Palm Methyl Ester Research Articles

Oxidation Stability of Palm Methyl Ester: Effect of Metal Contaminants and Antioxidants

The European biodiesel standard EN-14214 calls for determining the oxidation stability (OS) at 110 °C with a minimum induction time of 6 h by the Rancimat method (EN-14112). The ASTM standard D-6751 has recently introduced a minimum induction period of 3 h. Palm methyl ester (PME) has been successfully evaluated as a diesel substitute in summer and with an additive in winter due to its poor cold-flow properties. Neat PME exhibited an OS of 9.24 h; thus, it was highly stable. Research was conducted to investigate the effect of the presence of transition metals, likely to be present in the metallurgy of storage tanks and barrels, on the highly stable PME. It was found that the influence of metal was detrimental and catalytic even for stable PME. Small concentrations of metal contaminants showed nearly the same influence on OS as large amounts. Copper showed the strongest detrimental and catalytic effect. Antioxidants, namely, tert-butylated hydroxytoluene (TBHT), tert-butylated phenol derivative (TBP), octylated butylated diphenyl amine (OBPA), and tert-butylhydroxquinone (TBHQ) were doped to improve the OS of metal-contaminated PME. It was found that the antioxidant TBHQ was most effective among all of the antioxidants used.

Second-generation bio-ethanol (SGB) from Malaysian palm empty fruit bunch: Energy and exergy analyses

Recently, second-generation bio-ethanol (SGB), which utilizes readily available lignocellulosic biomass has received much interest as another potential source of liquid biofuel comparable to biodiesel. Thus the aim of this paper is to determine the exergy efficiency and to compare the effectiveness of SGB and palm methyl ester (PME) processes. It was found that the production of bio-ethanol is more thermodynamically sustainable than that of biodiesel as the net exergy value (NExV) of SGB is 10% higher than that of PME. Contrarily, the former has a net energy value (NEV) which is 9% lower than the latter. Despite this, SGB is still strongly recommended as a potential biofuel because SGB production can help mitigate several detrimental impacts on the environment.

The Effects of Storage Conditions on Viscosity of Biodiesel

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel with catalyst and alcohol reaction production from vegetable oils, animal oils, and waste fried oils. Biodiesel is the primary environmentally friendly, renewable diesel fuel. Storage time and conditions of biodiesel effect flow properties of biodiesel in low temperatures are some of the problems that need to be solved before using biodiesel in diesel engines. In this study, physical and chemical properties of safflower methyl ester and palm methyl ester produced by transesterification methods are measured. The variation of viscosity with a range of temperature of 25–90°C is investigated during storage and in different conditions. This study is aimed at investigating the effects of storage conditions on viscosity of biodiesel. As a result, density (kg/m3), viscosity (40°C, mm2/s), flash point (°C), Cu corrosion test, Cetane number, cloud point (°C), flow point (°C), freezing point (°C), and heating values (MJ/kg) are, respectively, in the SME 880, 4.029, 180, 1a, 49.8, −4, −6, −11, 40.0, in the PME 880, 6.662, 90, 1a, 56, 9, 6, 5, 39.25 have determinate.

Impact of Direct Land Use Change Process on Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Palm Oil Derived Biodiesel

Recently, it has been reported that in the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of palm oil derived biodiesel, Palm Methyl Ester (PME), direct land use change process is one of the important factors. Since most previous researches were targeted on direct land use changes from tropical rain forest to oil palm plantations in Indonesia or Malaysia, in this study, especially targeted on Thailand case, lifecycle emissions of PME including direct land use changes from rubber, tropical fruit plantations and paddy are also estimated. The lifecycle emissions are estimated at 1.01 (Degraded land), 0.64 ± 1.45 (Grassland), 7.68 (Rubber), 4.39 (Mixed orchard), -2.20 (Paddy), 12.53 ± 1.55 (Tropical rain forest), 13.08 ± 7.03 (Tropical lowland forest), 31.39 ± 2.75 (Tropical rain forest (Peat)), 23.66 ± 12.05 (Tropical lowland forest (Peat)) tCO2e/tPME. Even though these estimations are based on limited data, it is indicated that PME production including conversions from rubber, tropical fruit plantations and paddy to oil palm plantation may have less lifecycle GHG emissions than the cases of tropical rain forest conversions, and also indicated that lifecycle emissions of the cases except for conversions from degraded land, grassland and paddy are higher than that of petroleum diesel (3.25 tCO2e).

