I have had a hard time determining the type of Methanol I need to purchase to produce Biodiesel.

My question is this:

What grade Methanol do you use? 

Most companies I have talked to want to sell the blended Unleaded racing fuel that has Methanol in it.  I'm thinking that this is not the choice I need.

The two companies the are close to me are:

F&L fuels

APracing fuels

99% or higher methanol is best. Lots of things have methanol in it but over all water content dilutes it and does not work well. I remember when I made my first test batch I thought to use windshield wiper fluid. Usually a 50/50 blend of water and Methanol. No way, now how did that work.

Overall, 99% methanol is supose to be used according to everything I have read. Purity is a must in order to make good sodium methoxide. I found out that using a yellow bottle of heet made for gasoline engines (and not diesel engines) works best. Two bottles measured out right will make for 3 good test batches and consists of 99% methanol.

Suppliers you can google for your area.You can learn more about biodiesel and methanol here http://www.methanol.org/.  Ask people in your region on this board where to directly obtain methanol. One things certain, buy in drums if laws in your state and county allow it. Typically cheaper in the long run but methanol isnt cheap anyways.I would honestly have to say its the biggest cost in making biodiesel.

Erik

Water in your reactor, be it from the methanol, oil, or catalysts, will cause the side-reaction, saponification. This is more commonly known as soap making. Water is to be avoided, so pure methanol is the only thing you should be using.

In the not too distant future, we'll have water-tolerant, fixed-bed catalyst reactors in which no saponification can occur. I don't project a home brew scale implementation, but they'll be great for co-op scale.

So thats why windsheild wiper fluid doesnt work....

Saponification is a mouthful to say, had to repeat it multiply times in order to get it pronoced right. Pure methanol is the only way to go, found that out by doing trial and error.

Erik 

Do you think that methanol can be used if it is 95% methanol and 5% water?

thanks!