the only way to avoid this is to using a heated tank, fuel line and fuel filter. Many have had success blending with petroleum diesel or using additives when the temps are just flirting with freezing, but IMHO it is not going to work safely unless your percentage of biodiesel is over 50%. All the tests I've run on B100 (even good commercially made BQ9000 biodiesel) had a problem gelling at below 25 degrees -- even with additives. (that said, commecial soy-based B20 here in Ohio has not been a problem all winter long, although the fuel station pumps will occasionally run very slow. Their fuel filters gell up.)

I use to mix petro diesel fuel in the winter to avoid clouding and gelling up but now I put Kerosene. It takes  less and cost you less than petro fuel.

This is 55 deg F

 

 

 This is 2 deg F

I'm in upstate NY and this is on my back porch to show me which blend to use.

 

  Iam in las vegas were temperature really shouldnt be an issue I think.  Just wonder if Iam having a gelling problem or something else

You may not be using a fine enough filter. How many steps of filtration are you using? Some WVO are laden with fats and should not be used. M

My old Rabbit kept on clogging filters until I washed the tank, lot's of junk in there.

Is there another way to filter out fat beside doing a caustic stripping,  which I have done and cut my titration down to a 1.5 instead of 2.1  but still had the same problem with my finished product.  Iam stumped..   The  foamy layer lines my empty 55 gallon drum forever. 

bobabbey, Man what kind on WVO do you use to gel that bad at 55 degrees?? It must be 100 percent peanut oil. I've never seen biodiesel gell that bad at that temperature.

Usually during the cold months, we receive  B100 biodiesel that forms into a gel especially with producs made from fat. Glycerin and fat levels are often very high. If you need your filters tested, I can refer you to a company which does this testing for free and they can give you a full report of your problem.

Brent Pohlman - Biodiesel Testing 402-829-9877, bkp1@midwestlabs.com

Thanks for the info Brent that would be great.  I would like to send them a sample of fuel to test also if that is alright..     

 Bob,

 

Nice pics.  Do you remember what the feedstock was that went into that BD? 

Meg Corp  is the company - - Phone Number is 952-473-0044. Tell them that Brent Pohlman, Midwest Labs told you about the free filter analysis.  Here is their website

http://www.megcorpmn.com/

Brent

The problem you describe is in fact well known in the industry. Biodiesel has porrer low temperature performane than mineral diesel and clog filter. This happens at around 10 C / 50 F for Tallow Methyl Ester and Palm Methyl Ester. This happens at -4C / 24F for Soy Methyl Ester and at -12C / 8F for Rapeseed or Canola Methyl Ester.

Now when you use used cooking oil, this is mostly Soya oil but the performance will be poorer than fresh Soya oil because of oxidation.

There are some anti freeze in the market. You can look into

http://www.rohmax.com/rohmax/en/productsapplications/coldflowimproversforbiodiesel/