Production of Biodiesel from Brown Grease

Mirit Kolet,Faina Nakonechny,Daniel Zerbib,Marina Nisnevitch

doi:10.3390/catal10101189

Abstract

Among the renewable energy sources is biodiesel. This fuel is usually produced by catalytic transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats under heating and pressure. Brown grease is a mixture of oils, fats, solids and detergents from food industry wastes that is captured in grease traps. Brown grease is classified as waste and must be treated and disposed of appropriately. It contains oils and fats that can be converted into biodiesel. However, the high concentration of free fatty acids in brown grease does not enable the use of conventional biodiesel production schemes. This study proposes a new scheme for biodiesel production from brown grease. In addition, conditions for the effective separation of a fat phase from brown grease were tested, and the composition of a fatty phase was determined for several grease traps. Esterification and transesterification of brown grease lipids were carried out with methanol, where the Lewis acids BF3 and AlCl3 were used as catalysts and the reaction was activated by ultrasound. The results show that biodiesel can be obtained from brown grease by esterification and transesterification within several minutes under ultrasonic activation at room temperature. These results open prospects for the development of efficient, low-cost and environmentally friendly biodiesel production.

Highlights

IntroductionIn the early 18th century, in Paris, Rudolf Diesel powered a diesel engine on 100% peanut oil
In the early 18th century, in Paris, Rudolf Diesel powered a diesel engine on 100% peanut oil.After his death, the engine was changed and operated on different diesel fuels
Sedimentation was compared to centrifugal separation of brown grease from two sources in order to find appropriate conditions for effective separation of the fatty phase

Summary

Introduction

In the early 18th century, in Paris, Rudolf Diesel powered a diesel engine on 100% peanut oil. After his death, the engine was changed and operated on different diesel fuels. In the 1930s and 1940s, plant-based oils were used as a replacement for diesel fuel in emergency situations. Until the 1980s, research on the development of alternatives to fossil fuels was not a high priority. Rising oil prices led to widespread experiments on the use of fats and plant oils as alternative fuels. Biodiesel production has been growing steadily since the early nineties, due to increasing demand for fuel for transportation and the environmental benefits of biodiesel [1,3]

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