Sustainable biodiesel production from novel Mesua assamica (King & Prain) non-edible seed oil: process optimisation and characterisation

The determination of the activation energy of diesel and biodiesel fuels and the analysis of engine performance and soot emissions

The present work introduces a new methodology in the production of biodiesel from pork-lard waste having high cholesterol content and discusses its improved performance and emissions in a diesel engine. The traditional method of transesterification does not work with cholesterol due to the absence of triglycerides, therefore, the new improved method oxidizes cholesterol to fatty acids and then converts it to biodiesel ester. The procedure includes an acid reagent to break cholesterol and a renewable basic catalyst from seashells, for catalyzing the production. The acid-base system maintains the overall pH while yielding 95.6% conversion at the optimized conditions. The morphology of the produced catalyst was analyzed through FESEM and confirmed through XRD and EDX analyses. The physicochemical and ASTM properties were determined and the calorific value of the 20% biodiesel blend was found to be comparable with that of diesel. From the engine performance analysis, the thermal efficiency of the engine was observed to be higher and the exhaust emissions showed a maximum of 75% reduction in CO and 42.2% reduction in CO2 emissions, proving it to be an environment-friendly fuel. Additionally, a 32.7% reduction in smoke opacity was also observed, thus decreasing the concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere.

Biodiesel is marketed as a long-term renewable fuel that may partially replace fossil fuels in transportation while also helping to reduce global warming. The current study is focused on using waste animal fat as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) are used as catalysts, with methanol as an alcohol. Temperature at 60°C, reaction time 2 hrs for acid catalyst, and 55°C, reaction time 90 min for base catalyst with a methanol to oil ratio of 5 : 1 are the experimental and optimized process conditions. With the H2SO4 catalyst, the biodiesel yield was 65.7%, while with the KOH catalyst, it was 48.8%. The ASTM standards are used to compare and study the physicochemical characteristics. This study offers an environmentally friendly solution to a global problem of atmospheric pollution, and at the same time, it shows a commercial alternative to reduce the ecological impact caused by waste animal fat.

One-Dimensional Thermodynamic Model Development for Engine Performance, Combustion and Emissions Analysis Using Diesel and Two Paraffin Fuels

Abstract-Biodiesel is a diesel engine fuel made from oil containing triglycerides as well as rubber seed oil. This research aims to study how the extraction process of rubber seed oil, to know the effect of crude biodiesel manufacturing process by transesterification and esterification-transesterification and the addition of different catalysts on the transesterification process of crude biodiesel produced. Esterification process use H2SO4 catalyst and transesterification process use KOH and NaOH catalyst. The process of making crude biodiesel done by transesterification and can also by the merging of esterification-transesterification process. Based on this research, yield of crude biodiesel produced by transesterfication and esterification-transesterification by using NaOH catalyst is 38% and 75,6%, while yielded by KOH catalyst is 22,5% and 80%. While the acid number obtained from the transesterification process and esterification-transesterification using KOH catalyst is the same that is 1.33 and for the NaOH catalyst is 1,83 and 1,68. Saponification number obtained from both processes using KOH catalysts were 24,68 and 26,37 and for NaOH catalysts were 18,51 and 20,20. Keywords: Rubber seed oil, crude biodiesel, acid number, saponification number.

Comparative analysis of the application of artificial neural network-genetic algorithm and response surface methods-desirability function for predicting the optimal conditions for biodiesel synthesis from chrysophyllum albidum seed oil

