How to Use Talc for Dry Washing Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a diesel fuel made from vegetable oil and alcohol that can be used with normal diesel engines. Before it can be used biodiesel must be cleaned to remove all residue and impurities. There are two main methods to clean biodiesel: wet or dry. Wet cleaning is the longest standing method. It uses large quantities of water which then must be dried out of the fuel. Dry washing, using magnesium silicate, is the more recent method. Magnesium silicate, the main ingredient of talc, combines with methanol (a type of alcohol), soaps and metal contaminants. Dry wash your biodiesel after removing glycerol and methanol from your fuel.
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Instructions
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Drain off excess glycerol from the biodiesel. Allow the fuel to settle for at least eight hours.
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Add magnesium silicate, the talc powder, at a ratio of one percent by weight. Mix the solution thoroughly with a mixer drill. Allow the talc to act on the biodiesel for at least 10 minutes. The talc will filter any remaining methanol, free glycerin and other contaminants.
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Filter the biodiesel to remove the talc and the impurities. The magnesium silicate (talc) will form a thick paste, also known as cake, which you must remove from the biodiesel by a filtration system. A popular system is the bag filtration system which can filter at a rate of 100 liters per minute.
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Tips & Warnings
Commercial brands of magnesium silicate specially designed for biodiesel filtering will produce more reliable results.
Never use vegetable oil that has not been converted to biodiesel and washed; it will damage your car.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit three sorts of oil image by Tomo Jesenicnik from Fotolia.com
