Crude Jatropha Oil Research Articles

Spray characterization of an air-assist pressure-swirl atomizer injecting high-viscosity Jatropha oils

The effect of the kinematic viscosity on liquid sprays injected by an air-assist pressure-swirl atomizer has been investigated in a series of experiments employing pulse-laser backlight imaging and laser diffraction droplet size distribution measurements. Sprays of crude Jatropha oil, Jatropha methyl ester, diesel fuel and propylene glycol brine were examined, and the liquid viscosity was controlled by changing the liquid temperature. It was found that atomization of the liquids was improved by introducing the assist air. Instantaneous images of the sprays taken using pulse-laser backlight illumination show that the ‘spray cone’ inside the nozzle cap evolves into the following five phases as the Reynolds number increases (i.e., liquid viscosity decreases): (1) a twisted liquid jet, (2) a folded liquid film, (3) a hollow spray cone with a smooth spray cone surface, (4) an unstable spray cone with periodic fluctuation, (5) a spray cone with many wrinkles on the cone surface. It was found that the droplet size in terms of the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) is small when the spray width is large. The SMD did not monotonically increase with the liquid viscosity. A local maximum of the SMD in the SMD vs. liquid viscosity curve was observed in the unstable transitional region where the transition from laminar flow to turbulent flow occurred. A local minimum of the SMD was observed at a higher liquid viscosity, where the ‘spray cone’ inside the nozzle cap changed from a twisted liquid jet to a folded liquid film. The change in the SMD as a function of liquid viscosity has a strong correlation with that in the flame radiation intensity as a function of liquid viscosity observed in a combustion test employing the same fuel atomizer (Hashimoto et al. submitted for publication). This indicates that the flame radiation intensity can be decreased by improving atomization characteristics.

Ti-incorporated SBA-15 mesoporous silica as an efficient and robust Lewis solid acid catalyst for the production of high-quality biodiesel fuels

One-pot synthesized Ti-SBA-15 mesoporous materials with various Ti loadings of 0.808–6.78mol% were applied as heterogeneous solid acid catalysts for simultaneous esterification and transesterification of vegetable oils with methanol into high-quality biodiesel fuel (BDF) at 200°C under autogeneous pressure. According to the diffuse-reflectance (DR) UV–vis spectra, diffuse-reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectra and pulsed ammonia (NH3) chemisorption studies combined with other conventional characterizations, the catalytically active site for high-quality BDF synthesis was mostly related to the tetrahedral Ti4+ species with weak Lewis acid character, which differential heat of NH3 adsorption was lower than 90kJmol−1. Due to that the tetrahedral Ti4+ species were accessible on largely mesoporous framework, the Ti-SBA-15 catalyst gave much higher activity in transesterification of crude Jatropha oil (CJO) with methanol than microporous titanosilicate of TS-1 and commercial TiO2 nanocrystallites. Among them, the 3Ti-SBA-15 catalyst with a Ti loading of 2.46mol% showed a highest fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content of 90mass% at 200°C for 3h using a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 27. When the reaction period and methanol-to-oil molar ratio were increased to 3–6h and 108, respectively, a great variety of edible and non-edible vegetable oils with various acid values (0.06–190mgKOHg−l), including refined soybean oil (RSO), refined rapeseed oil (RRO), waste cooking oil (WCO), crude palm oil (CPO), CJO and palm fatty acid distillates (PFAD), was directly transformed into high-quality BDFs, which met with a European standard (EN 14214:2009), over 3Ti-SBA-15 catalyst at 200°C. The used 3Ti-SBA-15 catalyst was easily regenerated by calcination and its high activity was maintained. Most importantly, the 3Ti-SBA-15 catalysts could resist 5wt% of water or 30wt% of free fatty acid (FFA), which tolerance levels were several ten times better than those of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in the current BDF production technology.

