Papers by Keyword: Biodiesel Production

Abstract: The problem associated with biodiesel production is economic feasibility. The biodiesel cost will reduce when the low cost feedstock was used. Kapok seed oil (KSO) is a promising candidate as raw material for biodiesel synthesis. In this research, the investigation of biodiesel synthesis from KSO was studied using Indonesia Natural Zeolite as heterogeneous catalysts. The catalyst was tested to synthesize biodiesel from KSO. The reaction temperatures, KSO to methanol mole ratio, and catalyst amount were varied to examine their effects on biodiesel synthesis. The highest biodiesel yield of 84% were obtained at 65°C of reaction temperature, 1:16 of KSO to methanol mole ratio, and 10% of catalyst amount.

Abstract: In this work, it was proposed to study the feasibility of biodiesel production, from residues of vegetable oils used in domestic activities, employing (CaCO₃) shells prepared like calcium oxide (CaO) as catalysts, in a batch reaction unit, on bench scale, installed at IPEN-CNEN/SP. This unit is capable of operating with high pressure hydrogen gas (up to 200bar) and high temperature (up to 500°C, using microwave - MW (2.450MHz, with up to 2kW continuous and 8kW pulsed) and conventional heating – (electric) MC. In the tests, the oil load (mL), type and mass of catalyst, with or without hydrogen gas pressure (bar), temperature (°C), reaction time (h), microwave power (W), the speed of the load (rpm) agitation and the conventional heating were evaluated. The analytical determinations of the samples were carried out by means of density, gas chromatography (GC) and X-ray fluorescence. Data were collected in order to be compared with other methodologies, already used in the literature. The purpose of this work was to analyze the efficiency of the use of these types of catalysts and oils in the production of biodiesel, as an alternative technology. The Ca and CaO contents found in the pink shell, before and after the calcination, were 36.2% and 98.8%, respectively. The best result obtained for the density was 0.875182g/cm³, for the test with 4g of calcined shell catalyst and reaction of 1h. As to the methyl ester content, the highest result was 95.33%, in a test with 4g of catalyst and reaction of 3h. In the non-calcined shell test (22.5g), although the amount of mass used was much larger (5% of the oil mass), the ester content was very low, 2.11%.

Abstract: Use of quicklime as a sole catalyst for transesterification is limited by poor chemical stability and post-reaction recovery. This study investigates the effect of dry milling time on the transesterification catalytic performance (activity and recovery) of mechanically alloyed MgO, Al₂O₃ and eggshell derived quicklime. Raw chicken eggshells were calcined at 900 °C. The resulting flaking eggshell ash was directly mixed and comminuted with MgO and Al₂O₃ in ball milling (BM) machine for 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes. Each of the catalyst samples was analyzed for surface morphology and particle size distribution, and then utilized for biodiesel production. Analyses of catalyst samples showed that mean particle size reduced, while powder agglomeration advanced with milling time. Optimum catalytic performance was achieved with the composite alloyed for 120 minutes (Z120) and that resulted in fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of 88.4% and catalyst recovery of 98.3%. Sample Z120 was further characterized by TEM, EDX, XRD and BET. Calcination of the composite catalyst enhanced its activity. Dry high energy BM of oxides can be utilized effectively for synthesis of composite catalysts.

Abstract: Biodiesel has been receiving increasing attention as a potential sustainable fuel. It is used for diesel engines and is becoming well-known as an environmentally friendly fuel due to its non-toxic and biodegradable characteristics. As biodiesel production, Dunaliella salina algae could be an alternative raw material. Due to their high biomass productivity, rapid lipid accumulation, and ability to survive in saline water, algae has been identified as promising feedstocks for industrial-scale production of biodiesel ^[1]. The oil content of Dunaliella salina algae may exceed to 35%. Using two-step catalytic conversion, algae oil with high free fatty acid and triglyceride content was converted to biodiesel by esterification and transesterification. The conversion rate reached 98% under the ratio of 10:1 at 65°C for 2h,using catalysis with 2% solid superacid.

