State diagram for the Eco-System
This table tells you about the status of each valve and the heater and pump at various stages of the process.
| State diagram: Green = open valve, or power applied |
| Step |
Heater |
Pump |
V11 |
V2 |
V3 |
V4 |
V5 |
V6 |
V7 |
V8 |
V9 |
V102 |
Notes |
| Oil in |
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Adj. |
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Pre-filtered |
| Heat Oil |
50C |
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Check level before applying heat |
| Dewater oil |
90C |
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Switch to 50C when O/P slows |
| Cool oil |
50C |
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Titrate oil now. Empty collector. I use NaOH |
| Inject Methoxide |
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Adj. |
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Allow 20 mins to inject. |
| Reaction Stage |
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Allow 90 mins at 50C |
| 5% Prewash |
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Mix 15 mins |
| Settle Glycerol |
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Wait 90 mins |
| Drain Glycerol |
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Adj. |
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Drain slowly to avoid whirlpool |
| Distil methanol |
90C |
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Check Valve 1 closed. Reduce heat input power if U-tube continues to release pressure during distillation. Unlikely, with 1kW per 30 litres biodiesel. |
| Purge water |
off |
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Vents to outside - ensure no people nearby |
| Drain Biodiesel |
off |
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Adj. |
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Ensure heater is OFF first! Caution - Hot! Wear breathing apparatus.
Take sample and perform 23/7 test before discharging whole batch. |
Note 1. V1 is only present if you have fitted the U-Tube vapour trap.
Note 2. V10 is only opened when you want to fill the sight tube with fresh fluid, or to remove fluid from it.
Only open V10 immediately after you switch the pump off, to ensure the liquid entering the sight tube is well mixed.
This is because if the tank has been left stagnant for any length of time, you may have settled glycerol at the bottom, which will cause the sight tube to fill with the denser glycerol, which will give a false low level indication.
To empty the sight tube, have the pump running, with V5 and V7 open. Slightly open V10 and gradually close V7. Close V10 when the sight tube is empty.
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