Papers by Keyword: Biodiesel

Abstract: The developed solid catalyst from calcium carbide dust (CCD) with potassium nitrate is investigated for transesterification of sunflower oil to biodiesel or fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The objective of this study is to develop the solid catalyst from CCD and test it at various operating parameters such as wt. % of KNO₃/CCD, molar ratio of methanol to oil, reaction time and reusability of the modified solid catalyst with a fixed reaction temperature of 60 °C and 3 wt. % of catalyst loading. The FAME yield was up to 97 wt. % with 15 wt. % of KNO₃/CCD, 15:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio and 7 h reaction time. Unfortunately, the modified solid catalyst could not be reused after regeneration using n-hexane washing followed by recalcination at 500 °C for 3 h.

Abstract: The study highlighted the application of biodiesel as a carrier fuel with azadirachta indica oil as insecticide in thermal fogging system towards adult mosquitoes and mosquito larvae. The open fogging test is conducted indoor inside a visible container (dimension: 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm) with different dilution ratio of azadirachta indica oil and biodiesel to determine the ideal ratio for the formulation to give effects towards mosquitoes and mosquito larvae effectively. Spread-ability test is also conducted to examine the effectiveness of the insecticide-carrier solution in a real-life simulation. The biodiesel used was produced through the hydrotalcite catalyzed transesterification derived from palm oil. The adulticidal and larvicidal activity of biodiesel and azadirachta indica oil as fuel-insecticide is evaluated through dilution ratio of 9:1, 1:1 and 3:7. The fuel-insecticide solution is dispersed in the visible tank by heating it to produce fog. From the tests conducted, the most ideal dilution ratio effect is 1:1 towards both adult mosquito and mosquito larvae. The ratio indicated the shortest time to achieve 100% mortality rate in adult mosquitoes (20 minutes). While in spread-ability test, 55 minutes was taken to achieve total mortality. In larvicidal potential, the ratio of 1:1 showed the highest larvae deceased which is 2 out of 3 larvae for both open and spread-ability test.

Abstract: The increment of pilot plant waste at UniKL MICET and eggshell waste cause disposal problems, such as the water and soil pollution, human health concerns, and disruption to aquatic ecosystems. Thus, to reduce the effect of disposal problem to the environment, pilot plant waste is converted into biodiesel, while eggshell is converted into catalyst in this study. This paper reports on the effect of catalyst preparation method and reaction temperature on biodiesel yield and quality. Transesterification process of pilot plant waste (olein and stearin) was conducted by using Ni/CaO (eggshell) catalyst from different preparation methods at different reaction temperatures (328 K, 333 K, 338 K and constant reaction time (5 hours), methanol-to-oil ratio (15:1), and weight of catalyst (8 wt%). The catalysts were synthesized via wet impregnation and sol–gel method and its physicochemical properties were subsequently characterized by TGA and FTIR analysis. Biodiesel analysis was done using GCMS and FTIR, while the physical properties (density, flash point, and kinematic viscosity) of biodiesel were measured according to ASTM D6751. Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) kinetic model shows that the catalyst prepared by wet impregnation method has the lowest activation energy, which was 81.48 kJ mol^–1. In addition, GCMS analysis shows that reaction temperature at 338 K produced the highest yield of biodiesel (88.26%). In conclusion, the best catalyst preparation method was wet impregnation method and the best reaction temperature was 338 K. In addition, the physical properties of the produced biodiesel corresponded to ASTM standard, thereby indicating high quality of biodiesel and can be used as petroleum-diesel substitute.

Abstract: Several efforts have been performed to make the biodiesel price more competitive with fossil fuels, such as using low price raw materials, including coconut oil and the use of heterogenous catalyst. In this research, the Calcined Scallop Shell was applied as a heterogeneous catalyst for synthesizing biodiesel from coconut oil. The catalyst was obtained from calcination of scallop shell waste. The catalytic activities of Calcined Scallop Shell catalyst during transesterification reaction was influenced by several reaction conditions including methanol to oil mole ratio, reaction temperature, and concentration of catalyst. The biodiesel yield of 91.7% was obtained at a methanol to coconut oil mass ratio of 12:1, 60 °C reaction temperature, and catalyst concentration of 10% wt. of oil.

Abstract: Nanocatalysts of sulfated zirconia (SZ) and CaO/zirconia for microwave assisted-biodiesel synthesis from castor oil have been successfully prepared. The aim of the research was to determine the effectiveness and the selectivity of catalysts in biodiesel production. The sulfated zirconia catalyst was prepared by the wet impregnation method while the calcium oxide/zirconia catalyst was prepared through the wet impregnation by microwave-assisted method. The catalysts were used for the esterification and transesterification reaction with the highest acidity and the basicity value of 7.16 mmol NH₃ g^-1, 87.76 mmol HCl g^-1, respectively. The acidity and basicity of the catalysts are directly related to the catalyst active site in the esterification and transesterification process. The results showed that catalyst 0.5 M SZ 500 and 1: 0.2 CaO/ZrO₂ 800 had excellent stability that can be seen from their high crystallinity and large surface area. The biodiesel products characterized by ¹H-NMR, GC-MS and Bomb calorimeter also showed excellent results. After purification, ¹H-NMR result shows the conversion of castor oil into methyl ester is close to 100%. This was supported by GC-MS where the highest area of methyl ester is 93.91% of methyl ricinoleate.