Abstract: The modern society is, nowadays, facing two major problems: the energy sources depletion and the degradation of the ecologic system because of wastes rejection. The energetic valorization of wastes contributes on the resolution of both problems. In the present work, a feasibility study of an industrial pilot scale installation for the production of biodiesel from waste grease traps is lead. The installation is meant to transform 1000 tons of fat trap grease per year to biodiesel by transesterification. The daily production of the unit reaches 3200 l of biodiesel. All necessary equipments were sized following process engineering design and based on lab scale optimization experiments. Installation energy balance was also realized and it showed that the energy required for the installation functioning does not exceed 3.5% of the heating value of produced biodiesel.

Abstract: In this work, glycerol, a by-product from palm oil-biodiesel plant, was used as an alternative substrate for cultivating oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula glutinis (R. glutinis). Three R. glutinis strains were selected to compare the biomass production and lipid accumulation potencies namely, NBRC 0695, NBRC 1099 and NBRC 1501. The results found that R. glutinis NBRC 1099 was identified as the best lipid accumulation strain among the three strains tested, with a total biomass of 0.17 g/L and a lipid content of 40.80% at 24 hours when using the concentration of glycerol in the medium at 30 g/L. Furthermore, the optimization of cultivation conditions for the best oil producing strain obtained was evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM). A 5-level 2-factor central composite design (CCD) was used to build the statistical model. The optimum cultivation conditions for R. glutinis NBRC 1099 found in this study was: the glycerol concentration in the medium (34.14 g/L), the inoculum volume (1.6 mL; 4.5 x 10⁷ cell) and incubated at 30°C for 24 hours. This optimum condition gave 43.65% of the lipid content. Five fatty acids were found in the lipid produced from this condition namely, myristic acid (0.72%), palmitic acid (19.64%), stearic acid (54.59%), oleic acid (19.44%), linoleic acid (2.04%) and linolenic acid (3.56%).

Abstract: This research is done to explore the advantage of ultrasonic clamp on tubular reactor as a new technology for the transesterification process of the vegetable oil by using the newly fabricated small biodiesel pilot plant. The following studies will analyze on the performance and the efficiency of the ultrasonic tubular reactor in its flow performance and the influence of the angle towards the flow rate which plays the role in the production. The low flow rate and reaction time will influence the cost of biodiesel process and by using ultrasonic, it helps the chemical reaction process to react faster hence contributing to less time consumption. In the research, the methanol to oil molar ratio will consists of 6:1, 9:1 and 12:1 respectively. Besides that, the percentage of catalyst concentration is 0.75 %, 1% and 1.25%. The fabricated small biodiesel pilot plant will be a part of knowledge on biodiesel process and its production.

Abstract: This paper presents a method of production and properties of ethyl esters as well as the differences between them and methyl esters. It discusses the technology of esterification and the benefits brought by the use of rapeseed ethyl esters as renewable fuel. It also presents elements of structure, actuators and control mechanisms of a mobile biodiesel production plant, owned by the Department of Mechatronics, University of Warmia and Mazury. An algorithm of a transesterification process is presented along with algorithms of a flow-through process control and the possibilities of their automation. The benefits of applying such a solution are also discussed.

Abstract: Bio-diesel is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Bio-diesel can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a bio-diesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modification. Bio-diesel is simple to use, biodegradable, non-toxic, and essentially free of sulphur and aromatics. This paper presents the two following identifiable topic areas as key themes: 1. preparation of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide – as a catalyst, which can be activated by the most MeO- active groups, and can therefore be converted to methyl esters (biodiesel) from triglyceride. Methoxide (MeO-) was produced from sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and methanol (MeOH) in a batch reactor: NaOH + MeOH = H2O + Na+ + MeO-. During bio-diesel production, methoxide is incorrectly referred to as the product of mixing methanol and sodium hydroxide. An aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide – was prepared as a catalyst, by using different amounts of water at the same temperature. The reaction with lower water took place at the highest and quickest degrees of NaOH conversion and thus more MeO- active groups. The water was effective as an inhibitor.