Full chain energy analysis of biodiesel production from palm oil in Thailand

Biodiesel from palm oil has been considered for partial substitution of diesel fuel for transportation in Thailand. The Government of Thailand recently has set up a production target of 8.5 million liters per day of palm oil-based biodiesel by 2011. The aim of this study is to investigate the energy consumption of palm methyl ester (PME) production in Thailand using a life cycle approach compared to other possible oil crops for biodiesel production including jatropha and coconut. The main contributors to the energy use are cultivation, oil production, transesterification and transportation. Taking into account only fossil fuel or petroleum inputs in the production cycle, the energy analysis provides results in favour of PME in Thailand. The net energy balance (NEB) and net energy ratio (NER) of PME and co-products are 100.84 GJ/ha and 3.58, respectively. The NER of PME without co-products is 2.42, which is still higher than one indicating a favourable result. The results are important in selecting an appropriate feedstock for biodiesel production and this study will support policy makers in the energy sector to make informed decisions vis-à-vis promotion of oil palm plantation for biodiesel. This will also support the Government of Thailand in its policy to promote the use of indigenous and renewable sources for transportation fuels.

Global environmental consequences of increased biodiesel consumption in Switzerland: consequential life cycle assessment

This study assesses the direct and indirect environmental impacts to be expected if Switzerland should replace one percent of its current diesel consumption with imports of A) soybean methyl ester (SME) from Brazil, or B) palm methyl ester (PME) from Malaysia. In order to take into account possible future consequences, what-if scenarios were developed and assessed by means of a consequential LCA. In contrast to attributional LCA, the consequential approach uses system enlargement to include the marginal products affected by a change of the physical flows in the central life cycle. This means that the LCA considers all inputs and outputs which are linked to biodiesel production and that the product system is subsequently expanded to include the marginal products affected. Both future systems are assessed in comparison with the environmental scores of the fossil equivalent to biodiesel, i.e. diesel low in sulphur. The environmental burdens are measured by means of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), land occupation and various non-aggregated and aggregated environmental impact indicators. In sum, the environmental impacts of an increased SME consumption depend on the environmental scores of the marginal replacement products on the world market, rather than on local production factors. In other words, the marginal products assumed to be affected are most important for the results obtained, i.e. in particular the marginal vegetable oil, fodder cake and land areas. In this study it is SME production increased at the expense of the available soybean oil which shifts the impacts associated with soybean oil production to the production of the marginal vegetable oils on the world market. In this perspective, it is not relevant in which country biodiesel production takes place, but rather which vegetable oil is involved. With respect to PME, the most relevant determining factor for the environmental impacts is the land area affected by the increased cultivation of oil palms. Currently, this expansion displaces primarily peat land and rain forest. This causes GHG emissions which are much higher than the emissions of the fossil reference. All in all, both PME from Malaysia and SME from Brazil cause more environmental impact than allowed by the Swiss tax redemption on agro-biofuels (max. 60% GHG emissions and 125% UBP of the fossil reference).

