Biodiesel fuels production chemistry

Ha, V.T.T., Chuc, M.N., Pham, T.T., Ngoc, L.H., Nguyen, T.T.T., Le Minh, V., Le Anh, T., et al., 2009a. Final Report of a National Project on Assessment of Current Biodiesel Production Technology and Conducting Field Tests for Biodiesel Fuel Based Cat-Fished Oil, Contrihution to Process of Completion of Biodiesel Standard in Vietnam. Vietnamese Institute of Industrial Chemistry. 

Considerable attention is currently being focused on the use of renewable vegetable oils as feedstocks for the production of biodiesel. The latter has obvious benefits in the context of green chemistry and sustainability (i) since it is plant-derived its use as a fuel is C02-neutral, (ii) it is readily biodegradable, (iii) its use results in reduced emissions of CO, SOx, soot and particulate matter. 

The first part of this chapter is intended to survey recent literature on new catalytic materials because the development of new types of metal oxides and layered- and carbon-based materials with different morphologies opens up novel acid-base catalysis that enables new type of clean reaction technologies. Mechanistic considerations of acid- and base-catalyzed reactions should result in new clean catalytic processes for Green and Sustainable Chemistry, for example, transformations of biorenewable feedstock into value-added chemicals and fuels [21-35]. The latter part of this chapter, therefore, focuses on biomass conversion using solid acid and base catalysts, which covers recent developments on acid-base, one-pot reaction systems for carbon-carbon bond formations, and biomass conversion including synthesis of furfurals from sugars, biodiesel production, and glycerol utilization. 

In order to complete the biodiesel production process and to utilize biodiesel B5 (blend of 5% biodiesel and 95% market diesel) in engines, a national research project, code DTDL.2007G/19, was set up and mn by the Vietnamese Institute of Industrial Chemistry. The School of Transportation Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, was one of the collaborative institutions that took care of the engine tests. The project was aimed at biodiesel-based cat-fish fat production and application of B5 fuel in diesel engines (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2002). 

Properties of biodiesel B100 produced under industrial pilot scale at Institute of Industrial Chemistry are given in Table 23.7. It is shown in this table that the produced biodiesel BlOO meets all requirements of Vietnam standard on biodiesel BlOO (TCVN7717-07) (TCVN 7717-07, 2007). The cloud point of 10°C of biodiesel BlOO requires an additive to reduce for storage of biodiesel in neat form, however within the pilot scale production, the fuel is stored in B5 form, so this matter was not mentioned. 

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