Artificial neural network approach for modeling of ultrasound-assisted transesterification process of crude Jatropha oil catalyzed by heteropolyacid based catalyst

Transesterification of crude Jatropha oil to fatty acid methyl esters in an ultrasound-assisted process was conducted in the presence of different heteropolyacid-based catalysts. Tungstophosphoric acid immobilized on activated carbon and gamma alumina as well as cesium salt of the heteropoly acid were prepared and characterized for elucidation of their properties. The experimental data collected from the central composite design were used to establish artificial neural network (ANN) model in order to predict the response in the reaction. The models were also optimized to identify the suitable network topology and training method. The results obtained from ANN models were compared with the results of the regression analysis and good agreement was obtained to suggest the good potential of ANN in the FAME yield prediction.

Performance Evaluation of a Low Heat Rejection Diesel Engine with Jatropha Oil

Investigations were carried out to evaluate the performance of a low heat rejection (LHR) diesel engine consisting of air gap insulated piston with 3-mm air gap, with superni (an alloy of nickel) crown, air gap insulated liner with superni insert and ceramic coated cylinder head with different operating conditions of crude jatropha oil (CJO) with varied injection timing and injector opening pressure . Performance parameters [brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, coolant load and volumetric efficienc and exhaust emissions [smoke and oxides of nitroge were determined at various values of brake mean effective pressure (BMEP). Combustion characteristics [ peak pressure, time of occurrence of peak pressure and maximum rate of pressure ris of the engine were at peak load operation of the engine. Conventional engine (CE) showed deteriorated performance, while LHR engine showed improved performance with vegetable operation at recommended injection timing and pressure. The performance of both versions of the engine improved with advanced injection timing and higher injector opening pressure when compared with CE with pure diesel operation. Relatively, peak brake thermal efficiency increased by 14%, smoke levels decreased by 27% and NOx levels increased by 49% with vegetable oil operation on LHR engine at its optimum injection timing, when compared with pure diesel operation on CE at manufacturers recommended injection timing.

Producing Jatropha oil-based polyol via epoxidation and ring opening

A low viscosity polyol has been functionalized from crude Jatropha oil via epoxidation and subsequent ring-opening. Starting with the crude Jatropha oil, the double bonds are functionalized by introducing epoxy groups and ring-opened to produce hydroxyl groups. The experiment employs more concentrated 50% hydrogen peroxide and effectively produce solvent-free epodixidized Jatropha oil within shorter reaction time of 5h with maximum oxirane oxygen content of 4.30% and viscosity of 0.57–0.60Pa.s. The epoxidized Jatropha oil is then transform into Jatropha-based polyol with hydroxyl number of 171–179mg KOH/g, low viscosity of 0.92–0.98Pa.s. and functionality of 5.1–5.3. The epoxidation and ring-opening process are monitored by viscometer and FTIR. The produced polyol permit more time for molding and additives addition during polyurethane due to its low viscosity.

Ultrasound-assisted transesterification of crude Jatropha oil using cesium doped heteropolyacid catalyst: Interactions between process variables

Transesterification of crude Jatropha oil in the presence of cesium doped heteropolyacid catalyst and assisted by ultrasonic irradiation was investigated. Different Cs heteropolyacid catalysts with different levels of cesium exchange were synthesized and characterized for physical and chemical properties. They were subsequently tested in pre-elementary reaction conditions to identify the most active catalyst. Cs1.5H1.5PW12O40 catalyst showed the highest FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) yield of 81.3% in 60 min while higher Cs levels resulted in poorer activity. Four reaction variables i.e. reaction time (10–50 min), methanol to oil molar ratio (5:1–25:1), ultrasonic amplitude (30–90% of the maximum sonifier power) and catalyst amount (2.5–4.5 w/w oil) were optimized to generate mathematical representation of FAME yield. The highest yield of 90.5% was achieved in just 34 min under the optimum reaction conditions i.e. at an ultrasonic amplitude of ∼60%, and a molar ratio of 25:1. The catalyst was also investigated for possible reusability and leaching under ultrasonic conditions. The reaction was mostly heterogeneous in nature and the catalyst also showed minimal reduction in the activity after three successive reaction runs under the optimum reaction conditions.

