Biodiesel conversion

Biodiesel conversion using ultrasonication (continuous processing)... 

One example of conversion of food material to consumer product is biodiesel. Conversion of pahn oil into biodiesel has been carried out in various countries in Europe as well as in Malaysia, a move motivated mainly by the increasing price of petroleum and to a certain extent to mitigate global warming by rednc-ing CO2 emission. Production of biodiesel in Malaysia increased twofolds from 47,986 tons in 2006 to 89,132 tons in 2007, which could only substitute a mere 1 % of the demand for diesel (Lam et al. 2009). The demand for biodiesel in Europe alone was expected to reach more than 10 million tons by 2010 (Lam et al. 2009). Nevertheless, by using biodiesel, exploitation of natural resources could be controlled and sustained for the future generation. 

In terms of biodiesel conversion processes, chemical conversion using alkali and acid-based catalysts is stiU the most favorite approach. Various investigations have been carried out to develop novel catalysts and/or novel processes for efficient conversion of TAG to FAME. This part was reviewed in the chapter Production of biodiesel via catalytic upgrading refining of sustainable oleageneous feedstocks. The chapter Biochemical catalytic production of biodiesel introduced a promising alternative way of biodiesel production via enzyme-catalyzed processes. Recentiy, microalgae... 

The economic feasibility of enzymatic production of biodiesel depends on a series of factors. These factors mainly include (1) the raw material costs such as the prices of oil feedstock, alcohol and enzyme (2) the process parameters, such as oil-to-biodiesel conversion ratio, retention time for transesterification, biodiesel recovery yield, lipase life time, and solvent loss (if used) (3) process design regarding water recycle and heat integration and (IV) by-product credit. It has been found that lipase cost contributes a great part of the total production cost. 

Figure 7.12 Effect of IL reused time on the estimated lipase cost under different enzyme prices. IL loading 2% based on raw oil feedstock oil-to-biodiesel conversion 95% (Zhao et al, 2015).

In our first experiment we decided to test the conversion of sunflower oil into biodiesel (16). Treatment of sunflower oil (1) with NaOMe in MeOH results in formation of a mixtme of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), also known as biodiesel, and glycerol (2) (Figme 4.3). The reaction was performed with a six-fold molar excess of methanol with respect to sunflower oil at elevated temperatures (60°C) using a basic catalyst (NaOMe, 1% w/w with respect to sunflower oil). The CCS was equipped with a heating jacket to ensure isothermal conditions. The sunflower oil was preheated to 60°C and was pumped at 12.6 ml/min into one entrance of the CCS. Subsequently, a solution of NaOMe in MeOH was introduced through the other entrance at a flow rate of 3.1 ml per minute. After about 40 minutes, the system reaches steady state and the FAME containing some residual sunflower oil is coming... 

Reports have shown solid catalysts for esterification of FFA have one or more problems such as high cost, severe reaction conditions, slow kinetics, low or incomplete conversions, and limited lifetime. We will present research describing our newly developed polymeric catalyst technology which enables the production of biodiesel from feedstock containing high levels (> 1 wt %) of FFAs. The novel catalyst, named AmberlysH BD20, overcomes the traditional drawbacks such as limited catalyst life time, slow reaction rates, and low conversions. 

Biomass is a renewable resource from which various useful chemicals and fuels can be produced. Glycerol, obtained as a co-product of the transesterification of vegetable oils to produce biodiesel, is a potential building block to be processed in biorefineries (1,2). Attention has been recently paid to the conversion of glycerol to chemicals, such as propanediols (3, 4), acrolein (5, 6), or glyceric acid (7, 8). 

Fig. 5.6 C02-savings by use of biofuels made from energy crops according to Schmitz (2003), Quirin et al. (2004), CONCAWE (2006), Hill (2007) and BMELV (2007b). Conversion pathways 1 Straight oil —> Drive 2 Biodiesel —> Drive 3 Grain —> Heat 4 Ethanol —> Drive 5 Ethanol —> Heat Power 6 Ethanol —> Drive 7 Bales —> Heat Power 8 BtL —> Drive 9 Methanol —> Drive 10 Ethanol —> Drive 11 Biogas —> Drive 12 Biogas —> Heat Power 13 Chips — Heat 14 Chips —> Heat Power 15 BtL —> Drive...

Current biodiesel can not be considered as a 100% biomass-based fuel as long as methanol is derived from petrochemical resources. A clean way to solve the biorelated problem is the conversion of glycerol waste from the transesterification process into syngas. In this context, glycerol reforming is a suitable target reaction worthy of study. 

In conclusion, the economically competitive, non-subsidized production of liquid biofuels requires (a) the use cheaper and more reliable sources of renewable raw material (b) efficient conversion, with minimum waste, of cellulosic, fiber or wood-based, waste biomass into fermentable sugars (c) significantly improved efficiency of the production processes and (d) use by-products (e.g., glycerol in biodiesel production). Several of these aspects are discussed in details in various chapters. 

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