Abstract
In this research, optimization of the integrated biodiesel production process composed of transesterification of edible sunflower oil, catalyzed by commercial lipase, with simultaneous extraction of glycerol from the reaction mixture was performed. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were used in this integrated process as the reaction and extraction media. For two systems, choline chloride:glycerol (ChCl:Gly) and choline chloride:ethylene glycol (ChCl:EG), respectively, the optimal water content, mass ratio of the phase containing the mixture of reactants (oil and methanol) with an enzyme and a DES phase (mass ratio of phases), and the molar ratio of deep eutectic solvent constituents were determined using response surface methodology (RSM). Experiments performed with ChCl:Gly resulted in a higher biodiesel yield and higher glycerol extraction efficiency, namely, a mass ratio of phases of 1:1, a mass fraction of water of 6.6%, and a molar ratio of the ChCl:Gly of 1:3.5 were determined to be the optimal process conditions. When the reaction was performed in a batch reactor under the optimal conditions, the process resulted in a 43.54 ± 0.2% yield and 99.54 ± 0.19% glycerol extraction efficiency (t = 2 h). Unfortunately, the free glycerol content was higher than the one defined by international standards (wG > 0.02%); therefore, the process was performed in a microsystem to enhance the mass transfer. Gaining the same yield and free glycerol content below the standards (wG = 0.0019 ± 0.003%), the microsystem proved to be a good direction for future process optimization.
Highlights
In order to reduce the excessive depletion of fossil fuel stocks and its negative impact on the environment, environmentally friendly alternative fuels are increasingly being explored [1]
In order to optimize the integrated biodiesel synthesis and glycerol extraction process, the influence of three variables on biodiesel yield and extraction efficiency were analyzed at three levels
The highest biodiesel yield and extraction efficiency were obtained in experiments performed with the ChCl:Gly Deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which was selected as a more suitable reaction and extraction medium for carrying out this integrated process in comparison to the ChCl:ethylene glycol (EG) DES
Summary
In order to reduce the excessive depletion of fossil fuel stocks and its negative impact on the environment, environmentally friendly alternative fuels are increasingly being explored [1]. A mixture of fatty acid methyl esters, stands as a suitable replacement for fossil diesel due to its reduced greenhouse gas and impurity emissions compared to fossil diesel combustion [2,3,4,5]. The use of biodiesel in a mixture with fossil diesels such as. The most common industrial process for biodiesel production is the transesterification of vegetable oils with methanol, carried out in a batch reactor with an alkaline catalyst. Besides the fact that several hours are needed to achieve a sufficient yield in the batch production process, synthetized biodiesel requires additional expensive purification methods to become suitable for application in internal combustion engines [1,8]
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