WorldWideScience

Sample records for supercritical methanol transesterification

  1. Biodiesel from waste cooking oil via base-catalytic and supercritical methanol transesterification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demirbas, Ayhan

    2009-01-01

    In this study, waste cooking oil has subjected to transesterification reaction by potassium hydroxide (KOH) catalytic and supercritical methanol methods obtaining for biodiesel. In catalyzed methods, the presence of water has negative effects on the yields of methyl esters. In the catalytic transesterification free fatty acids and water always produce negative effects since the presence of free fatty acids and water causes soap formation, consumes catalyst, and reduces catalyst effectiveness. Free fatty acids in the waste cooking oil are transesterified simultaneously in supercritical methanol method. Since waste cooking oil contains water and free fatty acids, supercritical transesterification offers great advantage to eliminate the pre-treatment and operating costs. The effects of methanol/waste cooking oils ratio, potassium hydroxide concentration and temperature on the biodiesel conversion were investigated

  2. Transesterification of rapeseed and palm oils in supercritical methanol and ethanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biktashev, Sh.A.; Usmanov, R.A.; Gabitov, R.R.; Gazizov, R.A.; Gumerov, F.M.; Gabitov, F.R.; Abdulagatov, I.M.; Yarullin, R.S.; Yakushev, I.A.

    2011-01-01

    The results of the rapeseed and palm oils transesterification with supercritical methanol and ethanol were presented. The studies were performed using the experimental setups which are working in batch and continuous regimes. The effect of reaction conditions (temperature, pressure, oil to alcohol ratio, reaction time) on the biodiesel production (conversion yield) was studied. Also the effect of preliminary ultrasonic treatment (ultrasonic irradiation, emulsification of immiscible oil and alcohol mixture) of the initial reagents (emulsion preparation) on the stage before transesterification reaction conduction on the conversion yield was studied. We found that the preliminary ultrasonic treatment of the initial reagents increases considerably the conversion yield. Optimal technological conditions were determined to be as follows: pressure within 20-30 MPa, temperature within 573-623 K. The optimal values of the oil to alcohol ratio strongly depend on preliminary treatment of the reaction mixture. The study showed that the conversion yield at the same temperature with 96 wt.% of ethanol is higher than with 100 wt.% of methanol. -- Highlights: → The results of the rapeseed and palm oils transesterification with supercritical methanol and ethanol were presented. → The effect of reaction conditions (temperature, pressure, oil to alcohol ratio, reaction time) on the biodiesel production (conversion yield) was studied. → Transesterification of vegetable oil with supercritical alcohols. → Effect of temperature and pressure on conversion yield. → Preliminary ultrasonic treatment of the vegetable oil+methanol mixture.

  3. Biodiesel II: A new concept of biodiesel production - transesterification with supercritical methanol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Skala Dejan U.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel is defined as a fuel that might be used as a pure biofuel or at high concentration in mineral oil derivatives, in accordance with specific quality standards for transport applications. The main raw material used for biodiesel production is rapeseed, which contains mono-unsaturated (about 60% and also, in a lower quantity, poly-unsaturated fatty acids (C 18:1 and C 18:3, as well as some amounts of undesired saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids. Other raw materials have also been used in the research and industrial production of biodiesel (palm-oil, sunflower-oil, soybean-oil, waste plant oil, animal fats, etc. The historical background of the biodiesel production, installed industrial capacities, as well as Directives of the European Parliament and of the Council (May 2003 regarding the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport are discussed in the first part of this article (Chem. Ind. 58 (2004. The second part focused on some new concepts and the future development of technology for biodiesel production based on the use of non-catalytic transesterification under supercritical conditions. A literature review, as well as original results based on the transesterification of animal fats, plant oil and used plant oil were discussed. Obtained results were compared with the traditional concept of transesterification based on base or acid catalysis. Experimental investigations of transesterification with supercritical methanol were performed in a 2 dm3 autoclave at 140 bar pressure and at 300°C with molar ratio of methanol to triglycerides of about 41. The degree of esterification strongly depends on the density of supercritical methanol and on the possibility of reaction occurring in one phase.

  4. TRANSESTERIFICATION OF VEGETABLES OIL USING SUBAND SUPERCRITICAL METHANOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nyoman Puspa Asri

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available A benign process, non catalytic transesterification in sub and supercritical methanol method was usedto prepare biodiesel from vegetables oil. The experiment was carried out in batch type reactor (8.8 mlcapacity, stainless steel, AKICO, JAPAN by changing the reaction condition such as reactiontemperature (from 210°C in subcritical condition to 290°C in supercritical state with of 20°Cinterval, molar ratio oil to methanol (1:12-1:42 and time of reaction (10-90 min. The fatty acidmethyl esters (FAMEs content was analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GCFID.Such analysis can be used to determine the biodiesel yield of the transesterification. The resultsshowed that the yield of biodiesel increases gradually with the increasing of reaction time atsubcritical state (210-230oC. However, it was drastically increased at the supercritical state (270-290oC. Similarly, the yield of biodiesel sharply increased with increasing the ratio molar of soy oilmethanolup to 1:24. The maximum yield 86 and 88% were achieved at 290oC, 90 min of reaction timeand molar ratio of oil to methanol 1:24, for soybean oil and palm oil, respectively.Proses transesterifikasi non katalitik dengan metanol sub dan superkritis,merupakan proses yang ramah lingkungan digunakan untuk pembuatan biodiesel dari minyak nabati.Percobaan dilakukan dalam sebuah reaktor batch (kapasitas 8,8 ml, stainless steel, AKICO, JAPAN,dengan variabel kondisi reaksi seperti temperatur reaksi (dari kondisi subkritis 210°C-kondisisuperkritis 290°C dengan interval 20°C, rasio molar minyak-metanol (1:12-1:42 dan waktu reaksi(10-90 menit. Kandungan metil ester asam lemak (FAME dianalisis dengan kromatografi gasdengan detektor FID (GC-FID. Hasil Analisis tersebut dapat digunakan untuk menentukan yieldbiodiesel dari proses transesterifikasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa yield biodiesel meningkatsecara perlahan dengan meningkatnya waktu reaksi pada keadaan subkritis (210-230oC. Namun

