Large-scale Biodiesel Production Research Articles

Physicochemical properties of lard oil and rubber seed oil blends and their comprehensive characterization

This research investigates the potential of blending complementary lard oil with rubber seed oil as feedstock for biodiesel production. Rubber seed oil, obtained through hexane extraction using the Soxhlet method, contains the major fatty acids of oleic acid (C18:1), palmitic acid (C16:0), linoleic acid (C18:2), and stearic acid (C18:0), while rubber seed oil primarily consists of linoleic acid (C18:2), oleic acid (C18:1), linolenic acid (C18:3), palmitic acid (C16:0), and stearic acid (C18:0). Th least acid value of lard oil (0.55 mg KOH/g) can benefit of reducing soap formation of rubber seed oil during transesterification process in biodiesel production due to its substantial-high acid value (16.28 mg KOH·g–1). Blending at ratios below 80:20 v/v produced biodiesel exceeding 85%, utilizing CaO as a catalyst. Lard oil demonstrated a higher reaction rate constant (11.88×10–3 min–1) than rubber seed oil (2.11×10–3 min–1), indicating a significant difference in performance. High acid value and free fatty acids in rubber seed oil correlated with lower reaction rates. Maintaining a mixture ratio below 80:20 v/v optimized reaction rates during biodiesel production. Biodiesel obtained from blends below 80:20 v/v met ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards, demonstrating suitability for bio-auto fuel. The drawbacks of using rubber seed oil as a raw material for biodiesel production are overcome by blending with lard oil, giving rise to expanding renewable energy options for rural communities, community enterprises, and large-scale biodiesel production.

Purification of crude glycerol derived from biodiesel production process using ceramic membranes: Experimental studies and modeling of flux behavior

Large-scale biodiesel production generates large quantities of glycerol with high impurities levels, and new purification processes are needed to add value to this by-product of biodiesel production. Thus, this study evaluated the application of ceramic membranes for glycerol purification from biodiesel production and the influence of the mean pore diameter of the membrane, pressure, temperature, and the addition of acidified water to the mixture to be purified. The experiments were carried out in a tangential filtration module with ceramic membranes of 5 kDa, 20 kDa, 0.05 μm, and 0.2 μm, varying the pressure by 1, 2, and 3 bar and the temperature by 25, 40, and 60 °C. The results showed that increasing the pressure, average pore diameter and temperature caused an increase in the permeate flux. Furthermore, adding acidified water increased permeate fluxes and glycerol concentrations for all membranes and pressures used. A higher glycerol content (91.13 %) was obtained with the 5 kDa membrane at 3 bar and 60 °C. The traditional fouling mechanism models failed to fit most of the experimental data. On the other hand, the proposed generalized model adequately predicted the experimental permeate flux data for the different types of fouling mechanisms observed.

Production of biodiesel from palm kernel oil through base-catalyzed trans-esterification process

Growing concerns about environmental problems associated with fuels have engineered so much research into biofuels, such as biodiesel. However, continuous and large-scale production of biodiesel from edible oil could result in serious food security problems if cheap and viable alternatives are not made available. To solve this problem, oil was obtained from non-food/ underutilized seeds of palm kernel using Soxhlet apparatus. Physicochemical properties and fatty acids composition of these oils were determined using standard analytical and instrumental methods. Biodiesel was processed from these oils via sequential base (KOH) homogeneous catalysis. Fuel properties of biodiesel from the oil were determined using standard methods and the results obtained were compared with standards. Oil yields were found to be 37.6% for palm kernel seed respectively. Physicochemical properties of palm kernel oil respectively are: saponification value:(115.00)mg KOH/g, acid value(4.488)mgKOH/g, free fatty acid value (2.244)mg/KOH/viscosity:(29)mm2/s, moisture content: (0.46)%, peroxide value:(3.12)meqkg-1,refractive index:(1.455), specific gravity (0.899)g/cm. Fuel properties of biodiesel from palm kernel seed oil respectively are: Kinematic viscosity at 40oc: (nil) mm2/s, smoke point (100oc), flash point(90oc),fire point:(150oc),pour point(nil) and cloud point:(nil).The physicochemical properties of the biodiesel produced showed that the flash point, viscosity, density, ash content, percentage carbon content, specific gravity and the acid value fell within American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications for biodiesel. Therefore, the biodiesel produced from the oil significantly met standard quality requirements.