Combustion and performance of a diesel engine with preheated Jatropha curcas oil using waste heat from exhaust gas

The viscosity and density of CJO (crude Jatropha oil) were reduced by heating it using the heat from exhaust gas of a diesel engine with an appropriately designed helical coil heat exchanger. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the combustion characteristics of a DI (direct injection) diesel engine using PJO (preheated Jatropha oil). It exhibited a marginally higher cylinder gas pressure, rate of pressure rise and heat release rate as compared to HSD (high speed diesel) during the initial stages of combustion for all engine loadings. Ignition delay was shorter for PJO as compared to HSD. The results also indicated that BSFC (brake specific fuel consumption) and EGT (exhaust gas temperature) increased while BTE (brake thermal efficiency) decreased with PJO as compared to HSD for all engine loadings. The reductions in CO2 (carbon dioxide), HC (hydrocarbon) and NOx (nitrous oxide) emissions were observed for PJO along with increased CO (carbon monoxide) emission as compared to those of HSD.

Transesterification of crude Jatropha oil by activated carbon-supported heteropolyacid catalyst in an ultrasound-assisted reactor system

Transesterification of crude Jatropha oil in presence of tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) supported on activated carbon (AC) using ultrasound-assisted process was investigated. The generated catalysts were characterized for physical and chemical properties to examine the effects of different TPA loadings (15%, 20%, 25% w/w). The catalysts were then used in the transesterification of Jatropha oil with high free fatty acid content. The catalyst with 20% TPA loading achieved the best methyl ester yield, achieving 87.33% in just 40 min. The quality of the feed stock was varied by increasing the water content and FFA content to test the tolerance of the catalysts towards these parameters separately. The catalyst showed good water tolerance to a limit of 1% w/w and proven to be insensitive to the increment of FFA in the feed stock. The catalyst was also investigated for possible reusability and TPA leaching under ultrasonic conditions.

Bio‐refinery Study in the Crude Jatropha Oil Process: Co‐digestion Sludge of Crude Jatropha Oil and Capsule Husk Jatropha curcas Linn as Biogas Feedstocks

One of the cultivation failure reasons of Jatropha curcas Linn (JcL) in Indonesia was that it was only recommended for Crude Jatropha Oil (CJO) production which is processed into biodiesel. CJO is only 17-25% of dry seed weight, while the waste residue is called seed cake. Another waste product is dried capsule husk (DH-JcL) which is about 30-80% of the fresh fruit weight and sludge CJO (S-CJO) or about 2-5% of the CJO. S-CJO was unutilized which is bad for the ecology when it is disposed. The research objective was the utilization of the S-CJO waste for bio-refinery and improvement productivity of biogas made from DH-JcL.The study was conducted at the research garden of PT Bumimas Ekapersada, Bekasi, West Java in November-December 2012. A liter one-stage digester was compiled completely as a randomized design (CRD) with three replications in a water bath at a temperature of 32 o C. The materials used were DH-JcL of JatroMas cultivars in the toxic category which were mixed with the sludge S-CJO as a co-substrate about with 10% water at a ratio of 1:8. Observation variables were biogas production volume (water displacement method), pH and temperature in the outlet slurry. The preliminary study concludes that S-CJO is appropriate as the co-substrate DH-JcL. It can increase the biogas productivity with feed in less than 10% of S-CJO allocation per day.

Immobilized lipase-catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil: Optimization and modeling

This study investigates the production of biodiesel from non-edible crude jatropha oil in the presence of an immobilized lipase catalyst. A modified method was used to immobilize Rhizopus oryzae lipase in the polyvinyl alcohol–alginate matrix. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were employed to evaluate the relationship between process variables and biodiesel yield and predict the optimal reaction conditions. The determination coefficient values for RSM and ANN were 0.98 and 0.97, respectively, indicating that both models can accurately predict the experimental results. The experimental results revealed that the highest biodiesel yield was 87.10% at 40°C reaction temperature, 5:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 70wt% water content, and 17h reaction time. The immobilized lipase-catalyst beads exhibited good activity for biodiesel production, as indicated by the major properties that complied with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) international D6751 standard.