  5. In-situ Transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. Seeds for Biodiesel Production using Supercritical Methanol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ishak M.A.M.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In-situ supercritical methanol transesterification for production of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L. (JCL seeds was successfully being carried out via batch-wise reactor system, under varying temperatures of 180 - 300 °C, pressures of 6 - 18 MPa, reaction time of 5 - 35 min and seeds-to-methanol ratio of 1:15 - 1:45 (w/v. In this study, the extracted oil obtained showed the presence of FAME referring as biodiesel, indicating that transesterification reaction had occurred during the extraction process. The results showed that the biodiesel yield was obtained at optimum conditions of 280 °C, 12 MPa, 30 min and 1:40 (w/v were 97.9%.

  6. Non Catalytic Transesterification of Vegetables Oil to Biodiesel in Sub-and Supercritical Methanol: A Kinetic’s Study

    OpenAIRE

    Nyoman Puspa Asri; Siti Machmudah; W. Wahyudiono; S. Suprapto; Kusno Budikarjono; Achmad Roesyadi; Motonobu Goto

    2013-01-01

    Non catalytic transesterification in sub and supercritical methanol have been used to produce biodiesel from palm oil and soybean oil. A kinetic study was done under reaction condition with temperature and time control. The experiments were carried out in a batch type reactor at reaction temperatures from 210 °C (subcritical condition) to 290 °C (the supercritical state) in the interval ranges of temperature of 20 °C and at various molar ratios of oil to methanol. The rate constants of the re...

  7. Non Catalytic Transesterification of Vegetables Oil to Biodiesel in Sub-and Supercritical Methanol: A Kinetic’s Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nyoman Puspa Asri

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Non catalytic transesterification in sub and supercritical methanol have been used to produce biodiesel from palm oil and soybean oil. A kinetic study was done under reaction condition with temperature and time control. The experiments were carried out in a batch type reactor at reaction temperatures from 210 °C (subcritical condition to 290 °C (the supercritical state in the interval ranges of temperature of 20 °C and at various molar ratios of oil to methanol. The rate constants of the reaction were determined by employing a simple method, with the overall chemical reaction followed the pseudo-first–order reaction. Based on the results, the rate constants of vegetables oil were significantly influenced by reaction temperature, which were gradually increased at subcritical temperature, but sharply increased in the supercritical state. However, the rate constants of soybean oil were slightly higher than that of palm oil. The activation energy for transesterification of soybean oil was 89.32 and 79.05 kJ/mole for palm oil. Meanwhile, the frequency factor values of both oils were 72462892 and 391210 min-1, respectively. The rate reaction for both of oil were expressed as -rTG = 72462892 exp(-89.32/RTCTG for soybean oil and -rTG = 391210 exp(-79.05/RTCTG for palm oil. © 2013 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 18th October 2012; Revised: 14th December 2012; Accepted: 16th December 2012[How to Cite: N.P. Asri, S. Machmudah, W. Wahyudiono, S. Suprapto, K. Budikarjono, A. Roesyadi, M. Goto, (2013. Non Catalytic Transesterification of Vegetables Oil to Biodiesel in Sub-and Supercritical Methanol: A Kinetic’s Study. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7 (3: 215-223. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.3.4060.215-223][Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.3.4060.215-223 ] View in  |

  8. Wet in situ transesterification of spent coffee grounds with supercritical methanol for the production of biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Jeesung; Kim, Bora; Park, Jeongseok; Yang, Jeongwoo; Lee, Jae W

    2018-07-01

    This work introduces biodiesel production from wet spent coffee grounds (SCGs) with supercritical methanol without any pre-drying process. Supercritical methanol and subcritical water effectively produced biodiesel via in situ transesterification by inducing more porous SCG and enhancing the efficiency of lipid extraction and conversion. It was also found that space loading was one of the critical factors for biodiesel production. An optimal biodiesel yield of 10.17 wt% of dry SCG mass (86.33 w/w% of esterifiable lipids in SCG) was obtained at reaction conditions of 270 °C, 90 bars, methanol to wet SCG ratio 5:1, space loading 58.4 ml/g and reaction time 20 min. Direct use of wet SCG waste as feedstock for supercritical biodiesel production eliminates the conventional dying process and the need of catalyst and also reduces environmental problems caused by landfill accumulation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A whole biodiesel conversion process combining isolation, cultivation and in situ supercritical methanol transesterification of native microalgae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jazzar, Souhir; Quesada-Medina, Joaquín; Olivares-Carrillo, Pilar; Marzouki, Mohamed Néjib; Acién-Fernández, Francisco Gabriel; Fernández-Sevilla, José María; Molina-Grima, Emilio; Smaali, Issam