Preparation of CaO@CeO2 Solid Base Catalysts Used for Biodiesel Production

The study investigated the use of CeO2 extracted from monazite with calcium oxide (CaO) as a solid catalyst for biodiesel production. The wet impregnation method was used to produce CaO@CeO2 mixed-oxide catalysts with 0–50 wt.% CaO. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) was used to characterize the catalysts. In order to determine the optimal preparation conditions, the effect of different CaO compositions on the performance of CaO@CeO2 mixed-oxide catalysts was examined. The catalytic activity of the CaO@CeO2 catalyst for the transesterification reaction of palm oil to produce biodiesel was studied. The results show that the optimum yield of biodiesel can reach 97% fatty acid methyl ester over the 30CaO@CeO2 catalyst at the reaction conditions of 5 wt.% catalysts, methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9:1, with a reaction temperature of 65 °C within 30 min. The results show that the high catalytic activity and stability of the CaO@CeO2 catalyst make it a promising candidate for industrial-scale biodiesel production. Further study is needed to improve the stability and efficiency of catalysts in transesterification reactions to achieve a high FAME yield using long-life-span catalysts. Moreover, it is necessary to investigate the economic feasibility of this process for application in large-scale biodiesel production.

Biodiesel production from spent vegetable oil with Al2O3 and Fe2O3-biobased heterogenous nanocatalysts: Comparative and optimization studies

A waste-to-wealth approach was adopted in this study to establish an efficient, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable process for producing biodiesel from Spent Vegetable Oil (SVO). This involved the synthesis and calcination at 800 °C of aluminum and iron oxide snail shell-based catalysts (F2O3-SS and Al2O3-SS) using the wet-impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized using FTIR, XRD, and SEM-EDS, and then used in the transesterification of SVO to produce biodiesel. Optimization was performed using three-factor Box-Behnken Design (BBD): reaction time, catalyst concentration, and temperature. After extensive physicochemical study, FTIR and GC–MS analyses were further carried out on the produced biodiesel. The XRD results showed crystalline composites with an average lattice parameter of 8.5583 Å (Fe2O3-SS) and 7.4813 Å (Al2O3-SS). EDX and FTIR confirmed surface modifications with the formation of metal oxide (Me-O) at 543 cm−1 (Al-O) and 613 cm−1 (Fe-O). SEM micrographs show flower-like and spherical-shaped nanocomposites of F2O3-SS (162 nm) and Al2O3-SS (660 nm), respectively. Under optimal transesterification conditions of 120 min, 1.0 wt%, and 90 °C, biodiesel yields of 94.23 ± 0.50 and 91.94 ± 0.21 % were recorded for both Al2O3-SS and F2O3-SS, respectively. FTIR analysis corroborated the biodiesel production, with a distinctive C-O-C ester stretch at 1021 cm−1 for both catalysts. The produced biodiesel recorded a low moisture content and specific gravity values of 0.03 % and 0.8011 kg/m3 for Al2O3-SS, 0.02 % and 0.8042 kg/m3 for Fe2O3-SS. GC–MS analysis shows hexadecanoic acid, 15-methyl-, methyl ester as the predominant component, constituting 29.87 % and 25.34 % for Al2O3-SS and F2O3-SS, respectively. Furthermore, activation energy (Ea) values of 50.42 and a pre-exponential factor (A) of 2.2 × 105 were recorded for Al2O3-SS while 45.94 kJ/mol and 6.2 × 104 were recorded for Ea and A, respectively for Fe2O3-SS. The outcomes of this research reveal the efficacy of utilizing aluminum and iron oxide snail shell-based nanocatalysts for biodiesel production from spent vegetable oil. However, future studies should focus on evaluating their long-term stability, assessing their environmental impact, and identifying potential applications in large-scale biodiesel production.

