Highest Higher Heating Value Research Articles

Hydrothermal carbonization of food waste after oil extraction pre-treatment: Study on hydrochar fuel characteristics, combustion behavior, and removal behavior of sodium and potassium

This study aims to convert oil extracted food waste (OEFW) into hydrochar as potential solid fuel via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process. The effect of HTC temperature and residence time on the physicochemical characteristic, combustion behavior, and the removal behavior of sodium and potassium were evaluated. The raw OEFW material was successfully converted into energy densified hydrochar with higher high heating value (HHV) (21.13–24.07 MJ/kg) and higher fuel ratio (0.112–0.146). In addition, carbon content in hydrochar increased to 46.92–51.82% after HTC at various operating conditions. Compared with OEFW, the hydrochar had more stable and longer combustion process with the higher ignition temperature and burnout temperature. Besides, the HTC process showed high removal rates of sodium and potassium. It was found that the HTC temperature resulted in a significant reduction of sodium and potassium in hydrochar as compared to the residence time. The highest removal rate of sodium (70.98%) and potassium (84.05%) was obtained. Overall, the results show that the HTC is a promising alternative for conventional technologies (e.g., incineration and landfill) for treatment and energy conversion of OEFW.

Catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of Spirulina over bifunctional catalyst to produce high-quality biofuel

In this study, five different bifunctional catalysts (NiO/SAPO-34, NiO/ZSM-5, NiO/USY, NiO/γ-Al2O3 and NiO/SiO2) are characterized and applied for the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of Spirulina to produce biofuel. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), ammonia desorption measurement (NH3-TPD) and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analysis results show that NiO/SAPO-34 and NiO/USY catalysts have the better physical properties compared to the other three catalysts, resulting in the higher bio-oil yields of 59.85 wt% and 59.12 wt%, respectively. Then the bio-oil samples are characterized by elemental analysis, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Results indicate that the bio-oil obtained over NiO/USY catalyst has the highest higher heating value (HHV) due to the higher C and H content as well as the lower O and N content. What’s more, it contains the most hydrocarbons (20.58%) and light oil components (72.91%) with NiO/USY catalyst. Consequently, NiO/USY is considered to be the best bifunctional catalyst for the HTL of Spirulina.

Microwave-assisted wet co-torrefaction of food sludge and lignocellulose biowaste for biochar production and nutrient recovery

Microwave-assisted wet co-torrefaction of food sludge (FS) and six widely produced lignocellulose biowaste samples were performed for biochar production. Factors including the torrefaction temperature, reaction time, biowaste type, and blending ratio of sludge and biowaste were evaluated. Biochar produced from FS torrefied at 150 °C for 20 min exhibited the greatest enhancement of carbon content and higher heating value (HHV). Blending sludge with macadamia husk at a ratio of 25/75 (db%) under the same wet torrefaction condition further improved biochar quality, enhanced the fixed carbon content, caused the highest HHV (19.6 MJ/kg), and considerably decreased the ash content. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that sludge and biowaste degradation followed first-order kinetics, and the resultant biochar exhibited improved thermal stability, combustion efficiency, and safety for biofuel applications because of the increase in the activation energy, frequency factor, and ignition and combustion temperatures. Biochar is an excellent coal substitute for power generation because of its enhanced energy efficiency (energy return on investment: 7.4) and environmental friendliness (45.2 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with using bituminous coal). Moreover, the protein and carbohydrate contents in the supernatant of FS co-torrefied with biowaste at different blending ratios increased by 1.8–9.0 and 0.8–3.4, respectively. These contents can be recycled back to the activated sludge unit as a nutrient source, rendering the process green and sustainable without any waste production.

Coal higher heating value prediction using constituents of proximate analysis: Gaussian process regression model

ABSTRACT This study aims to develop a globally valid prediction model for coal higher heating value (HHV). For the first time, the Gaussian process regression (GPR) method is performed to build the prediction model. For this purpose, a large dataset (as received basis) composed of a wide range of coal ranks is gathered from different geographic locations throughout the world countries in the related literature. The predictor variables for the prediction model include proximate analysis constituents that are moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon, and ash. Furthermore, multiple linear regression (MLR) method is employed to predict coal HHV. To evaluate the performances of the developed models, the results obtained from each model are compared with each other and the results of the models given in the related literature by prediction performance criteria. The results prove that the prediction capability of the GPR model is superior to the MLR model and the models reported in the literature. For the testing stage, the attained coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE) are 0.9833, 2.5%, 0.7672, respectively. It can be concluded that the proposed GPR model is a powerful tool to achieve high precision coal HHV prediction.