    2015-08-01

    A coupled process combining microalgae production with direct supercritical biodiesel conversion using a reduced number of operating steps is proposed in this work. Two newly isolated native microalgae strains, identified as Chlorella sp. and Nannochloris sp., were cultivated in both batch and continuous modes. Maximum productivities were achieved during continuous cultures with 318mg/lday and 256mg/lday for Chlorella sp. and Nannochloris sp., respectively. Microalgae were further characterized by determining their photosynthetic performance and nutrient removal efficiency. Biodiesel was produced by catalyst-free in situ supercritical methanol transesterification of wet unwashed algal biomass (75wt.% of moisture). Maximum biodiesel yields of 45.62wt.% and 21.79wt.% were reached for Chlorella sp. and Nannochloris sp., respectively. The analysis of polyunsaturated fatty acids of Chlorella sp. showed a decrease in their proportion when comparing conventional and supercritical transesterification processes (from 37.4% to 13.9%, respectively), thus improving the quality of the biodiesel. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Qualitative Analysis of Transesterification of Waste Pig Fat in Supercritical Alcohols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeeban Poudel

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this work, the characteristics of waste pig fat degradation using supercritical alcohols have been studied. Comparative analysis of the influence of supercritical methanol and supercritical ethanol as solvents on the transesterification was the primary focus of this research. The experiments were carried out with waste pig fat to alcohol weight ratios of 1:1.5 (molar ratio: 1:40.5 for methanol and 1:28 for ethanol, 1:2.0 (molar ratio: 1:54 for methanol and 1:37.5 for ethanol and 1:2.5 (molar ratio: 1:67.5 for methanol and 1:47 for ethanol at transesterification temperatures 250, 270 and 290 °C for holding time 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min. Increase in the transesterification and holding time increased the conversion while increase in alcohol amount from 1:1.5 to 1:2.0 and 1:2.5 had minimal effect on the conversion. Further, majority of the ester composition in using SCM as solvent falls in the carbon range of C17:0, C19:1 and C19:2 while that for SCE falls in the carbon range of C18:0, C20:1 and C20:2. Glycerol was only present while using SCM as solvent.

  11. Biodiesel from sunflower oil in supercritical methanol with calcium oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demirbas, Ayhan

    2007-01-01

    In this study, sunflower seed oil was subjected to the transesterification reaction with calcium oxide (CaO) in supercritical methanol for obtaining biodiesel. Methanol is used most frequently as the alcohol in the transesterification process. Calcium oxide (CaO) can considerably improve the transesterification reaction of sunflower seed oil in supercritical methanol. The variables affecting the methyl ester yield during the transesterification reaction, such as the catalyst content, reaction temperature and the molar ratio of soybean oil to alcohol, were investigated and compared with those of non-catalyst runs. The catalytic transesterification ability of CaO is quite weak under ambient temperature. At a temperature of 335 K, the yield of methyl ester is only about 5% in 3 h. When CaO was added from 1.0% to 3.0%, the transesterification speed increased evidently, while when the catalyst content was further enhanced to 5%, the yield of methyl ester slowly reached to a plateau. It was observed that increasing the reaction temperature had a favorable influence on the methyl ester yield. In addition, for molar ratios ranging from 1 to 41, as the higher molar ratios of methanol to oil were charged, the greater transesterification speed was obtained. When the temperature was increased to 525 K, the transesterification reaction was essentially completed within 6 min with 3 wt% CaO and 41:1 methanol/oil molar ratio

  12. Experimental study on methanol recovery through flashing vaporation in continuous production of biodiesel via supercritical methanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Cunwen; Chen Wen; Wang Weiguo; Wu Yuanxin; Chi Ruan; Tang Zhengjiao

    2011-01-01

    To improve the oil conversion, high methanol/oil molar ratio is required in the continuous production of biodiesel via supercritical methanol transesterification in tubular reactor. And thus the subsequent excess methanol recovery needs high energy consumption. Based on the feature of high temperature and high pressure in supercritical methanol transesterification, excess methanol recovery in reaction system by flashing vaporation is conducted and the effect of reaction temperature, reaction pressure and flashing pressure on methanol recovery and methanol concentration in gas phase is discussed in detail in this article. Results show that at the reaction pressure of 9-15 MPa and the reaction temperature of 240-300 o C, flashing pressure has significant influence on methanol recovery and methanol content in gas phase, which can be effectively improved by reducing flashing pressure. At the same time, reaction temperature and reaction pressure also have an important effect on methanol recovery and methanol content in gas phase. At volume flow of biodiesel and methanol 1:2, tubular reactor pressure 15 MPa, tubular reactor temperature 300 o C and the flashing pressure 0.4 MPa, methanol recovery is more than 85% and methanol concentration of gas phase (mass fraction) is close to 99% after adiabatic braising; therefore, the condensate liquid of gas phase can be injected directly into methanol feedstock tank to be recycled. Research abstracts: Biodiesel is an important alternative energy, and supercritical methanol transesterification is a new and green technology to prepare biodiesel with some obvious advantages. But it also exists some problems: high reaction temperature, high reaction pressure and large molar ratio of methanol/oil will cause large energy consumption which restricts supercritical methanol for the industrial application of biodiesel. So a set of tubular reactor-coupled flashing apparatus is established for continuous preparing biodiesel in supercritical

  13. Biodiesel production with continuous supercritical process: non-catalytic transesterification and esterification with or without carbon dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Yu-Ting; Lin, Ho-mu; Lee, Ming-Jer

