Biological Methods in Biodiesel Production and Their Environmental Impact

Krzysztof Biernat,Marlena Owczuk,Izabela Samson-Bręk,Anna Matuszewska

doi:10.3390/app112210946

Abstract

This publication presents the technologies of enzymatic biodiesel production in comparison to the conventional methods using acid and base catalysts. Transesterification with conventional catalysts has some disadvantages, and for this reason, alternative methods of biodiesel production have been investigated. These solutions include the replacement of chemical catalysts with biological ones, which show substrate specificity in relation to fats. Replacing chemical with biological catalysts causes elimination of some disadvantages of chemical processes, for instance: high temperatures of reaction, problematic process of glycerol purification, higher alcohol-to-oil molar ratios, and soap formation. Moreover, it causes operational cost reduction and has a positive environmental impact. This is due to the lower temperature of the process, which in turn translates into lower cost of equipment and lower GHG emissions associated with the need to provide less heat to the process. The increase of biofuels’ demand has led to the technology of enzymatic biodiesel production being constantly being developed. This research mainly focuses on the possibility of obtaining cheaper and more effective biocatalysts, as well as increasing the durability of enzyme immobilization on different materials.

Highlights

In many countries, different economic crises, high pollution, and the depletion of fossil fuels are serious problems and present big challenges [1]
In order to eliminate some of the disadvantages and reduce the negative impact of biodiesel production on the environment, work is underway on the possibility of replacing chemical catalysts with biological ones
The use of enzymes in biodiesel production has a lot of advantages, such as [20]: the possibility to work under different environments, the possibility of enzyme production in bulk, ease of adaptation of enzymes, no separation is required when transesterification is conducted in a packed-bed reactor, and the good thermal stability of lipases enables to carry out the process at elevated temperatures

Summary

Introduction

Different economic crises, high pollution, and the depletion of fossil fuels are serious problems and present big challenges [1]. Global trends force the use of environmentally friendly fuels instead of fossil fuels It means that older generation biofuels and the technology for their production are used in these countries. These fuels are most often produced from food plants (e.g., rape seed, soybean, sugar cane, and maize) and include mainly bioethanol and biodiesel. In order to eliminate some of the disadvantages and reduce the negative impact of biodiesel production on the environment, work is underway on the possibility of replacing chemical catalysts with biological ones For this reason, this article presents an analysis of technological solutions for the production of biodiesel, with particular emphasis on enzymatic transesterification and environmental benefits resulting from the possibility of its use

Production of Biodiesel by Chemical Transesterification Process

Production of Biodiesel by Biological Transesterification Process

Environmental Impact

Findings

Conclusions