Kraft lignin fractionation by organic solvents: Correlation between molar mass and higher heating value

The new concept of integrated biorefineries has significantly changed pulp and paper industries. Lignin, which until then was only burned to generate energy, is now an important raw material for new products production. Kraft lignin (KL) fractions obtained by sequential fractionation with five organic solvents. This sequence allows to extract fractions from lower molar mass to higher molar one, resulting in more homogeneous samples. Lignin’s fractions were characterized by FTIR, GPC, TGA and Higher Heating Value (HHV). HHV for KL was 24966, the lowest being 17,891 (F5) and the highest being 27051 J/g (F1), inversely proportional to the molar masses of fractions. This is a very important result indicating that the lower HHV fractions can be used for certain applications, such as antioxidants, additives, polymers, among others, adding value to kraft lignin. Fractions with higher HHV could be used for energy generation in the cellulose paper industry.

In-situ catalytic pyrolysis upgradation of microalgae into hydrocarbon rich bio-oil: Effects of nitrogen and carbon dioxide environment

Pyrolysis of Spirulina Platensis (SP) microalgae was carried out under different reaction environment such as nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) at different reaction temperatures of 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500 °C. Catalytic upgradations were examined over solid acid (ZSM-5) and solid base (MgO) catalyst, and with ZSM-5-MgO catalysts mixtures. Results showed, pyrolysis of non-catalytic biomass yielded maximum bio-oil of 43.6% under N2. However catalytic upgradation in CO2 environment produced lower bio-oil due to the coke formation. Maximum bio-oil (46.2 wt%) was obtained with basic metal MgO catalyst in N2 environment compared to other catalyst and environments. Mixture of MgO-ZSM-5 catalyst improved the bio-oil yield (37.8–48.6 wt%) compared to individual catalytic reaction under N2 and CO2. Higher high heating value (HHV) was observed in catalytic bio-oil 36.8 MJ/Kg. Bio-oil (catalytic) analysis revealed that 64–70% of compounds are in hydrocarbon range. Bio-oil was rich in hydrocarbons of C7-C18 range with less oxygenated compounds.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of macroalgae with in-situ-hydrogen donor formic acid: Effects of process parameters on products yield and characterizations

Catalytic Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of Ulva lactuca (UL) macroalgae over various amount of formic acid (FA) with solvents (water, ethanol and methanol) at different reaction temperatures (260, 280 and 300 °C), reaction holding times (15, 30 and 45 min.) with acidic ZSM-5 and basic MgO catalyst were investigated. Without catalyst, the maximum bio-oil yield was obtained 43.8 wt.% in ethanol-FA mixture at 280 °C for 30 min reaction time. However, the maximum bio-oil (55.2 wt.%) was obtained with basic metal MgO catalyst in the ethanol-FA solvent mixture compared to the acidic ZSM-5 catalyst (48.7 wt.%). When ethanol solvent used with MgO and ZSM-5 catalyst, the highest bio-oil yield 46.7 and 48.7 wt.% were observed. Selectively higher derivatives of hydrocarbon compounds were obtained with MgO in ethanol-FA solvent. However the phenolic compounds majorly were found with ZSM-5 catalyst. The higher carbon (69.5 %) and higher high heating value (HHV) (35.8 MJ/kg) was observed in case of MgO catalytic HTL bio-oil compared to the other HTL bio-oil. The use of catalysts in HTL increased the boiling point range of bio-oil and the higher boiling point range was observed in case of MgO and ZSM-5 catalytic bio-oil.

Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Rice Straw Using Methanol as Co-Solvent

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising thermochemical process to treat wet feedstocks and convert them to chemicals and fuels. In this study, the effects of final temperature (300, 325, and 350 °C), reaction time (30 and 60 min), rice-straw-to-water ratio (1:1, 1:5, 1:10, and 1:15 (wt./wt.)), methanol-to-water ratio (0:100, 25:75, 50:50, and 75:25 (vol.%/vol.%)), and alkali catalysts (KOH, NaOH, and K2CO3) on product yields, composition of bio-crude, higher heating value (HHV) of bio-crude and bio-char, and energy recovery on HTL of rice straw are investigated. At the optimal processing condition corresponding to the final temperature of 300 °C, 60 min reaction time, and rice-straw-to-water ratio of 1:10 at a final pressure of 18 MPa, the bio-crude yield was 12.3 wt.% with low oxygen content (14.2 wt.%), high HHV (35.3 MJ/kg), and good energy recovery (36%). The addition of methanol as co-solvent to water at 50:50 vol.%/vol.% improved the yield of bio-crude up to 36.8 wt.%. The selectivity to phenolic compounds was high (49%–58%) when only water was used as the solvent, while the addition of methanol reduced the selectivity to phenolics (13%–22%), and improved the selectivity to methyl esters (51%–73%), possibly due to esterification reactions. The addition of KOH further improved the yield of bio-crude to 40 wt.% in an equal composition of methanol:water at the optimal condition. The energy-consumption ratio was less than unity for the methanol and catalyst system, suggesting that the process is energetically feasible in the presence of a co-solvent.

Hydrothermal treatment of sewage sludge to produce solid biofuel: Focus on fuel characteristics

This research aimed to investigate the optimal conditions for solid fuel production from sewage sludge by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) at relatively low temperatures and then to determine the fuel properties of the obtained hydrochar. HTC experiments were conducted at 100–200 °C for 0, 30 and 60 min, respectively. The maximum hydrochar yield, about 890 g/kg, was obtained at 150 °C for 60 min. However, the hydrochar produced at 150 °C for 30 min had the highest higher heating value (HHV) of 16.17 MJ/kg. The produced hydrochars under different reaction conditions are competitive to the low-rank coal like peat. Results from this work suggest that HTC at 150 °C for 30 min is the most suitable condition for solid biofuel production from the sampled sewage sludge only, achieving an energy recovery efficiency of 0.92. Under the above HTC conditions, the produced char demonstrates a high grindability highlighting its suitability as solid fuel for energy generation.

Alternative drying of orange bagasse in vibrofluidized bed for use in combustion

Orange is one of the most consumed fruits in the world, part of the production is directed to the production of industrialized juice that generates the orange bagasse. Initially, it was evaluated the influence of virgin and hydrated CaO pre-treatment on the mechanical dewatering stage and on the thermal drying in the vibrofluidized bed. In the mechanical dewatering stage, humidity reduction from 1 to 0.6 (dimensionless) was obtained, probably because of the interaction between the adsorbed water of pectin molecules and the CaO. No significant variations were identified in the type of CaO used in this step, however, the increase in virgin CaO content led to an increase in the flow of the removed moisture. The drying kinetics of the pressed waste in vibrofluidized bed were analyzed with vibration amplitude and frequency of 0.015 m and 6.16 Hz, respectively, at 70 and 80 °C, where the humidity was reduced to approximately 0.1 and only decreasing rate period was identified. The drying kinetics compared the influence of CaO pre-treatment under different conditions and in general the use of CaO improved the drying process. The dry waste was also characterized, where it was identified high higher heating value (HHV) and high volatile matter.

Catalytic pyrolysis of rice straw: Screening of various metal salts, metal basic oxide, acidic metal oxide and zeolite catalyst on products yield and characterization