Simultaneous production of high quality biodiesel and glycerin from Jatropha oil using ion-exchange resins as catalysts and adsorbent

The simultaneous production of high quality biodiesel and glycerin was realized by a bench-scale process using expanded-bed reactors packed with cation- and anion-exchange resins. The mixed-solution of crude Jatropha oil and methanol at a stoichiometric molar ratio was supplied to the process. The free fatty acid as well as triglyceride was completely converted to biodiesel. All by-products were adsorbed on the resin and the effluent from the process was free from them. The effluent fully met the international biodiesel standard specifications without any downstream purification processes except for removing methanol. The glycerin adsorbed on the resin was completely recovered as a transparent methanol solution during regeneration of the resin.

Immobilized Burkholderia cepacia lipase for biodiesel production from crude Jatropha curcas L. oil

The present world is in a dilemma with fast depletion of fossil fuels. So there arises a drastic need for development of biofuels to power the earth. From an environmental point of view, biodiesel has great potential as an alternative diesel fuel. In this study, lipase from Burkholderia cepacia was first cross linked with glutaraldehyde followed by entrapment in a hybrid matrix of equal proportions of alginate and κ-carrageenan. Later, this biocatalyst was employed for biodiesel production from crude Jatropha curcas L. oil. The optimal conditions for processing 10 g crude Jatropha oil were: 35 °C, 1:10 mol ratio of oil to ethanol, 1 g water, 5.25 g immobilized lipase, 6 g RCF and 24 h reaction time. At the optimal conditions, 100% yield of fatty acid ethyl esters could be achieved. The immobilized lipase was stable and retained 73% relative transesterification activity after six cycles of reuse. This shows that the immobilized lipase in alginate/κ-carrageenan matrix is a potential environmental friendly biocatalyst for biodiesel industry.

A novel green process on the purification of crude Jatropha oil with large permeate flux enhancement

Traditional oil purification process has some drawbacks, such as high energy cost, high chemicals demand and the loss of neutral oil. In this study, for the first time, an alternative process was introduced, which combines microfiltration (MF) pretreatment for oil dewaxing and ultrafiltration (UF) purification process for phospholipid removal. More energy and chemicals can be saved by these processes without the loss of neutral oil. It was found that crude Jatropha oil after MF pretreatment shows a higher permeate flux than the degummed Jatropha oil does. After combining two-step membrane filtration process, the physical properties of crude Jatropha oil were greatly improved. The kinematic viscosity was decreased from 28mm2/s to 25mm2/s, while carbon residue was also reduced from 5.5wt% to 2.9wt%. The newly developed two-step membrane filtration process in this study can be effectively applied for the purification of crude Jatropha oil used for biofuels.

Ultrasound-assisted transesterification of crude Jatropha oil using alumina-supported heteropolyacid catalyst

Fatty acid methyl esters synthesis from crude Jatropha oil using an ultrasound-assisted process was investigated. Several gamma alumina (Al) supported tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) catalysts were synthesized and characterized to elucidate their catalytic behaviors. TPA loadings on the support between 15% and 35% were investigated. The catalyst with 25% loading achieved the highest yield of 64.3% in 60min. Effects of reaction time (10–50min), reaction molar ratio (5:1–25:1), ultrasonic amplitude (30–90% of the maximum sonifier power) and catalyst amount (2.5–4.5w/w oil) were investigated and optimized. Mathematical representation of FAME yield was successfully generated and statistically validated. A highest reaction yield of 84% was achieved under the optimum conditions i.e. at an ultrasonic amplitude of ∼60%, a molar ratio of 19:1 and a reaction temperature of 65°C in just 50min. Interactions between the reaction variables were also statistically validated. The catalyst was also investigated for possible reusability.

