MSDS and Safety Information


Here are MSDS sheets (Material Safety Data) of some of the most commonly found chemicals and products used for making biodiesel:

Biodiesel
Potassium hydroxide (KOH) 
Methanol
Glycerol

Safety Information

In making Biodiesel you will work with some dangerous chemicals. Methanol, Caustic Soda, Caustic Potash, and methoxide are the chemicals in question. All of these chemicals have been around a very long time and safety procedures have been developed that make working with them safer. The most dangerous part of making biodiesel is from the time the methanol is purchased to the time the methoxide is completely introduced into the machine. This is the time to be safety focused more than at any other time.

The BioMax150 unit was designed with safety in mind. It minimizes methanol/methoxide vapors venting to the outside. Once the methanol and KOH (caustic soda) are loaded, the unit takes care of mixing and dispensing to minimize handling and exposure. This unit also uses the mist water wash method and this helps in reducing internal fumes generated. Water washing will also completely remove the methanol into your wash water, where it can be processed for disposal.

Another potentially dangerous situation is the storage of the byproduct. The byproduct is laden with methanol. Pour it into 5 gallon buckets or cubes, leaving no air gaps at the top and dispose of it at a landfill. Most homebrewers want to stockpile the raw glycerine due to an uncertanty of how to dispose of it. Stockpiling raw glycerin is a fire hazzard and can be leached into the soil as the containers it's stored in start to leak.

If you follow these simple safety rules, you will avoid most of the fires and injuries that some of your predecessors have experienced in developing homebrew biodiesel. The finished product biodiesel is not a hazardous or flammable substance. It can be stored safely in either 55 gallon drums or 275 gallon pallet mounted totes.

So now you've had a crash course in biodiesel production safety procedures, so go out there and make your first batch!
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