Lignocellulosic biomass is a promising renewable feedstock for the production of chemicals and fuels in light of the extensive use of fossil fuels associated with increasingly serious environmental problems. In this study, pyrolysis of rice straw with different types of catalyst such as metal salts (FeCl3, CuCl2, MgCl2 and MnCl2), metal basic oxides (MgO, CaO, MgCO3 and CaCO3), acidic metals (ZnO, ZrO2, CeO2 and TiO2), zeolites catalysts (ZSM-5, Y-Zeolite, Mordenite and SBA-15), catalyst amount (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%) and reaction temperatures (350, 400, 450 and 500 °C) were examined on product yield and products characterization. The maximum bio-oil (38.5 wt%) was obtained for non-catalytic reaction at 450 °C. However for catalytic reaction highest bio-oil yield were observed 55.2, 52.1, 48.7 and 48.4 wt% with Y-zeolite, MgO, ZrO2 and MgCl2 catalyst at 450 °C respectively. GC-MS, FT-IR, NMR, GPC, TGA, and CHNS were used for bio-oil characterization. Y-zeolite effectively produced phenolics monomers as compare to basic (MgO), acidic (CeO2) and metal salt (MgCl2) catalyst. The use of catalysts was increased the boiling point range and the higher boiling point range was observed in case of Y-zeolite and MgO catalytic bio-oil. The highest higher heating value (HHV) 36.7 MJ/kg and highest carbon 75.2% was observed for zeolite catalytic bio-oil. Moreover lower molecular weight in the catalytic bio-oil was observed as compare to non-catalytic bio-oil.

Understanding the pyrolysis behavior of agriculture, forest and aquatic biomass: Products distribution and characterization

Pyrolysis studies on agricultural (rice straw), forest (pine) and aquatic (Ulva lactuca) biomass were carried out in a fixed bed reactor at different temperature range of 300–550 °C. The product distributions and their characterization of products were compared among these biomasses. The maximum liquid product yield 29.4, 57.5 and 25.6 wt% obtained at 400, 500 and 400 °C respectively from rice straw (RS), pine (PN) and Ulva lactuca (UL) biomass. However, the higher conversion was observed in the case of pine wood biomass 77.0% at 550 °C. From the GC-MS analysis, it is observed that RS and PN bio-oil mostly composed of derivatives of phenolic compounds, while UL bio-oil composed of cyclopentenone derivatives compounds. The highest higher heating value (HHV) was found in pine bio-oil 34.8 MJ/kg. Also PN pyrolytic bio-oil had higher boiling point differences compounds. The bio-char analysis showed that the PN bio-char is a carbon rich and porous in nature as compared to the RS and UL bio-char.

Solid base catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction of macroalgae: Effects of process parameter on product yield and characterization

The hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of Sargassum tenerrimum (ST) macroalgae was carried out for 15 min, over various solid base catalysts (CaO supported on CeO2, Al2O3, and ZrO2) at different reaction temperatures (260–300 °C), different catalyst quantities (5–25 wt%) and using different solvent systems. Maximum bio-oil (BO) yields for the non-catalytic HTL with single solvent water, ethanol, and water-ethanol co-solvent were 3.3 wt%, 23.3 wt%, and 32.0 wt%, respectively, at 280 °C. Ethanol as single solvent elicited highest BO yield of 25.2 wt% with CaO/ZrO2 (10.0 wt%) catalyst. However, the highest BO yield (33.0 wt%) accompanied by higher conversion (70.5%) was obtained with CaO/ZrO2 (10.0 wt%) under water-ethanol co-solvent. The selectively higher percentage of ester functional compounds (87.8%) was found with CaO/ZrO2 catalyst under water-ethanol co-solvent. Also, the bio-oil obtained from catalytic liquefaction showed a higher high heating value (HHV) compared to that from the non-catalytic HTL reaction.

Characteristics of Carbonized Biomass Produced in a Manufacturing Process of Wood Charcoal Briquettes Using an Open Hearth Kiln

Characteristics of carbonized biomass obtained from a Wood charcoal briquette manufacturing process using an open hearth kiln are analyzed in this research, and differences in the characteristics based on the results of a mechanical screening process and the position within the kiln. One type of biomass and five types of carbonized biomass were collected from a Wood charcoal briquette manufacturer. After screening and grinding processes were performed on samples of 1 type of biomass and 5 types of carbonized biomass extracted from a Wood charcoal briquettes manufacturer to classify by particle size, fixed carbon, ash, volatile matters, elemental composition, and high heating value (HHV) were measured. Experimental results showed that the carbonized biomass collected from the middle layer had the highest HHV, 20.4 MJ/kg, and therefore had the highest fuel quality. In terms of particle size, the carbonized biomass below 100 mesh had the lowest ash content and the highest HHV, carbon content, and fixed carbon content. Correlation analyses showed that ash content had negative correlations with HHV, volatile matters, fixed carbon, and carbon content, which suggested that ash content affected negatively on fuel quality.