Abstract: The search for a perfect replacement for fossil fuels is as a response to the decrease in the available energy owing to the overdependence on the fossil fuels as well as the harmful effects on human life due to the release of toxic gases into the air as it burns in engines. The experimental study carried out in this article evaluates the possibility of parsley biodiesel as a suitable substitute for petro-diesel. The catalytic conversion of a novel feedstock with a homogenous catalyst was performed with specific ratios of catalyst amount (1 wt %), temperature (60 °C), alcohol to oil ratio (6:1) for 30 minutes reaction time. However, a biodiesel yield of 94.70% was derived from the adopted parametric conditions. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was utilized to characterize the produced biodiesel. Furthermore, the fuel characteristics of biodiesel were within the specifications of the ASTM D6751. Therefore, Parsley biodiesel can be utilized as diesel fuel substitute.

Abstract: The need to develop renewable fuels in order to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change is constantly growing, and biofuels can solve the problem. Moreover, research into ecologically friendly and sustainable energy fuels such as biodiesel is rapidly gaining momentum. The yield response of parsley biodiesel was evaluated by the utilization of calcium oxide which is a solid heterogeneous catalyst. The impact of catalyst loading, alcohol: oil ratio and temperature on the yield of parsley biodiesel was also assessed. The obtained result from the experimental analysis revealed that a high biodiesel yield of 96.5% can be obtained using 3 wt% of catalyst amount, 60 °C temperature of the reaction, and 9:1 alcohol-to-oil ratio at a fixed reaction time of 180 minutes. The biodiesel generated was characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Additionally, the fuel properties of biodiesel were well within the ASTM D6751 requirements. As a result, parsley biodiesel can be used as a diesel fuel alternative.

Abstract: Coal fly ash (CFA) and bottom ash (BA) obtained from coal fired power plants in Thailand and local supplier were characterized using XRF, XRD and N₂ adsorption-desorption techniques. Their possibilities for conversion of palm oil into biodiesel were investigated. Selected CFA was also modified with lanthanum (La) at different La loading and the influence of La loading on biodiesel conversion was evaluated. The resulted showed that the Class C CFA as contained large amount of CaO (free lime) could catalyze the transesterification to achieve the highest FAME content of 89% under the operation conditions; the reaction temperature of 200 °C, the reaction pressure of 39 bars, the catalyst loading of 5 wt% of oil, the molar of oil to methanol of 1:30 and the stirring speed of 600 rpm for 5 h. The addition of La on the Class C CFA had a negative effect on conversion of palm oil. The FAME content decreased gradually from 89 to 62% with increasing La loading from 0 to 1 wt%.

Abstract: The blends of varying proportions of biodiesel (FAME) containing formate esters of glycerol and 93.0 wt.% fatty acid methyl esters, obtained in an interesterification reaction with methyl formate without further purification, and winter diesel fuel, were prepared, analyzed and compared with winter diesel fuel. The obtained results showed that blends comprising up to 20 vol.% of FAME fulfill the requirements of the standard LVS EN 590 concerning such characteristics as cold flow properties, viscosity, density, and carbon residue. The increase of FAME content worsens the cold flow properties; however, the mixed fuel with 20 vol.% or lower FAME content, according to the cloud point and cold filter plugging point values, remains in the same severe climate "Class 0" group as winter fuel. The carbon residue of mixed fuels raises with increasing FAME content, but stay low and do not exceed the limits of standard for mixtures with FAME percentage up to 20 vol.%. The comparison of mixed fuels containing 20 vol.% of FAME and the same amount of neat biodiesel (99.6 wt.% of fatty acid methyl esters) shows that the difference is negligible. The obtained results have indicated a good potential of FAME obtained in the interesterification reaction with methyl formate without further purification as a diesel fuel additive for up to 20 vol.%.

Abstract: Global increase in fuel prices and the associated problem of harmful emissions from combustion of fossil fuels has necessitated the need for more energy sources to sustain energy security and mitigate the negative environmental implications from the continuous use of petroleum diesel. This research is primarily focused on the production of biodiesel from Melia azedarach oil, which has not been much explored as a feedstock for diesel substitute. In consideration of the nutritional demands for edible oil seeds, the use of edible vegetable stock to produce biodiesel raises major ethical concerns with non-edible oil seeds presenting more feasible solution to energy crises. Oil was extracted from Melia azedarach seeds by exploring both mechanical and chemical methods. Biodiesel was produced from the extracted oil via alkali alcoholysis. An innovative Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-VIS) was adopted as a process tracking mechanism for biodiesel production. An oil yield of 4.32% of crude oil was extracted using n-hexane under an extraction time of 24h and temperature of 55°C. Esterification parameters of 45:1 Molar concentration of alcohol to oil, reaction temperature of 53°C, a reaction time of 50 mins and concentrated sulphuric acid weight fraction of 5% gave a free fatty acid conversion of 89.37%. Based on the results obtained, the seed oil has been established as a promising feedstock with promising efficiency for biodiesel production. However, large scale extraction of oil from the seed for industrial production of biodiesel must be further investigated.