Lye detection? And removal?

[E'sStrokr01]

Is there any way to detect lye contamination? If so, is there any way to remove it? Or just discard that batch of wvo? I'd like to know either way if the oil I'm about to filter and centrifuge has lye before I do anything else.

Any experiences or thoughts? Thanks

[ridiculously_necessary]

watch the quality tests on utahbiodieselsupply.com. they are a fair indicator of ASTM standard. about as close as you can get under a budget.

[E'sStrokr01]

Originally Posted by ridiculously_necessary

watch the quality tests on utahbiodieselsupply.com. they are a fair indicator of ASTM standard. about as close as you can get under a budget.

Got a link?

[ridiculously_necessary]

Learn How To Make Biodiesel With Our Biodiesel Tutorial Videos - Utah Biodiesel Supply

and i believe there are more on his youtube channel. this is a great one stop shop for a lot of info. not the only one, but a good one. let us know what you find.

[hheynow]

Originally Posted by E'sStrokr01

Is there any way to detect lye contamination?

My guess would be to add a lot of water to the batch in question and mix it until you have an emulsion. Then test the emulsion with litmus paper. If the reading is extremely alkaline only lye or sodium hydroxide could make the reading so alkaline and restaurants don't use NaOH so that's my idea to test it. Litmus paper will not work on VO alone. That's why adding a lot of water will allow the litmus paper to detect the lye.

Removing it? No idea.

[GoldieStroker944]

what about a poliegraph machine?? i hear they can detect lyes really good...oh wait wrong lye...sorry i just had to because thats how i took it when i seen the title

[hheynow]

Originally Posted by GoldieStroker944

what about a poliegraph machine?? i hear they can detect lyes really good...oh wait wrong lye...sorry i just had to because thats how i took it when i seen the title

Actually you may have stumbled on the best answer.
Use the polygraph on the cook after asking him if he used lye in his fryer.
But that still leaves how to remove it unresolved.

[freesoul]

you will know if there is any lye (drain cleaner) in there, it will start to react and develop a foamy layer on top of the oil and smell really nasty. usually this happens when the company that they hire to clean their grease trap throws the garbage in your oil collection container, its happened a few times with us and we give the restaurant one chance and the next time we will not pick it up. As long as you get the nasty foam layer off the oil is fine to use, it just makes a mess because usually it will bubble up and overflow the drum

[simone0414]

I thought a centrifuge will remove it.

[freesoul]

Originally Posted by simone0414

I thought a centrifuge will remove it.

remove what- the lye? Lye does not stay in its original form it will react with the oil. Just like when you add sugar to make cookie dough you would have a tough time removing the sugar