Titrating oil for biodiesel (video)

In these four videos, you'll see how to titrate your oil to determine the acidity of the oil before converting it into biodiesel. They feature Graydon Blair of Utah Biodiesel Supply.

This is part 3 in the series. <-Previous | Next->

• Part I - Introduction to Biodiesel
• Part 2 - How Biodiesel is Made
• Part 3 - Making a Small Batch of Biodiesel
• Part 4 - Titrating Oil for Biodiesel
• Part 5 - Making a Large Batch of Biodiesel

Discuss biodiesel production in our biodiesel production forum.

Titrating Oil - Building A Titration Kit (04:11)
In this video we show how to build a basic titration kit that will be used to titrate oil with. Titration is nothing nore than a method used to find out what the acid level is in the oil that will be used to produce Biodiesel. It's necessary to know this because it will indicate how much catalyst will be used to make biodiesel.

Titrating Oil - The Chemistry (05:04)
This video explains the chemistry behind how a titration works. We explain what a titration will indicate and why it's important to perform them on used oil. Don't worry, like the other video's we keep this one simple. No chemistry degree needed.

Titrating Oil - Preparing Titration Solution (04:31)
This video shows how to prepare the titration solution that will be used to do the actual titration with. It's important that this be done accurately because it will impact the titration readings. To make it, add 1 gram of catalyst (either Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) or Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) to 1 liter of water.

Titrating Oil - The Actual Titration (10:54)
This is where it all comes together. We do 3 complete titrations from start to finish. We measure everything out, explain how to mix everything, do the actual titrations, and then explain what the results mean.

The Basic Titration Method
1- Add 1 mL of Oil to 10 mL of Isopropyl Alcohol
2- Add a couple drops of indicator solution (Phenolphthalein is what we used)
3- Start adding measured amounts of Titration Solution
4- Watch for the color change to stay for 30 seconds
5- Record how much titration solution was used
Titration Solution Used = Number Of Grams Of Catalyst To Use Per Liter Of Oil
If there were 4mL used, then 7.5 + 4 = 11.5 grams X 100 liters of oil = 1150 grams of KOH
Click Here To See A Complete Titration Kit

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Posted May 03 2008, 05:29 PM by natescape