Efficient biodiesel production from recycled cooking oil using a NaOH/CoFe2O4 magnetic nano-catalyst: synthesis, characterization, and process enhancement for sustainability

This research introduces an environmentally sustainable approach to biodiesel production, utilizing waste cooking oil (WCO) as a renewable feedstock. The focal point of this study is the synthesis and characterization of NaOH/CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles, employed as an efficient catalyst for the transesterification reaction between WCO and methanol. Comprehensive analysis, including X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, magnetometry, temperature-programmed carbon dioxide and ammonia desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals nanoparticles with remarkable catalytic properties. The transesterification process catalyzed by NaOH/CoFe2O4 yields biodiesel at an impressive rate of 98.71%, complying with ASTM standards. Kinetic and thermodynamic evaluations elucidate reaction mechanisms, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide insights into the catalytic process. The magnetic catalyst's reusability enhances sustainability, making it a promising solution for large-scale biodiesel production, and lays the foundation for future catalyst optimization.

Theoretical Models Constructed by Artificial Intelligence Algorithms for Enhanced Lipid Production: Decision Support Tools

Theoretical models that predict the lipid content of microalgae are an important tool for increasing lipid productivity. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM), RSM combined with artificial neural network (ANN), and RSM combined with ensemble learning algorithms (ELA) for regression were used to calculate the maximum lipid percentage (%) from Chlorella minutissima (C. minutissima). We defined one set of rules to achieve the highest lipid content and used trees.RandomTree (tRT) to simulate the process parameters under various conditions. Among the various models, results showed the optimum values of the root mean squared error (0.2156), mean absolute error (0.1167), and correlation coefficient (0.9961) in the tRT model. RSM combined with tRT estimated that the lipid percentage was 30.3% in wastewater (< 35%), lysozyme (≥ 3.5 U/mL), and chitinase (< 15 U/mL) concentrations, achieving the best model based on experimental data. The optimal values of wastewater concentration, chitinase, and lysozyme were 20% (v/v), 5 U/mL, and 10 U/mL, respectively. Also, the if-then rules obtained from tRT were also used to test the process parameters. The tRT model served as a powerful tool to obtain maximum lipid content. The final rankings of the performance of various algorithms were determined. Furthermore, the models developed can be used by the fuel industry to achieve cost-effective, large-scale production of lipid content and biodiesel.

Chromatographic assessment of biodiesel production from Peganum harmala seed oil using environmentally benign nano-catalysts.

This work gives a comprehensive chromatographic assessment of biodiesel generation from plant seed oil using ecologically friendly nano-catalysts. Researchers all over the world are actively looking for new ways to satisfy the urgent need for clean and renewable energy sources. The resultant biodiesel was fully characterized utilizing modern techniques like scanning electron microscopy, energy diffraction X-ray and X-ray diffraction. The biodiesel gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis revealed four significant peaks of fatty acid methyl esters, indicating high-quality biodiesel production. Furthermore, the biodiesel fuel qualities were discovered to be comparable with international standards such as ASTM D-6571 and EN-14214. This indicates that the iron-modified clay nano-catalyst can be used as a catalyst for large-scale biodiesel production. This work is important because it could lead to the large-scale production of a novel, non-food feedstock. We may lessen our reliance on fossil fuels and contribute to a more sustainable and ecologically friendly energy future by leveraging the usage of biodiesel produced in this way. The chromatographic assessment of biodiesel production from non-edible seed oil using environmentally benign nano-catalysts holds significant promise in advancing sustainable and eco-friendly biodiesel production methods, contributing to a cleaner and more environmentally responsible energy sector.

Abiotic factors improving fatty acid profiling of freshwater indigenous microalgae isolated from Kumaun region of Uttarakhand, India.