In this study, fuel properties and engine performance values of biodiesel fuel (B100) and alternative blended fuels containing different volumetric amounts of diesel (M100), biodiesel (B100) and n-butanol (BU) or n-pentanol (P) (diesel / biodiesel / n-butanol and diesel / biodiesel / n-pentanol) were evaluated in comparison with the reference diesel fuel (M100). In addition, the effects of EHN on fuel properties and emission values have been examined by adding 2-Ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN) cetane improver additive to mixture fuels at a concentration of 2000 ppm. Engine performance tests of all fuels and mixtures were carried out in a four-cylinder, four-stroke, and direct injection diesel engine at different speeds and full load conditions. Fuel properties of diesel, biodiesel and blended fuels have been determined that in harmony with the biodiesel and diesel fuel standards. When the engine performance results for all fuels and blends were evaluated, the maximum engine power, engine torque, and the minimum specific fuel consumption were realized in M100 fuel with values of respectively 63.3 kW (2100 min-1), 339.65 Nm (1300 min-1), and 256.53 g kWh-1 (1600 min-1). Among the blended fuels, the closest results to M100 fuel in terms of engine performance were obtained from M85B10P5 + EHN fuel. Besides, mixed fuels containing n-pentanol showed better performance results than blended fuels containing n-butanol.

Biodiesel resources and production technologies – A review

Microalgae are lipid-rich microscopic eukaryotic algae that can be used aiming for more sustainable biodiesel production by employing environmentally sound processes. The present work evaluates biodiesel production using a biocatalyst and two microalgae species as oil feedstock (Chlorella vulgaris and Aurantiochytrium sp.). Lipid extraction was performed using different techniques, namely, Soxhlet extractions (8 h — both species) with different solvents (hexane; hexane:ethanol (1:1 v/v); and chloroform) and room temperature hexane extraction (72 h — Aurantiochytrium sp.). Transesterification occurred for 24 h (150 rpm), using 30 % lipase loading. The results showed that high extraction temperatures cause microalgae oil degradation, focused on unsaturated fatty acids, leading to a lower biodiesel conversion yield. Using Aurantiochytrium sp. oil, it was possible to obtain around 55 %wt. of biodiesel conversion yield using oil extracted at room temperature (6:1 methanol:oil molar ratio), whereas for the oil extracted in the Soxhlet apparatus, the biodiesel conversion yield was around 30 %wt.. The low lipid content (1.0 %wt.) and biodiesel conversion yield (up to 25 %wt.) obtained using C. vulgaris show that the biomass used in the current study has low potential for biodiesel production. However, enzymatic biodiesel production from microalgae represents a promising avenue for sustainable energy generation, offering a renewable and environmentally responsible solution to the world’s energy needs. For that purpose, further studies, such as the optimisation of the extraction and transesterification of Aurantiochytrium sp. oil, should be carried out.

Recent Development in the Production of Third Generation Biodiesel from Microalgae

Effect of quality of waste cooking oil on the properties of biodiesel, engine performance and emissions

Current biodiesel technologies are not sustainable as they require government subsidies to be profitable by the producers and to be affordable by the public. This is mainly due to: 1) high feedstock cost and, 2) energy intensive process steps involved in their production. Sustainable biodiesel production needs to consider: a) utilizing low cost feedstock; b) utilizing energy-efficient, non-conventional heating and mixing technologies; c) increase net energy benefit of the process; and 4) utilize renewable raw material/energy sources. In order to reduce production costs and make it competitive with petroleum diesel, low cost feedstock, such as non- edible oils and waste frying oils could be used as raw materials. Net energy benefit can be increased by using high oil yielding renewable feedstock such as algae. Additionally, application of energy efficient non-conventional technologies such as ultrasonics and microwaves may reduce the energy footprint of the overall biodiesel production as shown in Figure 1. This presentation provides a perspective on sustainable biodiesel production using waste cooking oils, non-edible oils and algae as feedstock. Process optimization using novel heating and mixing techniques, net energy scenarios for different feedstock from sustainability view of the biodiesel production technologies will be discussed.