Development of Apparatus for Microgravity Experiments on Evaporation and Combustion of Palm Methyl Ester Droplet in High-Pressure Environments

New apparatus for microgravity experiments was developed in order to obtain fundamental data of single droplet evaporation and combustion of palm methyl ester (PME) for understanding PME spray combustion in internal combustion engines. n-hexadecane droplet combustion and evaporation experiments were also performed to obtain single-component fuel data. Combustion experiments were performed at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. For droplet evaporation experiments, ambient temperature and pressure were varied from 473 to 873 K and 0.10 to 4.0 MPa, respectively. Microgravity conditions were employed for evaporation experiments to prevent natural convection. Droplet diameter history of a burning PME droplet is similar to that of n-hexadecane. Droplet diameter history of an evaporating PME droplet is different from that of n-hexadecane at low ambient temperatures. In the latest stage of PME droplet evaporation, temporal evaporation constant decreases remarkably. At ambient temperatures sufficiently above the boiling temperature of PME components, droplet diameter history of PME and n-hexadecane are similar to each other. Corrected evaporation lifetime τ of PME at 873 K as a function of ambient pressure was obtained at normal and microgravity. At normal gravity, τ monotonically decreases with ambient pressure. On the other hand, at microgravity, τ increases with ambient pressure, and then decreases.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of palm methyl ester in Thailand

This study compares the life cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from Palm Methyl Ester (PME) and conventional diesel (diesel hereinafter) used for transportation in Thailand. The life cycle GHG emissions from the production and use of PME were found to be 79.5% less than that from diesel production and use. Hence, a fuel switch from diesel to PME, according to the Thai government's plan of using a 10% blend of biodiesel countrywide by 2012, will contribute to reducing global warming potential by 7.8 million tonne CO2-eq per year as well as reducing crude oil imports.

Fundamental combustion characteristics of palm methyl ester (PME) as alternative fuel for gas turbines

To investigate the combustion characteristics of palm methyl ester (PME) as an alternative fuel for gas turbines, combustion experiments at atmospheric pressure using high-temperature air (673 K) were performed. Chemical equilibrium calculations and investigations of fuel atomizing characteristics using a laser diffraction spray analyzer (LDSA) were also conducted. The results show that combustion characteristics of PME are similar to those of diesel fuel. Furthermore, it is indicated that NO x emissions can be reduced by using PME instead of diesel fuel for gas turbines.

Improvement of Low Temperature Flow Characteristics of Bio Diesel Fuel (Solidification Pressure and Improvement of Solidification Characteristics by Blending DME)

Solidification characteristics of PME (palm methyl ester) and RME (rapeseed methyl ester) under high-pressure conditions up to 200 MPa were investigated. To improve low temperature fluidity of PME since it has high pour point, JIS No. 2 diesel fuel, ethanol and dimethyl ether (DME) were blended into PME. The influence of their blend ratio on cloud point and pour point were examined. Solidification characteristic of blended fuels under high-pressure conditions up to 200 MPa were also investigated. The result was that, solidification pressure of PME was less than 100 MPa, and RME did not solidify up to 180 MPa at room temperature. Pour point and cloud point lowering effect of blending DME are more significant than that of blending diesel fuel and ethanol. It is possible to use PME by blending DME in cold seasons and in regions where neat PME cannot be used. DME, diesel fuel and ethanol blend into PME made the solidification pressure at room temperature increase to 150 MPa or more. DME was more influential fuel on improvement of low temperature fluidity of PME than other fuels.

Study on Effect of Hydroxyl Group on Lubrication Properties of Palm Based Trimethylolpropane Esters: Development of Synthesis Method

Some concerns have been raised regarding the oxidative stability of vegetable oil-base fluids. Thus, wide ranges of palm-based trimethylolpropane esters, which contain different percentages of partial esters, were synthesized. The palm-based TMP were esterified from Palm Oil Methyl Esters (POME) with trimethylolpropane [2-ethyl-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol;TMP] and sodium methoxide (CH3ONa) as catalyst. Quantification of methyl esters, mono, di- and tri-TMP esters were performed using a gas chromatography (GC), with a high temperature capillary column (SGE HT5), operated at a temperature gradient of 6°C min-1 starting from 80 to 340°C. The influence of operating variables (temperature, pressure, molar ratio of palm methyl esters to TMP and catalyst amount) on diesters formation was studied and analyzed. Palm oil TMP ester containing 10-30% partial esters (monoesters and diesters) was successfully synthesized.