Microalgae have grabbed huge attention as a potential feedstock for biofuel production in response to the rise in energy consumption and the energy crisis. In the present study, indigenous microalgal strains were isolated from four freshwater lakes in the Kumaun region, Uttarakhand, India. Based on growth and lipid profiles, the four best-performing isolates were selected for further experiments. Initial identification of isolates was done by morphological observations, which were further validated by molecular identification using ITS sequencing. The screened cultures were subjected to abiotic stress conditions (varying concentrations of nitrogen and different temperatures) to monitor the biomass, lipid accumulation, and biochemical compositions (chlorophyll and carotenoids). The quantification of fatty acids was checked via gas chromatographic analysis. The strains were identified as KU_MA3 Chlamydopodium starrii, KU_MA4 Tetradesmus nygaardii, KU_MA5 Desmodesmus intermedius, and KU_MA6 Tetradesmus nygaardii. KU_MA3 Chlamydopodium starrii showed the best results in terms of growth and lipid production at 21 °C and 0.37 g/L NaNO2 concentration. The percentage of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) attained >80% and met the standard for biodiesel properties. The strain has the potential to attain higher biomass and accumulate higher lipid content, and after some more studies, it can be used for upscaling processes and large-scale biodiesel production.

Recycling calcium oxide nanoparticles for sustainable biodiesel production from nonedible feedstock Argemone mexicana L.

Biodiesel, seen as a key alternative to fossil fuels, has drawn significant attention. In this study, we synthesised calcium oxide (CaO) nanoparticles and assessed their catalytic efficiency for biodiesel production from the nonedible seed oil of Argemone mexicana L. The nanoparticles were thoroughly characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. ASTM standard procedures were used to evaluate the fuel properties of biodiesel. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of biodiesel was conducted using gas chromatography –mass spectrometry (GC-MS), FT-IR, nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), and nuclear mangnetic resonance (13C-NMR). For biodiesel synthesis, the transesterification method was followed. The synthesised nanoparticles have a size of 28 nm, and the feedstock contains 43% oil content. Optimal biodiesel yield (96%) was achieved with a 1:9 oil to methanol ratio, 15 mg of catalyst, a temperature of 55 °C, and a reaction time of 50 min. Notably, the catalytic activity of CaO nanoparticles was diminished with repeated use. Most fuel properties were confirmed to the ASTM standard ranges. The results suggest the viability of the feedstock for large-scale biodiesel production.

Economic evaluation of biodiesel plant design in Bontang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that was potential to be produced in Indonesia. Biodiesel can reduce dependence on fossil fuels so that large-scale biodiesel production was needed to encourage renewable energy application. In this research, plant design and economic evaluation of biodiesel plant will be carried out. The research aims to evaluate the economic of biodiesel plant design in Bontang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia at 2023. The designed of biodiesel plant had 68,000 tons/year capacity with Crude Palm Oil (CPO) and methanol as raw materials which will be built in 2026 at Bontang, East Kalimantan. Bontang was chosen by considering the industrial area, proximity to raw materials, ease of transportation and utility. The process technology used in biodiesel plant design was transesterification reaction with a liquid phase base catalyst. From profitability analysis showed that 53.17% Return of Investment (ROI), 2.35 years Payback Period (PBP), US$ 22,237,387 Net Present Value (NPV), and 33.5% Internal Rate of Return (IRR).

Exploring the biodiesel production potential of marine microalgae Nodosilinea nodulosa SNMVBTAR001 from Kerala coastal region, India

