Testing Waste Vegetable Oil with Titration
One hundred percent virgin or lightly used waste vegetable oil (WVO)
requires 3.5 grams of lye per liter of oil to cause a biodiesel reaction.
Heavily used oil can require significantly more, and must be tested to
evaluate its acidity. Titration is a common method used to determine the
appropriate amount of lye (base) needed for a particular batch of WVO.
Titration
Equipment:
·
an electronic scale or beam balance
·
2 beakers or jars
·
a graduated dropper
·
litmus test strips or electronic pH meter
·
lye ( Flack Or Cristal Drain Cleaner )
·
isopropyl alcohol ( 91% or above )
·
distilled water
Following are the steps to complete a titration test:
1.
Measure 1 gram of lye on a scale.
2.
Measure 1 liter of distilled water into a beaker.
3.
Thoroughly mix the gram of lye with the liter of water until it’s dissolved.
4.
Measure 10 milliliters of isopropyl alcohol into a separate beaker.
5.
Thoroughly mix 1 milliliter of used vegetable oil into the alcohol.
6.
With a graduated eyedropper, put a 1 milliliter drop of the lye/water mix
into the