This research work presents a techno-economic assessment of biodiesel production with non-standard waste cooking oil (WCO) (brown grease of small restaurants, yellow grease of households) and semi-open Chlorella sp. microalgal cultivation, which covers the problematic areas of scale and cost-efficiency in sustainable biodiesel production. Cost-effective biodiesel feedstock research has been motivated by the urgency of finding sustainable sources of energy. With base-catalyzed transesterification optimized by ANOVA and response surface methodology (RSM), the present study recorded biodiesel yields of up to 99.08% in household WCO (at optimum conditions; 55 °C, 3.3 mg/g NaOH, ethanol) and 96.61% in restaurant WCO (at optimum conditions; 54 °C, 1.5 mg/g NaOH, methanol) compared to 28.6% in Chlorella sp. (semi-open photobioreactors). Concerning the two types of WCO feedstocks, the obtained equations are able to compute the biodiesel viscosity and yield, in good correlation with the experimental values, in relation to the temperature and ratio of catalyst to oil/alcohol solution. The assessed household WCO has better yield and quality as it contains fewer impurities, whereas the restaurant WCO needed to be further purified, driving up the prices. Although Chlorella biodiesel is carbon neutral, its production and extraction costs are higher, making it less economically feasible for biodiesel production. Economic analysis showed that the capital costs of household WCO, restaurant WCO, and Chlorella sp. are USD 190,000, USD 220,000, and USD 720,000, respectively, based on 1,000,000 L/year as biodiesel production rate. Low capital costs as well as byproduct glycerol income of the two investigated types of WCO play a role in their low payback periods (0.23–0.91 years) and high ROI (110–444.4%). The analysis highlights the economic and environmental benefits of WCO, especially household WCO, as a scalable biodiesel feedstock, which provides new insights into process optimization and sustainable biodiesel strategies. To enhance its sustainability and cost-effectiveness and contribute to the transition to renewable biofuels globally, future studies need to emphasize energy reduction in microalgae production and purification of restaurant WCO.

In the present work, cagaite (Eugenia dysenterica DC.) seed oil was studied as a potential inedible raw material for biodiesel production. The oil was extracted using a Soxhlet extractor and the fatty acids acyl esters that make up biodiesel were obtained by alkaline transesterification using sodium hydroxide. The influence of reaction parameters was also evaluated: molar ratio, time, and amount of catalyst. The conversion of fatty acids into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), which make up biodiesel, was calculated using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1HNMR) spectra. In a 30 min reaction period, the molar ratio of oil to methanol was 1:4, resulting in a conversion of 63.57%. However, when the molar ratio was increased to 1:8, the conversion reached 81.74% during the same 30 min reaction period. After 60 min of reaction, additional increases in conversion were observed when molar ratios of 1:4, 1:6, and 1:8 were used. Under these conditions, the conversions achieved were 92.08%, 98.24%, and 98.78%, respectively. The physico‐chemical properties were evaluated and the results showed that cagaite seed oil biodiesel was similar to soybean biodiesel, which is the most commonly produced biodiesel in Brazil. It was thus an important substitute for soybean biodiesel.

Jatropha is considered as one of the most promising potential oil sources for biodiesel production and other industrial applications. However, research on the potential of Jatropha seed oil is mainly focused on Jatropha curcas, with other species receiving little attention. The physicochemical properties of J. podagrica seed oil was studied to determine its potential as feedstock for biodiesel production and other industrial applications in Thailand. The seed oil was extracted with n-hexane from milled kernels using the soxhlet extractor and subsequently characterised for free fatty acids, iodine value, viscosity, saponification value, density, and acid value. The fatty acid profile of the seed oil was also analysed using gas chromatography (GC). Analysis of the physical properties of the J. podagrica seed kernel showed lower average physical characteristics when compared to those of J. curcas seed kernel. J. podagrica seeds had high oil content comparable to J. curcas oil content. The main fatty acid components of the seed oil were oleic acid (15%) and linoleic acid (70%). Generally, the results of the physicochemical analysis indicated that J. podagrica seed oil would be very useful for the production of soap and shampoo in Thailand. To produce biodiesel from the seed oil, a two-step acid-catalysed transesterification process would be appropriate.