Biodiesel tallow

Apart from a few reports" on solid acid catalyzed esterification of model compounds, to our knowledge utilization of solid catalysts for biodiesel production from low quality real feedstocks have been explored only recently. 12-Tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) impregnated on hydrous zirconia was evaluated as a solid acid catalyst for biodiesel production from canola oil containing up to 20 wt % free fatty acids and was found to give ester yield of 90% at 200°C. Propylsulfonic acid-functionalized mesoporous silica catalyst for esterification of FFA in flotation beef tallow showed a superior initial catalytic activity (90% yield) relative to a... 

Biodiesel made from feedstocks containing large concentrations of long-chain saturated fatty acids will have very poor cold flow properties. Less expensive feedstocks such as palm oil or tallow (see Table 1.3) may not be feasible in moderate temperature climates. In contrast, feedstocks with lower concentrations of long-chain saturated fatty acids yield biodiesel with more attractive cold flow properties. For example, biodiesel from canola, linseed, olive, rape-seed, and safflower oils have CP and PP close to or below 0°C (Table 1.3). 

Blending petrodiesel with SME significantly increases CP and PP at relatively low blend ratios (vol% SME) in No. 1 petrodiesel fuel and jet fuel (Dunn, 2001 Dunn and Bagby, 1995). For blends in No. 2 petrodiesel, increasing blend ratio increases CP and PP linearly (R2 = 0.99 and 0.96). Blending petrodiesel with SME also increases CFPP and LTFT (Dunn and Bagby, 1995). Similar results were reported for blends with biodiesel derived from coconut oil, rapeseed oil, tallow and waste grease (see Table 1.4). 

Oleic acid content = 77.9 wt% before conversion to biodiesel. c4 1 v/v soybean oil methyl ester/tallow methyl ester. 

Rendering produced an estimated 4.18 million metric tons of animal fats was produced in the United States in 2000 by rendering.87 Of this amount, approximately 18 percent and 6 percent were edible tallow and lard, respectively, and 41 percent and 35 percent were inedible tallow and grease. Approximately 15 percent and 34 percent of the edible tallow and lard, respectively, and 37 percent of the inedible tallow and grease were exported. Of the inedible tallow and grease used in the United States, an estimated 75 percent was used as animal feed, 16 percent was converted to fatty acids by the oleochemicals industry, 4 percent was used in soaps, and 3 percent in lubricants. Inedible animal fats are the lowest cost domestic fat sources. Their market price per pound sometimes is less than fuel oil, and rendering plants have chosen to bum them as fuels. In 2001, animal fats were included with vegetable oils for federally supported trials of biodiesel fuel. 

As animal fats are a potential feedstock for biodiesel production, Cummins et al. (142) assessed the danger of a human contracting CJD as a result of the use of tallow as a fuel in diesel engines. They concluded that the risk was several orders of magnitude less than the rate of spontaneous appearance of CJD. Thus, scientific analysis indicates that processed (i.e., rendered) animal fat is not an agent of transmission of BSE. Nonetheless, especially in the United Kingdom, the public remains skeptical. This has in some cases led to less use of animal fats in feed applications. Especially in the United Kingdom, the BSE epidemic has reduced the amount of domestically available tallow (because of condemnation) and increased the use of other lipids in place of animal fats. 

Currently, most biodiesel is synthesized from higher quality vegetable oils, including canola, sunflower, and soy. More recently, used frying oil and tallow have... 

Because of the dominance of soybean oil in the U.S. market, the majority of the biodiesel produced in the United States is made from this feedstock. A few plants use more costly feedstocks, such as canola, and others use low-cost materials such as yellow grease, tallow and chicken fat. 

Ma, F. L.D. Clements M.A. Hanna, biodiesel fuel from animal fat. ancillary studies on transesterification of beef tallow. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1998a, 37, 3768-3771. 

Animal edible tallow is normally obtained from beef but also from sheep and goats, processed from suet. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation. It is used in animal feed, to make soap, for cooking, as bird feed, and was used for making candles. It can be used as a raw material for the production of biodiesel and other oleochemicals. ... 

Judd, B. Biodiesel from tallow. Energy efficiency and conservation authority. 2002. Available at http // www.eeca.govt.nz/eeca-Hbrary/renewable-energy/biofuels/report/biodiesel-from-tallow-report-02.pdf (accessed 21/2/2008). 

Bioenergy has always been an important energy resource in Brazil, in different forms sugarcane, used for bioethanol and bioelectricity production wood, used as fuel in the industrial, residential, and power sectors and vegetable oils and tallow used in biodiesel... 

As mentioned earlier, the quality of the feedstock has a significant effect on the reaction yield, where FFAs and moisture contents are key parameters in defining feedstock feasibility. For example, the alkali-catalyzed production of biodiesel from duck tallow at 65°C and a 6 1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio resulted in a 62% conversion (Chung et al 2009), whereas sunflower resulted in an 86% conversion using the same catalyst under the same conditions (Vicente et al., 2004). 

Chung, K.-H., J. Kim, and K.-Y. Lee. 2009. Biodiesel Production by Transesterification of Duck Tallow with Methanol on Alkali Catalysts. Biomass and Bioenergy 33... 

Ma, R, L. D. Clements, and M. A. Hanna. 1998. Biodiesel Fuel from Animal Fat. Ancillary Studies on Transesterification of Beef Tallow. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry... 

Vegetable oils (such as rapeseed, soybean and palm oils) or animal fats (beef tallow) are used for the production of so-called biodiesel, which is typically made by alcoholysis of oils and fats with methanol, ethanol or propan-l-ol. With the growth in the hydrocarbon chain length of the alcohol, the lipophilicity increases so that the two-phase system does not form in the reaction with propan-l-ol, and glycerol does not separate. Therefore, the industrially important esters, such as propyl or butyl esters as well as esters of secondary alcohols, can be only prepared by direct esterification of fatty acids with the appropriate alcohol. Methyl and especially ethyl esters can also be obtained by enzyme-catalysed alcoholysis using non-specific lipases. 

A focus area for this meeting was a discussion of new approaches to life cycle analyses of biobased processes is described in three papers. Anex reports an evaluation of processes for the production of 1,3-propanediol. Niederl describes an analysis of biodiesel production from tallow, while the paper from Bohimann reports on life cycle issues surrounding polyhydroxylalkanoate production. 

Ecological Evaluation of Processes Based on By-Products or Waste from i riculture Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel from Tallow and Used... 

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