Low Temperature Glycerolysis as a High FFA Pre-Treatment Method for Biodiesel Production

A novel low temperature glycerolysis process for lowering free fatty acid (FFA) in crude jatropha oil for alkali catalyzed transesterification has been developed. The response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design was used to model and optimize the glycerolysis efficiency under three reaction variables namely; reaction time, temperature and glycerol to oil mass ratio. The optimum conditions for highest glycerolysis efficiency of 98.67% were found to be temperature of 65℃, reaction time of 73 minutes and 2.24 g/g glycerol to oil mass ratio. These conditions lower the high free fatty acid of crude jatropha oil from 4.54% to 0.0654% which is below 3% recommended for alkali catalyzed transesterification. The pre-treated crude jatropha oil was then transesterified by using homogeneous base transesterification resulting to a conversion of 97.87%. The fuel properties of jatropha biodiesel obtained were found to be comparable to those of ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. The process can also utilize the crude glycerol from the transesterification reaction, hence lowering the cost of biodiesel. The glycerolysis is easier implemented than acid esterification thereby avoiding the need for neutralization and alcohol removal step.

The Modification for Increasing Productivity at Hydrolysis Reactor with Jatropha Curcas Linn Capsule Husk as Bio-Methane Feedstocks at Two Stage Digestion

Indonesia energy depends on fossil fuel which its availability get decrease; the price get higher day by day and the environment impact get worse on global warming. As tropical and agricultural country, Indonesia has plenty of bio- mass; therefore it was feasible to develop bio-fuel. In other, bio-fuel production must be wise because there were competition among food – feed – fuel. Jatropha curcas Linn (JCL) was one of non-edible bio-fuel resources, but there was mistake in development at Indonesia. This paper describe 8th study of gaseous bio-fuel from bio-methane with capsule husk as feedstocks, the waste of Crude Jatropha Oil (CJO). The study was conducted in Research Farm PT. Bumimas Ekapersada, Bekasi, West Java, from October until December 2011 to enhance the development of liquid bio-fuel – CJO/bio-diesel and gaseous bio-fuel – bio-methane in the concept of bio-refinery. Bio-methane was modern cooking fuel and the most efficient energetically. The utilization of industrial waste such as capsule husk will not compete with the food, but one of the problem was its low density, so the husk will float in the substrate. The problem can be solved by two stage digestion process, where hydrolysis reactor as process controlling. HDPE plastic drum with the volume of 160 liter was used as hydrolysis reactor. The reactors were arranged using Randomized Complete Design, three replications. The observed parameters were pH, temperature, substrate volume, volatile solid concentration, and acetic acid concentration This paper was focused on reporting of application technology modification on placement of ballast as oppressor substrate in hydrolysis reactor. 19kg of cement slabs is used to suppress 13kg dried husk (DH) + river water with the ratio 1: 8. The ballast was installed on 4, 7, 10 and 14 days of harvest retention time of hydrolysis substrate. The result showed ballast application can increase of hydrolysis substrate volume from 33.19% until 47.25% even no significantly different by statistical analysis. There was increasing in acetic acid concentration (93.27% - 128.51%) and statistical analysis showed significantly different on 4 days treatment. There was increasing on hydrolysis solution production on 4 days treatment (229.48%) and it was significantly different according statistical analysis. As the conclusion, the usage of 19kg ballast as oppressor can increase hydrolysis solution productivity on 160 liter HDPE hydrolysis reactor with concentration 1: 8 on 4 days harvest retention time.