Performance test of a 6-stage continuous reactor for palm methyl ester production

Effects of residence time (3–12 min), stirrer speed (0–800 rpm), and NaOH concentration (0.25–1.0 wt% of oil) on the production performance of the designed 6-stage continuous reactor (2.272 l) for transesterification of palm oil were investigated at molar ratio of methanol to oil of 6:1 and temperature of 60 °C. Higher stirrer speed increased the reaction rate up to an appropriate speed but excessive stirrer speed decreased the reaction rate. Inappropriate stirrer speed runs dramatically decreased the production capacity of the reactor. Higher NaOH concentration significantly increased reaction rate and production capacity of the reactor. The reactor had a residence time distribution equivalent to 5.98 ideal CSTRs in series and a production performance equivalent to a plug flow reactor. At NaOH of 1.0 wt% of oil, the reactor could produce saleable biodiesel within residence time of 6 min in which a production capacity was 17.3 l/h and a power consumption of stirrer was 0.6 kW/m 3.

0728 パーム油混合軽油の噴霧燃焼特性に関する研究 : パームメチルエステル混合軽油との比較(S44-1 燃料および潤滑技術(1),S44 燃料および潤滑技術)

To understand the effect of Palm oil and Palm Methyl Ester (PME) mixing on spray combustion characteristics of diesel oil, the intermittent spray flame formed in a high temperature and high pressure combustion vessel was visualized by ICCD camera and analyzed by two color method. The mixing rate of Palm oil and PME to diesel oil was changed up to 60%. It was confirmed that the ignition delay and combustion period were almost equal level. On the other hand, flame temperature and soot production decreased slightly with the Palm oil and PME mixing.

Carotenoids from red palm methyl esters by nanofiltration

AbstractPalm oil contains high concentrations of carotenoids and tocopherols that can be recovered by first converting them to methyl esters and then applying membrane technology to separate the carotenoids from the methyl esters. Several solvent‐stable nanofiltration membranes were investigated for this application. Flux with a model red palm methyl ester solution ranged from 0.5 to 10 Lm−2h−1, and rejection of β‐carotene was 60–80% at a transmembrane pressure of 2.76 MPa and 40°C. A multistage membrane process was designed for continuous production of palm carotene concentrate and decolorized methyl esters. With a feed rate of 10 tons per hour of red palm methyl esters containing 0.5 gL−1 β‐carotene, the process could produce 3611 L·h−1 of carotene concentrate containing 1.19 gL−1 carotene and 7500 Lh−1 of decolorized methyl esters containing less than 0.1 gL−1 β‐carotene. The economics of this process is promising.

3230 高圧条件におけるBDFの凝固特性(S45-1 新燃料(1),S45 エンジンと新燃料)

Solidification characteristics of PME (palm methyl ester) and RME (rapeseed methyl ester) under high-pressure conditions up to 200MPa were investigated. A high-pressure vessel with quartz windows was used to observe the solidification behavior. The solidifying pressure was measured using laser transmission method. As a result, PME had high possibility of solidifying in injection line of diesel engines during cold operating condition, because its solidifying pressure was less than 100MPa at room temperature. RME did not solidify at 180MPa.

Continuous production of palm methyl esters

AbstractA system for continuous transesterification of palm oil was developed using a continuous stirred‐tank reactor (CSTR) and pumps for continuous delivery of oil and catalyst and for continuous removal of product. Potassium hydroxide was used as the catalyst, the methanol‐to‐oil molar ratio was 6∶1, and reaction temperature was 60°C. The yield of methyl esters increased from 58.8% of theoretical yield at a residence time of 40 min to 97.3% at a residence time of 60 min. However, higher residence times decreased the production rate. During long‐term continuous operation, the CSTR displayed steady state conditions in terms of product profile and methyl ester concentration. This process has good potential in the manufacture of biodiesel.