    2013-10-01

    The non-catalytic transesterification of refined sunflower oil with supercritical methanol, in the presence of carbon dioxide, was conducted in a tubular reactor at temperatures from 553.2 to 593.2K and pressures up to 25.0 MPa. The FAME yield can be achieved up to about 0.70 at 593.2 K and 10.0 MPa in 23 min with methanol:oil of 25:1 in molar ratio. The effect of adding CO2 on the FAME yield is insignificant. The kinetic behavior of the non-catalytic esterification and transesterification of oleic acid or waste cooking oil (WCO) with supercritical methanol was also investigated. By using the supercritical process, the presence of free fatty acid (FFA) in WCO gives positive contribution to FAME production. The FAME yield of 0.90 from WCO can be achieved in 13 min at 573.2K. The kinetic data of supercritical transesterification and esterifaication were correlated well with a power-law model. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Biodiesel production from Spirulina microalgae feedstock using direct transesterification near supercritical methanol condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamadzadeh Shirazi, Hamed; Karimi-Sabet, Javad; Ghotbi, Cyrus

    2017-09-01

    Microalgae as a candidate for production of biodiesel, possesses a hard cell wall that prevents intracellular lipids leaving out from the cells. Direct or in situ supercritical transesterification has the potential for destruction of microalgae hard cell wall and conversion of extracted lipids to biodiesel that consequently reduces the total energy consumption. Response surface methodology combined with central composite design was applied to investigate process parameters including: Temperature, Time, Methanol-to-dry algae, Hexane-to-dry algae, and Moisture content. Thirty-two experiments were designed and performed in a batch reactor, and biodiesel efficiency between 0.44% and 99.32% was obtained. According to fatty acid methyl ester yields, a quadratic experimental model was adjusted and the significance of parameters was evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Effects of single and interaction parameters were also interpreted. In addition, the effect of supercritical process on the ultrastructure of microalgae cell wall using scanning electron spectrometry (SEM) was surveyed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Production of FAME by palm oil transesterification via supercritical methanol technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan, Kok Tat; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

    2009-01-01

    The present study employed non-catalytic supercritical methanol technology to produce biodiesel from palm oil. The research was carried out in a batch-type tube reactor and heated beyond supercritical temperature and pressure of methanol, which are at 239 o C and 8.1 MPa respectively. The effects of temperature, reaction time and molar ratio of methanol to palm oil on the yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or biodiesel were investigated. The results obtained showed that non-catalytic supercritical methanol technology only required a mere 20 min reaction time to produce more than 70% yield of FAME. Compared to conventional catalytic methods, which required at least 1 h reaction time to obtain similar yield, supercritical methanol technology has been shown to be superior in terms of time and energy consumption. Apart from the shorter reaction time, it was found that separation and purification of the products were simpler since no catalyst is involved in the process. Hence, formation of side products such as soap in catalytic reactions does not occur in the supercritical methanol method.

  16. A process model to estimate the cost of industrial scale biodiesel production from waste cooking oil by supercritical transesterification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kasteren, van J.M.N.; Nisworo, A.P.

    2007-01-01

    This paper describes the conceptual design of a production process in which waste cooking oil is converted via supercritical transesterification with methanol to methyl esters (biodiesel). Since waste cooking oil contains water and free fatty acids, supercritical transesterification offers great

  17. Biodiesel Production from Acidified Oils via Supercritical Methanol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianxin Li

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In biodiesel production, the vegetable oil used as raw material for transesterification should be free of water and free fatty acids (FFAs, which may consume catalyst and reduce catalyst efficiency. In this work biodiesel was prepared from acidified oils (AO through a supercritical methanol route, in which the esterification of FFAs and transesterification of glyceride with methanol occurred simultaneously. The effects of the mass ratio of methanol to AO, the operation temperature as well as the water content on the FFAs conversion and glycerol yield were investigated. The results indicated that the FFAs conversion for esterification under the condition of 1:1 methanol/oil ratio, 310 °C and 15 min reaction time reached 98.7%, and the glycerol yield for transesterification under 0.25:1 methanol/oil ratio, 290 °C and 20 min reaction time reached 63.5% respectively.

  18. Influence of reaction conditions and type of alcohol on biodiesel yields and process economics of supercritical transesterification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Micic, Radoslav D.; Tomić, Milan D.; Kiss, Ferenc E.; Nikolić-Djorić, Emilija B.; Simikić, Mirko Ð.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Transesterification in supercritical methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol investigated. • Effect of alcohol, reaction temperature, pressure and time on yields analyzed. • Temperature has the highest impact on yield, followed by time and pressure. • Direct material and energy costs for each of the production alternatives estimated. • Lowest costs are achieved at highest yields even at very low oil prices. - Abstract: Experiments with transesterification of rapeseed oil in supercritical alcohols (methanol, ethanol and 1-propanol) were carried out in a batch reactor at various reaction temperatures (250–350 °C), working pressure (8–12 MPa), reaction time, and constant 42:1 alcohol to oil molar ratio. Influence of different alcohols and reaction conditions on biodiesel yield was investigated using linear multiple regression models. Temperature had the highest impact on yields, followed by reaction time and pressure. With increased molecular weight of alcohols, relative importance of temperature for explanation of yields decreased and relative importance of time and pressure increased. Economic assessment has revealed that transesterification in supercritical methanol has the lowest direct material and energy costs. Yield has crucial impact on process economics. Direct costs decrease with increase in biodiesel yields. Even at very low prices of oil feedstock the lowest cost is achieved at the highest yield