Thermal Degradation of Cassava Rhizome in Thermosyphon-Fixed Bed Torrefaction Reactor

A thermosyphon-fixed bed reactor was designed and constructed to investigate the temperature distribution of the cassava rhizome and its decomposition behavior. To study the properties of torrefied char obtained from this reactor, cassava rhizome was torrefied in five different configurations, including the thermosyphon-fixed bed reactor, a laboratory reactor in compact bulk arrangement with N2 as the purge gas and without any purge gas, and another one in a hollow bulk arrangement with and without purge gas. It was found that the use of thermosyphons with a fixed bed reactor improved the uniform temperature distribution. The average heating rate to the cassava rhizome bed was 1.40 °C/min, which was 2.59 times higher than that of the fixed bed reactor without thermosyphons. Compared to the other configurations, this reactor gave the highest higher heating value (HHV) and the lowest mass yield of 23.97 MJ/kg and 47.84%, respectively. The water vapor produced in this reactor played an autocatalyst role in the decomposition reaction. Finally, the thermosyphon-fixed bed reactor gave an energy yield in the range of 70.43% to 86.68%. The plot of the HHV ratio–mass yield diagram indicated the difference of torrefied char obtained from different reactors. The thermosyphon-fixed bed reactor produced torrefied biomass with the highest HHV ratio compared to that of other reactors at the same energy yield.

Effects of the novel catalyst Ni-S2O8 2--K2O/TiO2 on efficient lignin depolymerization.

To improve the utilization of lignin, much effort has been devoted to lignin depolymerization with the aim to decrease waste and enhance profitability. Here, a dual property (acid and base) catalyst, namely S2O82−–K2O/TiO2, was carefully researched. Upon loading S2O82− and K2O onto TiO2, acid and base sites emerged, and S2O82− and K2O mutually enhanced the acid and base strengths of the catalyst enormously; this indeed facilitated lignin depolymerization. Under appropriate conditions, the yields of liquid product, petroleum ether soluble (PE-soluble) product and total monomer products were 83.76%, 50.4% and 28.96%, respectively. The constituents of the PE-soluble fraction, which are mainly monomers and dimers, can be used as liquid fuels or additives. In addition, after the catalyst was modified by Ni, better results were obtained. Surprisingly, it was found that the Ni enhanced not only the hydrogenation capacity but also the acidity. The highest high heating value (HHV) of the liquid product (33.6 MJ kg−1) was obtained, and the yield of PE-soluble product increased from 50.4 to 56.4%. The product can be utilized as a fuel additive or be converted to bio-fuel. This catalysis system has significant potential in the conversion of lignin to bio-fuel.

Predicting the higher heating value of syngas pyrolyzed from sewage sludge using an artificial neural network.

Sludge pyrolysis is a complex process including complicated reaction chemistry, phase transition, and transportation phenomena. To better evaluate the use of syngas, the monitoring and prediction of a higher heating value (HHV) is necessary. This study developed an artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict the HHV of syngas, with the process variables (i.e., sludge type, catalyst type, catalyst amount, pyrolysis temperature, and moisture content) as the inputs. In the first step, through optimizing various sets of parameters, a three-layer network including 8 input neurons, 15 hidden neurons, and 1 output neuron was established. Then, in the second step, an ANN model has been successfully used to predict the HHV of syngas, with a fitting correlation coefficient of 0.97 and a root mean square error (MSE) value of 14.62. The relative influence of input variables showed that the pyrolysis temperature and moisture content were the determining factors that affected the HHV of syngas. The results of optimization experiments showed that when temperature was 895°C and the moisture content was 45.63wt%, the highest HHV can be obtained as 438.22kcal/m3-N. Moreover, the ANN model showed a higher prediction accuracy than other models like multiple linear regression and principal component regression. The model developed in this work may be used to predict the HHV of syngas using conventional operational parameters measured from in situ experiments, thus further providing predictive information for the use of syngas as energy and fuel.