Microalgae-derived biodiesel has emerged as a promising solution to meet the increasing global demand for carbon-free and environmentally sustainable energy. This study explores the diversity of microalgae across seasons in Kerala, India, to assess their potential for biodiesel production. A total of Ninety marine microalgal isolates were analyzed, revealing Cyanophyceae sp. as the dominant group (67.64%), followed by Bacillariophyceae (22.54%), Chlorophyceae (5.88%), Xanthophyceae (1.96%), and Trebouxiophyceae (1.96%). Microalgae species distribution varied across regions, with Munnakal region exhibiting the highest diversity. Seasonal fluctuations played a significant role, with diversity peaking during pre-monsoon, followed by post-monsoon, summer, and winter. Five isolates with the highest growth (OD values) were identified, and SNMVBTAR007 (285 ± 1.5 mg/L) and SNMVBTAR001 (294 ± 2.0 mg/L) displayed the highest biomass concentration. Lipid analysis revealed SNMVBTAR001 (59%) and SNMVBTAR044 (55%) as having the highest lipid concentrations. Molecular characterization confirmed their identification as Nodosilinea nodulosa. Transesterification of extracted microalgal lipids yielded biodiesel meeting ASTM and EN standards. Fatty acid analysis indicated the presence of desirable fatty acids, particularly oleic acid. Qualitative assessments, including density, acid value, flashpoint, and soap content, aligned with biodiesel standards. Nodosilinea nodulosa SNMVBTAR001, a potential candidate for biodiesel production, with maximum efficiency of 23.10 km/L in an electrical generator. This study underscores the promise of Nodosilinea nodulosa microalgae for sustainable biodiesel production, offering eco-friendly energy solutions and reduced carbon emissions. Further research is needed to optimize cultivation and production techniques for large-scale biodiesel production, contributing to a greener and more sustainable energy future.

Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil Using Extracted Catalyst from Plantain Banana Stem via RSM and ANN Optimization for Sustainable Development

Biodiesel is a promising sector worldwide and is experiencing significant and rapid growth. Several studies have been undertaken to utilize homogeneous base catalysts in the form of KOH to develop biodiesel in order to establish a commercially viable and sustainable biodiesel industry. This research centers around extracting potassium hydroxide (KOH) from banana trunks and employing it in the transesterification reaction to generate biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO). Various operational factors were analyzed for their relative impact on biodiesel output, and after optimizing the reaction parameters, a conversion rate of 95.33% was achieved while maintaining a reaction period of 2.5 h, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 15:1, and a catalyst quantity of 5 wt%. Response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural network (ANN) models were implemented to improve and optimize these reaction parameters for the purpose of obtaining the maximum biodiesel output. Consequently, remarkably higher yields of 95.33% and 95.53% were achieved by RSM and ANN, respectively, with a quite little margin of error of 0.0003%. This study showcases immense promise for the large-scale commercial production of biodiesel.

Agricultural Waste-Based Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Production of Biodiesel: A Ranking Study via the VIKOR Method

Agricultural waste-based heterogeneous catalysts are emerging as efficient and green catalysts. The present study explored the agricultural waste-based heterogeneous catalyst utilized in the production of biodiesel. The plant waste is composed of organic compounds and various metals which, on combustion, produces ashes that mainly consist of various metal carbonates and oxides. The most commonly employed approach for the solid catalyst preparation from plant materials is the calcination process, and it is performed at temperatures ranging from 300 to 1200°C. It is known that the temperature employed for calcination plays a vital role in the composition and development of the morphology of the catalyst. The variation in alkalinity, porosity, and, accordingly, the catalytic activity of the catalyst is significantly influenced by the calcination temperature. It was found that the potassium present in the form of oxide and carbonate as the main constituent in such catalysts played a significant role in delivering catalytic efficacy. Therefore, a number of agricultural waste-based catalysts were reported as efficient catalysts. The selection of the catalyst may be one of the important issues for application in large-scale biodiesel production. Thus, the present study was undertaken for the preparation of a rank list among the reported catalysts by following the VIKOR (Višekriterijumsko Kompromisno Rangiranje) multicriterion decision-making approach. In this work, the ranking study was performed considering the reported optimum reaction conditions (ORCs) of biodiesel synthesis reactions. The study was conducted strictly on the basis of the parameters, viz., catalyst concentration ( C 1 ), MTOR ( C 2 ), reaction temperature ( C 3 ), reaction time ( C 4 ), and biodiesel yield ( C 5 ). The parameters are considered good if C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , and C 4 are low or minimum and if C 5 is high or maximum. The catalyst prepared from plantain peel showed the best performance and ranked as the first one followed by Musa paradisiaca peel and cocoa pod husk catalysts which are ranked second. Thus, the VIKOR method can be useful for comparison and ranking purposes if there are a large number of data, and this may be expanded for thorough study by considering more criteria which may give more fruitful results.