  19. Comparison of Biodiesel Obtained from Virgin Cooking Oil and Waste Cooking Oil Using Supercritical and Catalytic Transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeeban Poudel

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Comparative analysis of transesterification of virgin cooking oil (VCO and waste cooking oil (WCO in catalyzed and supercritical transesterification process using methanol and ethanol as solvents has been conducted in this study. The luminous point of this research was the direct comparison of catalytic and supercritical process using the ester composition obtained from virgin cooking oil and waste cooking oil transesterification. Oil to alcohol molar ratio of 1:6 and reaction condition of 65 °C and 1 bar pressure were considered for the catalytic process, while 260 °C and high pressure (65 and 75 bar for methanol and ethanol, respectively were accounted for the supercritical process. Distinct layer separation was observed for both processes. Ester, fatty acid and glycerol composition was studied for both the upper and lower layers separately, from which 100% ester composition in the upper layer and a mixture of ester and other composition in the lower layer was obtained for the catalytic process owing to succeeding filtration and washing. However, mixture of ester (>75% and other composition was obtained in both layers for the supercritical process where purification process was not implemented. The similarity in the result obtained demonstrates the superiority of waste cooking oil compared to virgin cooking oil, taking cost into consideration.

  20. Comparative analysis of single-step and two-step biodiesel production using supercritical methanol on laboratory-scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Micic, Radoslav D.; Tomić, Milan D.; Kiss, Ferenc E.; Martinovic, Ferenc L.; Simikić, Mirko Ð.; Molnar, Tibor T.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Single-step supercritical transesterification compared to the two-step process. • Two-step process: oil hydrolysis and subsequent supercritical methyl esterification. • Experiments were conducted in a laboratory-scale batch reactor. • Higher biodiesel yields in two-step process at milder reaction conditions. • Two-step process has potential to be cost-competitive with the single-step process. - Abstract: Single-step supercritical transesterification and two-step biodiesel production process consisting of oil hydrolysis and subsequent supercritical methyl esterification were studied and compared. For this purpose, comparative experiments were conducted in a laboratory-scale batch reactor and optimal reaction conditions (temperature, pressure, molar ratio and time) were determined. Results indicate that in comparison to a single-step transesterification, methyl esterification (second step of the two-step process) produces higher biodiesel yields (95 wt% vs. 91 wt%) at lower temperatures (270 °C vs. 350 °C), pressures (8 MPa vs. 12 MPa) and methanol to oil molar ratios (1:20 vs. 1:42). This can be explained by the fact that the reaction system consisting of free fatty acid (FFA) and methanol achieves supercritical condition at milder reaction conditions. Furthermore, the dissolved FFA increases the acidity of supercritical methanol and acts as an acid catalyst that increases the reaction rate. There is a direct correlation between FFA content of the product obtained in hydrolysis and biodiesel yields in methyl esterification. Therefore, the reaction parameters of hydrolysis were optimized to yield the highest FFA content at 12 MPa, 250 °C and 1:20 oil to water molar ratio. Results of direct material and energy costs comparison suggest that the process based on the two-step reaction has the potential to be cost-competitive with the process based on single-step supercritical transesterification. Higher biodiesel yields, similar or lower energy

  1. Economic and environmental performance of oil transesterification in supercritical methanol at different reaction conditions: Experimental study with a batch reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomic, Milan; Micic, Radoslav; Kiss, Ferenc; Dedovic, Nebojsa; Simikic, Mirko

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Influence of reaction parameters on FAME yields has been investigated. • The highest yield (93%) was achieved after 15 min at 350 °C and 12 MPa. • Models which predict with high certainty yields at different reaction conditions. • Economic and environmental performance of supercritical transesterification. • The lowest costs and impacts are always achieved at the highest yields. - Abstract: This study aims to investigate the influence of various reaction parameters (temperatures, working pressures and reaction time) on biodiesel yields and environmental and economic performance of rapeseed oil transesterification in supercritical methanol. Experiments were carried out in a laboratory-scale batch reactor. Results were statistically analysed and multiple regression models which describe and predict biodiesel yields with high certainty at different reaction conditions were provided. The highest biodiesel yield (93 wt%) was achieved at 350 °C and 12 MPa after 15 min of reaction. The lowest direct costs and life cycle environmental impacts (in terms of GHG emissions and fossil energy demand) are achieved at the highest yield due to the lowest oil consumption per unit of biodiesel produced. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that even at significantly lower oil feedstock prices this observation stands firm

  2. Transesterification of waste vegetable oil under pulse sonication using ethanol, methanol and ethanol–methanol mixtures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martinez-Guerra, Edith; Gude, Veera Gnaneswar, E-mail: gude@cee.msstate.edu

    2014-12-15

    Highlights: • Pulse sonication effect on transesterification of waste vegetable oil was studied. • Effects of ethanol, methanol, and alcohol mixtures on FAMEs yield were evaluated. • Effect of ultrasonic intensity, power density, and its output rates were evaluated. • Alcohol mixtures resulted in higher biodiesel yields due to better solubility. - Abstract: This study reports on the effects of direct pulse sonication and the type of alcohol (methanol and ethanol) on the transesterification reaction of waste vegetable oil without any external heating or mechanical mixing. Biodiesel yields and optimum process conditions for the transesterification reaction involving ethanol, methanol, and ethanol–methanol mixtures were evaluated. The effects of ultrasonic power densities (by varying sample volumes), power output rates (in W), and ultrasonic intensities (by varying the reactor size) were studied for transesterification reaction with ethanol, methanol and ethanol–methanol (50%-50%) mixtures. The optimum process conditions for ethanol or methanol based transesterification reaction of waste vegetable oil were determined as: 9:1 alcohol to oil ratio, 1% wt. catalyst amount, 1–2 min reaction time at a power output rate between 75 and 150 W. It was shown that the transesterification reactions using ethanol–methanol mixtures resulted in biodiesel yields as high as >99% at lower power density and ultrasound intensity when compared to ethanol or methanol based transesterification reactions.