Investigation of yields and qualities of pyrolysis products obtained from oil palm biomass using an agitated bed pyrolysis reactor

Oil palm biomass is a non-woody lignocellulosic biomass that has a high potential at the south of Thailand for biofuels and bioenergy applications. Pyrolysis of oil palm biomass to produce biofuels such as bio-oil, biochar, and pyrolysis gas is still challenging. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the yields and qualities of pyrolysis products obtained from oil palm trunk (OPT), oil palm fronds (OPF), and oil palm shell (OPS) using an agitated bed pyrolysis reactor. These biomasses were pyrolyzed at pyrolysis temperatures of 400, 450, and 500°C while the other operating parameters were fixed. The results showed that the different types of oil palm biomass and pyrolysis temperatures affected the product yields and qualities. The OPF pyrolyzed at 500°C provided the highest liquid yield. The liquid product contained a relatively high water content with a low pH value, leading to highly-oxygenated compounds as indicated by gas chromatography-electron ionization/mass spectroscopy technique (GC-EI/MS). The higher heating value (HHV) of the liquid product was 18.95-22.52 MJ/kg. The biochar had a relatively high HHV ranging from 25.14 to 28.45 MJ/kg. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the resultant biochar had a porous structure surface with a surface area of 1.15-4.43 m2/g as indicated by BET. The pyrolysis gas contained a low composition of combustible gases, leading to a low HHV.

Characterization of energy content in food waste by using thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) and elemental analyser (CHNS-O)

Food waste samples from various categories were examined for their energy content. In this work, the objective was to characterize the energy contents in food waste to assess their potential for renewable energy resources. The food waste samples that were analysed included tofu, carrot, corn, chicken, biscuit, rice and beef. The food wastes were characterized by proximate analysis using Thermogravimetric Analyser (TGA) and by ultimate analysis using Elemental Analyser (CHNS-O). The energy content in food waste was then evaluated using various higher heating value (HHV) correlations that were researched and established by many researchers. The results from both analyses demonstrated that the energy content from the higher heating value (HHV) calculated by using different equations indicated the food waste usage as an energy source. The highest HHV was found in the beef. Among the samples prepared, it can be observed that the most efficient ‘waste-to-energy’ sample is the protein-based food because this food has the highest amount of volatile matter with the lowest amount of ash content and fixed carbon content. Plus, protein food gives the highest percentages of carbon and hydrogen elements in order to help the combustion process going perfectly in order to convert it into an energy source.

Synthesis and characterization of Argania spinosa (Argan oil) biodiesel by sodium hydroxide catalyzed transesterification reaction as alternative for petro-diesel in direct injection, compression ignition engines

In this research work, the optimization conditions for obtaining optimum biodiesel yield from argan oil as well as the quantification of degree of interactions between reactants and biodiesel yield were investigated by using a response optimization model and response surface methodology (RSM) respectively. Similarly, a regression polynomial model was used to develop a unified equation for predicting the expected yield of Argan biodiesel for different values of reactant variables and a regression coefficient of 92.56% was obtained.The Argan oil was extracted from its kernel by using a soxhlet extractor with hexane as extraction solvent and 54.50% oil yield was obtained. The fatty acid compositional analysis was done by using a Shimadzu GCMS QP2010 SE Gas-chromatograph-mass spectrometer.The spectrometer analysis shows that the oil has 80.90% of unsaturated fatty acid with oleic and linoleic acid constituting larger percentages respectively. A sodium hydroxide catalyzed transesterification reaction was used to convert the triglyceride in the oil to fatty acid methyl ester under standard conditions and the fuel properties of the oil and its ester were measured by using the American society for testing and materials (ASTM) procedures. A Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) technique was used for qualitative characterization of biodiesel functional groups in order to affirm the complete conversion of the oil into biodiesel.Results showed that the cold flow behaviour in terms of cloud point, pour point, cold filter plugging point (CFPP) and Low temperature flow test (LTFT) and critical properties such as cetane number, calorific value, iodine value, density, flash point, ash percentage and carbon residue of the Argan biodiesel showed a good agreement with ASTM D6751-07b and European committee for standardization (EN 14214) standard requirements. Hence, its application in compression ignition engines will pose no threat as far as performance, combustion and emission qualities are concerned. Finally, the Argan biodiesel has a very high higher heating value (HHV) of 40,665 kJ/kg which is very uncommon of other vegetable oils methyl esters and thus facilitate better heat release during combustion and improves engine performance.