Effects of Deacidification of Low-value Plant Oils on Biodiesel Fuel Production

Crude palm and Jatropha oils, obtained from Malaysia and Thailand, respectively, were used as low-value feed oils. To remove free fatty acid (FFA) in the feed oils, alkali or acid deacidification treatments were carried out, in which FFA was neutralized with NaOH, and esterified with methanol by H2SO4 catalyst, respectively. Both methods could reduce FFA to low levels, and the following transesterifications with alkali catalysts were successfully carried out. The yields of the treated oils were smaller with alkali than with acid deacidification. Acid deacidification required much longer treatment time than alkali deacidification. Transesterification with NaOH or CH3ONa catalyst could be conducted with the treated oil of FFA mass fraction less than 0.03. CH3ONa catalyst increased the biodiesel yields to more than 0.99 with the treated crude Jatropha oil. Crude palm oil contained more glycerides with shorter chain alkyl fatty acids, which were more reactive to saponification at transesterification, so the yields of biodiesel became lower at the transesterification.

An experimental investigation of a direct burning of crude Jatropha oil (CJO) and pitch in a commercial boiler system

We conducted a test of a direct burning of crude Jatropha oil (CJO) and pitch in a commercial boiler system. The fuel, crude Jatropha oil is not biodiesel which comes from transesterification process of bio oil, but it is pure plant oil like cooking oil. The higher heating value (HHV) of the CJO is 39.3 MJ/kg (9380 kcal/kg) and is lower than that of commercial heating oil, 44.0 MJ/kg. The kinematic viscosity of CJO is 36.2 mm2/s at 40 °C and 8.0 mm2/s at 100 °C. The burner used in the test is a commercial burner for a commercial heating oil and its capacity is 140 kW (120,000 kcal/h).We did a preliminary test whether the combustion is stable or not. The preliminary test was a kind of open air combustion test using the commercial burner with crude Jatropha oil. We found that the combustion can be stable if the crude Jatropha oil temperature is higher than 90 °C. We measured the flue gas concentration by using a gas analyzer. The NOx concentration of crude Jatropha oil is 80 ∼ 100 ppm and CO concentration is nearly 0 ppm at flue gas O2 concentration of 2.5 and 4.5%. We also tested a pitch combustion and the result shows that the NOx concentration of pitch is about 90 ∼ 110 ppm and CO concentration is below 30 ppm at flue gas O2 concentration of 2.5 and 4.5%. As a reference data, combustion of heating oil was conducted. The NOx concentration of heating oil is about 80 ppm which is the lowest value of tested fuels.

Fuel Properties Improvement of Jatropha Oil using Exhaust Heat of Diesel Engine

The aim of the present work is to design a helical coil heat exchanger to extract waste heat from exhaust gas of a diesel engine to improve the fuel properties of high viscous crude Jatropha oil (CJO). A detailed designed procedure of helical coil heat exchanger was reported in this paper. The results showed that the fuel properties like density and viscosity reduced by 2.13 and 48.76 % respectively by gaining temperature from exhaust gas. Finally preheated Jatropha oil (PJO) fueled to the 5.5 kW diesel engine and it operated smoothly with a maximum brake thermal efficiency of 29.15 % as compared to 29.88 and 28.33 % for HSD and CJO, respectively. The brake specific energy consumption of CJO and PJO was found to be only 2.84 and 5.47 % higher than that of HSD, respectively. Efficiency of the heat exchanger was found to be varying between 19 and 26 % with engine load.

Continuous-flow transesterification of crude jatropha oil with microwave irradiation

Biodiesel is one of the major renewable energy sources, produced from vegetable oils. Jatropha curcas L. is considered as a promising energy crop for biodiesel production in Thailand. This study is about continuous biodiesel production from jatropha oil by transesterification in a flow process with microwave heating. Sodium methoxide was used as a catalyst at concentrations between 0.25%–1.5%, with microwave power of 800 W, irradiation time between 10–40 s, and oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:3–1:9, respectively. Results showed that jatropha oil can be converted to biodiesel (96.5%) within 30 s under oil/methanol molar ratio of 1:6 and 1.0% catalyst. The findings indicated that this method can offer alternative means to produce biodiesel continuously.