  3. Comparison of transesterification methods for production of biodiesel from vegetable oils and fats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demirbas, Ayhan

    2008-01-01

    Comparative studies on transesterification methods were presented in this work. Biodiesel is obtained from a chemical reaction called transesterification (ester exchange). The reaction converts esters from long chain fatty acids into mono alkyl esters. Chemically, biodiesel commonly is a fatty acid methyl ester. Vegetable oils can be transesterified by heating them with a large excess of anhydrous methanol and an acidic or basic reagent as catalyst. A catalyst is usually used to improve the reaction rate and yield. In a transesterification reaction, a larger amount of methanol was used to shift the reaction equilibrium to the right side and produce more methyl esters as the proposed product. Several aspects including the type of catalyst (alkaline, acid or enzyme), alcohol/vegetable oil molar ratio, temperature, purity of the reactants (mainly water content) and free fatty acid content have an influence on the course of the transesterification. A non-catalytic biodiesel production route with supercritical methanol has been developed that allows a simple process and high yield because of the simultaneous transesterification of triglycerides and methyl esterification of fatty acids. In the catalytic supercritical methanol transesterification method, the yield of conversion rises to 60-90% for the first 1 min

  4. Transesterification of camelina sativa oil with supercritical alcohol mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Yingqiang; Ponnusamy, Sundaravadivelnathan; Muppaneni, Tapaswy; Reddy, Harvind K.; Wang, Jun; Zeng, Zheling; Deng, Shuguang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Transesterification of camelina oil under supercritical methanol/ethanol and 1-butanol mixture conditions. • Chemical composition of fatty acid methyl esters, ethyl esters and butyl esters. • Effect of different alcohol molar ratio on biodiesel yields. • Effect of different alcohol molar ratio on physical properties of biodiesel products. - Abstract: The transesterification of camelina sativa oil with methanol–1-butanol, and ethanol–1-butanol alcohol mixtures under supercritical conditions have been studied in order to maximize biodiesel yield and improve biodiesel quality. The influence of the variation of the molar ratio of methanol–1-butanol and ethanol–1-butanol from 1:0, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, to 0:1 on the yield of free fatty methyl esters/free fatty ethanol esters–free fatty acid butyl esters, the composition of the biodiesel blend mixtures, and the physical properties of the biodiesel have been investigated at the reaction temperature of 290 °C, reaction time of 30 min, and the initial reaction pressure of 500 psi. A maximum yield of 86.14 wt% for free fatty acid methyl esters–free fatty acid butyl esters with the optimum cold property can be obtained at the molar ratio of methanol–1-butanol of 0.5–0.9. Also, a maximum yield of 85.60 wt% for free fatty ethyl esters–free fatty butyl esters with the lowest pour point can be achieved at the molar ratio of ethanol–1-butanol in the range of 0.5–0.7

  5. Techno-economic analysis of biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas via a supercritical methanol process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yusuf, N.N.A.N.; Kamarudin, S.K.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • This paper presents the techno-economic of a production of biodiesel from JCO. • The results obtained 99.96% of biodiesel with 96.49% of pure glycerol. • This proved that biodiesel from JCO is the least expensive compare to other resources. - Abstract: This paper presents the conceptual design and economic evaluation of a production of methyl esters (biodiesel) from Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) via a supercritical methanol process with glycerol as a by-product. The process consists of four major units: transesterification (PFR), methanol recovery (FT) and (DC1), recovery of glycerol (DEC), and biodiesel purification (DC2). The material and heat balance are also presented here. A biodiesel production of 40,000 tonnes-yr −1 is taken as case study. Biodiesel obtained from supercritical transesterification with Jatropha curcas oil as feedstock resulting in high purity methyl esters (99.96%) with almost pure glycerol (96.49%) obtained as by-product. The biodiesel can be sold at USD 0.78 kg −1 , while the manufacturing and capital investment costs are in the range of USD 25.39 million-year −1 and USD 9.41 million year −1 , respectively. This study proved that biodiesel from JCO is the least expensive with purities comparable to those found in other studies

  6. Biodiesel production through non-catalytic supercritical transesterification: current state and perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Silva, C. da; Oliveira, J. Vladimir

    2014-01-01

    The inconveniences of the conventional method for biodiesel production by alkaline catalysis suggests research towards alternative methods, with the non-catalytic transesterification using an alcohol at supercritical conditions proposed as a promising technique for biodiesel production. The so-called supercritical method (SCM) has powerful advantages over conventional techniques, such as fast reaction rates, feedstock flexibility, production efficiency and environmentally friendly benefits. H...