Effect of Temperature and Tapioca Flour Concentration on Manufacture of CaO·SiO2 Heterogeneous Catalyst Pellets Made from Brick Burning Ash for Biodiesel Synthesis

Solid catalysts are the best choice for an effective large-scale biodiesel production process. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of catalysts due to the influence of variations in sintering temperature and binder composition on heterogeneous catalysts of CaO·SiO2 pellets made from brick-burning residue. The catalyst was made by the sol-gel method with silica insoles with 5% KOH solvent, CaO soles with HNO3 solvent of 1.5 N, and a CaO: SiO2 ratio of 1:5. The amount of tapioca flour binders was 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5%. The resulting gel was made into a catalyst powder, sintered at various temperatures of 600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C, 900 °C, and 1000 °C, then pelleted with a hydraulic press with a diameter of 9 mm. Catalysts were tested with density test, hardness test, PSA, XRF, XRD, and SEM. The characteristics of the CaO·SiO2 catalysts were influenced by the composition of the binding material and the sintering temperature. The test results show that the influence of variations in the composition of the binder fluctuates because the characteristics of the catalyst are also affected by the compaction process. The higher the sintering temperature, the better the catalyst will be, but if the temperature is too high it can cause agglomeration.

Process Assessment of Integrated Hydrogen Production from By-Products of Cottonseed Oil-Based Biodiesel as a Circular Economy Approach

Cottonseed oil (CSO) is well known as one of the commercial cooking oils. However, CSO still needs to compete with other edible oils available in the market due to its small production scale and high processing cost, which makes it a potential candidate as a feedstock for biodiesel production. To date, transesterification is the most widely applied technique in the conversion of vegetable oil to biodiesel, with glycerol produced as a by-product. Large-scale biodiesel production also implies that more glycerol will be produced, which can be further utilized to synthesize hydrogen via the steam reforming route. Therefore here, an integrated biodiesel and hydrogen production from CSO was simulated using Aspen Hysys v11. Simulation results showed that the produced biodiesel has good characteristics compared to standard biodiesel. An optimum steam-to-glycerol ratio for hydrogen production was found to be 4.5, with higher reaction temperatures up to 750 °C resulting in higher hydrogen yield and selectivity. In addition, a simple economic analysis of this study showed that the integrated process is economically viable.

Polyacrylonitrile fiber with light-driven intelligent reversible and switchable wettability as an environmental benign solid base for biodiesel production

Vigorous advocacy for the promising strategy on biodiesel replacing petrodiesel can effectively alleviate the dual pressure of energy deficiency and environmental pollution. Nevertheless, the difficulty of lowering larger mass transfer resistance between two-phases of alcohol/oil is a stumbling block in the biodiesel production. Furthermore, the high catalytic efficiency of the most commonly used solid bases for biodiesel production is weakened due to the saponification reaction caused by fatty acids in feedstock. Addressing these two issues has emerged as a pressing concern for achieving efficient biodiesel production. Herein, a polyacrylonitrile fiber (PANF) with light-driven intelligent reversible and switchable wettability, i.e., PANF-NH2@RAFT@SPA&[AD][OH] featuring Brønsted-Lewis di-base sites and photoresponsiveness, was successfully fabricated through reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer strategy. Physicochemical properties of the resulting fibers were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, NMR, TGA, SEM, TEM, XPS, WCA, and UV–Vis. The effect of methanol-to-oil molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time and catalyst feed on biodiesel production was also investigated. Under optimal conditions, a maximum soybean oil conversion of 100% was achieved with a corresponding biodiesel yield of 98.97%, which is an exceptional and unprecedented result. These impressive results can be ascribed to the microenvironment facilitated by the novel intelligent amphiphilic PANF, which effectively enhances mass transfer in a biphasic medium phase of methanol/oil. The microenvironment could be rapidly changed via Vis-regulating PANF hydrophobicity, followed by observably promoting catalyst recovery and phase separation between resultant biodiesel and excess methanol. This catalyst shows no obvious changes in terms of the catalytic activity and selectivity after successive reuses of up to 10 cycles. The economic feasibility and negligible environmental impact of this methodology, coupled with its expediency and efficacy for conducting experiments at kilogram-scale quantities, render it highly compatible with large-scale industrial production of biodiesel.

