Abstract
Biodiesel, an environmentally friendly biomass-based fuel, is gaining popularity globally as a cost-effective way to meet rising fuel demand. However, the high cost of raw materials and catalysts continues to drive up biodiesel production. An alternative feedstock with a heterogeneously catalyzed reaction could be the most cost-effective way to stabilize industrial biodiesel growth. Understanding these issues led to the idea of using waste palm oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production. While using waste materials as feedstock for biodiesel is an elegant solution, converting high free fatty acids (FFA) directly into methyl esters has some drawbacks. High FFA processes (acid esterification, then base transesterification) are costly. The commercial processes currently use a homogeneous system with sulfuric acid to catalyze both esterification and transesterification. However, heterogeneous solid acid catalysts are preferred over hazardous mineral acids for high FFA esterification because they are less corrosive, produce less waste, and are easier to separate from reactants and products by filtration, recovery, and reusability. Heterogeneous acid catalysts can also simultaneously catalyze transesterification and esterification reactions. Thus, new waste-based support for heterogeneous catalysts (solid acid catalysts) is required to convert waste oils into biodiesel.
Highlights
Nowadays, energy has fallen into three basic economic needs: electric power technologies, process heating for industries and consumers, and private and cargo transportations (Ashnani et al, 2014; Reynolds, 2014; Abd Malek et al, 2020)
The potential of waste oils, especially Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and Decanter cake (Dc)-oil can be used as feedstock are briefly reviewed in this chapter
Even though waste feedstock has a high free fatty acids (FFA) value, it can be solved by applying a heterogeneous solid acid catalyst system
Summary
Energy has fallen into three basic economic needs: electric power technologies, process heating for industries and consumers, and private and cargo transportations (Ashnani et al, 2014; Reynolds, 2014; Abd Malek et al, 2020). The advancement of sustainable alternative fuels, biodiesel, is crucial. Known as fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), is made from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and animal fats through transesterification or esterification (Ahmad et al, 2021; Ramaraj et al, 2021; Nithin et al, 2020). The history of biodiesel existed more than 100 years ago when Dr Rudolph Diesel invented a diesel engine that ran on vegetable oil on August 10, 1893 (Shay, 1993). In remembrance of this scene, August 10 has been declared as ‘International Biodiesel Day’
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