  7. Transesterification of soybean oil with methanol and acetic acid at lower reaction severity under subcritical conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Go, Alchris Woo; Sutanto, Sylviana; NguyenThi, Bich Thuyen; Cabatingan, Luis K.; Ismadji, Suryadi; Ju, Yi-Hsu

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • (trans)Esterification of oils under subcritical conditions. • Acetic acid as catalyst and co-solvent in biodiesel production. • Influence of reactor hydrodynamic (loading and stirring) on FAME yield. • High methyl ester yield can be obtained at less severe reaction conditions. - Abstract: Soybean oil (56–80 g) was reacted with methanol (40–106 mL) to produce fatty acid methyl ester in the presence of 1–6% acetic acid under subcritical condition at 250 °C. Stirring and loading of the reaction system affected the yield and severity of the process. The presence of acetic acid improved the yield of FAME from 32.1% to 89.5% at a methanol to oil molar ratio of 20 mL/g. Acetic acid was found to act strongly as an acid catalyst and to some extent improved the solubility between oil and methanol. Reaction pressure higher than the supercritical pressure of methanol (7.85 MPa) was not required to achieve high FAME yield (89.5–94.8%) in short time (30–60 min)

  8. Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil and phytosterol in supercritical CO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Lizhi; Llibin, Sun; Li, Jun; Qi, Liangjun; Zhang, Xu; Yu, Dianyu; Walid, Elfalleh; Jiang, Lianzhou

    2015-12-01

    The transesterification of phytosterol and soybean oil was performed using Novozym 435 in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). The transesterification reaction was conducted in soybean oil containing 5-25% phytosterol at 55-95 °C and free-water solvent. The effects of temperature, reaction time, phytosterol concentration, lipase dosage and reaction pressure on the conversion rate of transesterification were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were the reaction temperature (85 °C), reaction time (1 h), phytosterol concentration (5%), reaction pressure (8 Mpa) and lipase dosage (1%). The highest conversion rate of 92% could be achieved under the optimum conditions. Compared with the method of lipase-catalyzed transesterification of phytosterol and soybean oil at normal pressure, the transesterification in SC-CO2 reduced significantly the reaction temperature and reaction time.

  9. High-yield production of biodiesel by non-catalytic supercritical methanol transesterification of crude castor oil (Ricinus communis)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Román-Figueroa, Celián; Olivares-Carrillo, Pilar; Paneque, Manuel; Palacios-Nereo, Francisco Javier; Quesada-Medina, Joaquín

    2016-01-01

    The synthesis of biodiesel from crude castor oil in a catalyst-free process using supercritical methanol in a batch reactor was investigated, studying the evolution of intermediate products as well as the conversion of triglycerides and the yield of FAMEs (fatty acid methyl esters) (biodiesel). Experiments were carried out in a temperature range of 250–350 °C (10–43 MPa) at reaction times of 15–90 min for a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 43:1. Maintaining thermal stability of biodiesel is one of the most important concerns in high-yield supercritical biodiesel production. Hence, thermal decomposition degree of FAMEs was also investigated in different reaction conditions. The maximum yield of FAMEs (96.5%) was obtained at 300 °C (21 MPa) and 90 min. Under these conditions, the conversion of triglycerides was complete, the yield of intermediate products was low (3.29 and 1.41% for monoglycerides and diglycerides, respectively), and thermal decomposition of FAMEs did not occur. The maximum degree of thermal decomposition (80.9%) was produced at 350 °C (43 MPa) and 90 min. Methyl ricinoleate, whose fatty acid chain was the most abundant (88.09 mol%) in castor oil, was very unstable above 300 °C and 60 min, leading to low yields of FAMEs under these conditions. - Highlights: • Supercritical synthesis of biodiesel from crude castor oil was investigated. • Supercritical methanolysis of crude castor oil reached a high yield of FAMEs. • Ricinoleic acid methyl ester was very unstable above 300 °C and 60 min reaction.

  10. Oxidation stability of biodiesel fuel as prepared by supercritical methanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiayu Xin; Hiroaki Imahara; Shiro Saka [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan). Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science

    2008-08-15

    A non-catalytic supercritical methanol method is an attractive process to convert various oils/fats efficiently into biodiesel. To evaluate oxidation stability of biodiesel, biodiesel produced by alkali-catalyzed method was exposed to supercritical methanol at several temperatures for 30 min. As a result, it was found that the tocopherol in biodiesel is not stable at a temperature higher than 300{sup o}C. After the supercritical methanol treatment, hydroperoxides were greatly reduced for biodiesel with initially high in peroxide value, while the tocopherol slightly decreased in its content. As a result, the biodiesel prepared by the supercritical methanol method was enhanced for oxidation stability when compared with that prepared by alkali-catalyzed method from waste oil. Therefore, supercritical methanol method is useful especially for oils/fats having higher peroxide values. 32 refs., 8 figs., 3 tabs.

  11. Analysis of transesterification comparing processes with methanol and ethanol for biodiesel production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pighinelli, Anna Leticia Montenegro Turtelli; Zorzeto, Thais Queiroz; Park, Kil Jin [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (FEAGRI/UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Fac. de Engenharia Agricola], E-mail: annalets@feagri.unicamp.br; Bevilaqua, Gabriela [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica

    2008-07-01

    The increasing demand for energy on the industrialized world stimulates researches in a renewable fuel. Biodiesel appears like an alternative and utilizes a vegetable oil or animal fat as raw material. The most common method for conversion of the raw material in fuel that can be utilized in Diesel engines is called transesterification. Brazil has a big agricultural potential to produce grains and oils. One of them is the peanut oil that is predominantly cultivated in the southeast of Brazil. There is a prevision that the peanut production reaches 232 thousand tons this year. In this work was evaluated the methanol transesterification and ethanol transesterification of peanut oil using a basic catalyst. The comparison between reactions with the two alcohols showed that methyl esters yield was greater than ethyl esters, with maximum yield of 88.04% for methanol and 84.64% for ethanol. Besides the higher yield, reactions with methanol are easily conducted than with ethanol, the biodiesel purification treatment of final product is quickly and the separation between esters and glycerol is instantaneous. (author)