Microwave-assisted Sustainable Production of Biodiesel: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract: Limited crude petroleum and growing awareness of fossil fuel depletion have enabled the development of alternative fuels and new energy sources. Biodiesel, also known as fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), has received a lot of attention due to its biodegradability, renewability, cost effective and nontoxicity. The purity of biodiesel production and uniform heating are the major hurdles for large scale biodiesel production. Recent microwave energy-based heating method has proved the potential for cleaner chemical production, short time duration, uniform heating, and purity over conventional heating method. The goal of this review is to discuss the biodiesel production using microwave-assisted heating. The different feedstocks used for biodiesel production, effects of mi-crowave irradiation, factors affecting the rate of microwave-assisted transesterification to produce biodiesel were comprehensively discussed. Microwave irradiation has been compared to other tech-nologies aiming to enhance the efficiency of overall process. The primary knowledge gaps in bio-diesel production can be identified based on this research, ensuring the biodiesel industry's long-term sustainability.

Maximizing biodiesel production from waste cooking oil with lime-based zinc-doped CaO using response surface methodology

Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels, commonly produced chemically from oil and methanol using a catalyst. This study aims to maximize biodiesel production from cheap and readily available sources of waste cooking oil (WCO) and lime-based Zinc-doped calcium oxide (Zn-CaO) catalyst prepared with a wet impregnation process. The Zn-CaO nanocatalyst was produced by adding 5% Zn into the calcinated limestone. The morphology, crystal size, and vibrational energies of CaO and Zn-CaO nanocatalysts were determined using SEM, XRD, and FT-IR spectroscopy techniques, respectively. The response surface methodology (RSM), which is based on the box-Behnken design, was used to optimize the key variables of the transesterification reaction. Results showed that when Zn was doped to lime-based CaO, the average crystalline size reduced from 21.14 to 12.51 nm, consequently, structural irregularity and surface area increased. The experimental parameters of methanol to oil molar ratio (14:1), catalyst loading (5% wt.), temperature (57.5 °C), and reaction time (120 min) led to the highest biodiesel conversion of 96.5%. The fuel characteristics of the generated biodiesel fulfilled the American (ASTM D6571) fuel standards. The study suggests the potential use of WCO and lime-based catalyst as efficient and low-cost raw materials for large-scale biodiesel production intended for versatile applications.

Utilization of Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials in Biodiesel Production and Property Enhancement

In today’s world, the applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials are attracting interest in a wide variety of study domains because of their appealing qualities. The use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in biodiesel processing and manufacturing is a focus of research globally. For accelerating the progress and development of biodiesel production, more focus is being given to the application of advanced nanotechnology for maximum yield in low cost. Hence, this paper will discuss the utilization of numerous nanomaterials/nanocatalysts for biodiesel synthesis from multiple feedstocks. This study will also focus on nanomaterials’ applications in algae cultivation and lipid extraction. Furthermore, the current study will comprehensively overview the nanoadditives blended biodiesel in diesel engines and the significant challenges and future opportunities. Moreover, this paper will also focus on human and environmental safety concerns of nanotechnology-based large-scale biodiesel production. Hence, this review will provide perception for future manufacturers, researchers, and academicians into the extent of research in nanotechnology and nanomaterials assisted biodiesel production and its efficiency enhancement.