Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil

2007

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the main environmental and technological aspects of producing and consuming ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil. An analysis of the entire ethanol production chain makes clear that the strategic use of the byproducts is essential to ensure the sustainability of the production chain. Two additional issues should be addressed, namely, burning sugarcane before the harvest and expanding the sugarcane monoculture area. The study demonstrates that ethanol production from sugarcane contributes to environmental sustainability and that this renewable fuel compares favorably with fossil fuels.

Journal of Oleo Science, 2006

Recent petroleum crisis (1), increasing cost and unavailability of petroleum diesel gave impetus to the scientists to work on alternative fuel, biodiesel. Biodiesel has been gaining worldwide popularity as an alternative energy source because it is non toxic, biodegradable & non flammable and has significantly fewer emissions than petroleum-based diesel (petrodiesel) when burned.Biodiesel is an eco-friendly, alternative diesel fuel prepared from domestic renewable resources i.e. vegetable oils (edible or non-edible) and animal fats, that runs in diesel engines-cars, buses, trucks, construction equipment, boats, generators, and oil home heating units. Various edible and non edible vegetable oils, like rice bran oil, coconut oil, Jatropha curcas, castor oil, cottonseed oil, mahua, karanja which are either surplus and are nonedible type, can be used for the preparation of biodiesel. (2). It is an alternative fuel derived from the conversion of agricultural lipids and a simple alcohol into fatty acid alkyl ester and glycerol and is defined as "mono alkyl esters of fatty acids derived from vegetable oil or animal fats". These natural oils and fats are made up mainly of triglycerides. These triglycerides have striking similarity to petroleum derived diesel so that it is known as "biodiesel". Biodiesel functions in current diesel engines, and is a possible candidate to replace fossil fuels as the world's primary transport energy source.

CHEMTAG Journal of Chemical Engineering

Biodiesel is a potential renewable energy that can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase energy security. Biodiesel has been shown to have lower carbon emissions compared to petroleum diesel, and it can reduce GHG by as much as 86%. Governments around the world have set targets for renewable energy, with a specific focus on the use of biofuels like biodiesel. Biodiesel can be derived from various feedstocks such as animal lipids, vegetable oils, and waste oils. It can be made through the transesterification of triglyceride with ethanol or methanol. This reaction requires strong base catalysts, such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, in order to produce methyl esters. The potential of biodiesel has led to advancements in its production, such as the use of enzymatic transesterification, novel feedstocks, and the optimization of production parameters. Additionally, various companies have ventured into biodiesel production with a range of business models and approaches.

Fuel Processing Technology, 2005

Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. It consists of the monoalkyl esters formed by a catalyzed reaction of the triglycerides in the oil or fat with a simple monohydric alcohol. The reaction conditions generally involve a trade-off between reaction time and temperature as reaction completeness is the most critical fuel quality parameter. Much of the process complexity originates from contaminants in the feedstock, such as water and free fatty acids, or impurities in the final product, such as methanol, free glycerol, and soap. Processes have been developed to produce biodiesel from high free fatty acid feedstocks, such as recycled restaurant grease, animal fats, and soapstock. D

Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 2014

This paper presents an overview of the main challenges in the production of biodiesel. Whereas the cost of biodiesel is determined for about 85 % by the cost of the raw material and that the most employed feedstock are oils used also for nutrition, it seems obvious that it is necessary to search for nonedible feedstock with low cost for the production of biodiesel. The choice of feedstock is based on variables such as the oil yield, local availability, cost, and government support. Feedstocks with higher oil yields are more preferable in the biodiesel industry because they can reduce the production cost. In Brazil, approximately 80 % of the biodiesel produced is made from soybean despite of its low oil content (18-21 %). The leadership of soybeans as feedstock for biodiesel production is explained by the increasing demand for more protein meal. Coconut and babassu with more oil yield respectively with 62 and 60 % of oil content are likely substitutes for soybean. Castor bean, despite of its high oil content (50 %) and advantages, such as low production cost and its resistance to hydric stress, has some difficulties to meet the ANP regulations, mainly due to its high viscosity. However, castor bean biodiesel-diesel blends of up to 40 % are within specifications. Yield per hectare is another factor that should be considered in the choice of raw material for the production of biodiesel. Among the various oilseeds, oil palm deserves to be highlighted as the most productive.

Materials Science Forum, 2012

The increasing in the world population has continuously increased the energy demand. As an effective fuel, petroleum has been serving the world to meet its energy needs. Continued use of petroleum sourced fuels is widely recognized as unsustainable because of depleting supplies and all the environmental issues around its use could be responsible for a major deficit in the future. Thus, the development of alternative energy sources, are to be welcomed. Biodiesel, as an alternative fuel, has many benefits. It is biodegradable, non-toxic and compared to petroleum-based diesel, has a more favorable combustion emission profile, such as low emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter and unburned hydrocarbons. In brief, these merits make biodiesel a good alternative to petroleum based fuel. The use of alternative feedstock as waste cooking oils (WCO), bovine fats and microalgae oil for biodiesel production has some advantages. It is cheaper than edible vegetable oils and it is a way to valorize a sub-product. Nevertheless, these oils has some contaminants, which can reduce the quality of biodiesel, a problem that was solved by testing different operating conditions and equipment designs for each stage of processing. The technological assessment of this process was carried out to evaluate their technical benefits, limitations and quality of final product. In this work biodiesel was produced by an alkali-catalyzed transesterification, a reaction involving the WCO feedstock and an alcohol to yield fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerol. The evaluation of quality from raw materials and final biodiesel was performed according to standard EN 14214. Results show that all parameters analyzed meet the standard and legislation requirements. This evidence proves that in those operating conditions the biodiesel produced from WCO, bovine fats and microalgae can substitute petroleum-based diesel.

In recent years, the concept of producing biodiesel from renewable lipid sources has regained international attention. In Brazil, a national program was launched in 2002 to evaluate the technical, economic, and environmental competitiveness of biodiesel in relation to the commercially available diesel oil. Several research projects were initiated nationwide to investigate and/or optimize biodiesel production from renewable lipid sources and ethanol derived from sugarcane (ethyl esters). Once implemented, this program will not only decrease our dependence on petroleum derivatives but also create new market opportunities for agribusiness, opening new jobs in the countryside, improving the sustainability of our energy matrix, and helping the Brazilian government to support important actions against poverty. This article discusses the efforts to develop the Brazilian biodiesel program in the context of technical specifications as well as potential oilseed sources.