  12. Thermal stability of biodiesel in supercritical methanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hiroaki Imahara; Eiji Minami; Shusaku Hari; Shiro Saka [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan). Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science

    2008-01-15

    Non-catalytic biodiesel production technologies from oils/fats in plants and animals have been developed in our laboratory employing supercritical methanol. Due to conditions in high temperature and high pressure of the supercritical fluid, thermal stability of fatty acid methyl esters and actual biodiesel prepared from various plant oils was studied in supercritical methanol over a range of its condition between 270{sup o}C/17 MPa and 380{sup o}C/56 MPa. In addition, the effect of thermal degradation on cold flow properties was studied. As a result, it was found that all fatty acid methyl esters including poly-unsaturated ones were stable at 270{sup o}C/17 MPa, but at 350{sup o}C/43 MPa, they were partly decomposed to reduce the yield with isomerization from cis-type to trans-type. These behaviors were also observed for actual biodiesel prepared from linseed oil, safflower oil, which are high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Cold flow properties of actual biodiesel, however, remained almost unchanged after supercritical methanol exposure at 270{sup o}C/17 MPa and 350{sup o}C/43 MPa. For the latter condition, however, poly-unsaturated fatty acids were sacrificed to be decomposed and reduced in yield. From these results, it was clarified that reaction temperature in supercritical methanol process should be lower than 300{sup o}C, preferably 270{sup o}C with a supercritical pressure higher than 8.09 MPa, in terms of thermal stabilization for high-quality biodiesel production. 9 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.

  13. KINETICS OF PALM OIL TRANSESTERIFICATION IN METHANOL WITH POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE AS A CATALYST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoeswono Yoeswono

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available A study on palm oil transesterification to evaluate the effect of some parameters in the reaction on the reaction kinetics has been carried out. Transesterification was started by preparing potassium methoxide from potassium hydroxide and methanol and then mixed it with the palm oil. An aliquot was taken at certain time interval during transesterification and poured into test tube filled with distilled water to stop the reaction immediately. The oil phase that separated from the glycerol phase by centrifugation was analyzed by 1H-NMR spectrometer to determine the percentage of methyl ester conversion. Temperature and catalyst concentration were varied in order to determine the reaction rate constants, activation energies, pre-exponential factors, and effective collisions. The results showed that palm oil transesterification in methanol with 0.5 and 1 % w/w KOH/palm oil catalyst concentration appeared to follow pseudo-first order reaction. The rate constants increase with temperature. After 13 min of reaction, More methyl esters were formed using KOH 1 % than using 0.5 % w/w KOH/palm oil catalyst concentration. The activation energy (Ea and pre-exponential factor (A for reaction using 1 % w/w KOH was lower than those using 0.5 % w/w KOH.   Keywords: palm oil, transesterification, catalyst, first order kinetics, activation energy, pre-exponential factor

  14. Biodiesel synthesis by direct transesterification of microalga Botryococcus braunii with continuous methanol reflux.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo, Pamela; Ciudad, Gustavo; Schober, Sigurd; Mittelbach, Martin; Navia, Rodrigo

    2015-04-01

    Direct transesterification of Botryococcus braunii with continuous acyl acceptor reflux was evaluated. This method combines in one step lipid extraction and esterification/transesterification. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) synthesis by direct conversion of microalgal biomass was carried out using sulfuric acid as catalyst and methanol as acyl acceptor. In this system, once lipids are extracted, they are contacted with the catalyst and methanol reaching 82%wt of FAME yield. To optimize the reaction conditions, a factorial design using surface response methodology was applied. The effects of catalyst concentration and co-solvent concentration were studied. Hexane was used as co-solvent for increasing lipid extraction performance. The incorporation of hexane in the reaction provoked an increase in FAME yield from 82% (pure methanol) to 95% when a 47%v/v of hexane was incorporated in the reaction. However, the selectivity towards non-saponifiable lipids such as sterols was increased, negatively affecting biodiesel quality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Diesel fuel from vegetable oil via transesterification and soap pyrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Demirbas, A.

    2002-09-15

    Transesterifications of 6 vegetable oil samples in supercritical methanol (SC MeOH) were studied without using any catalyst. Methyl esters of vegetable oils have several outstanding advantages among other new-renewable and clean engine fuel alternatives. The variables affecting the methyl ester yielded during the transesterification reaction, such as the molar ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil and reaction temperature, were investigated. Compared to No. 2 diesel fuel, all of the vegetable oils are much more viscous, while methyl esters of vegetable oils are the slightly more viscous. The methyl esters are more volatile than those of the vegetable oils. The soaps obtained from the vegetable oils can be pyrolyzed into hydrocarbon-rich products. (author)

  16. Biodiesel production by transesterification of duck tallow with methanol on alkali catalysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Kyong-Hwan [Center for Functional Nano Fine Chemicals, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea); Kim, Jin [Center for Functional Nano Fine Chemicals, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea)]|[Department of Advanced Chemicals Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea); Lee, Ki-Young [Center for Functional Nano Fine Chemicals, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea)]|[Department of Applied Chemical Engineering and The Research Institute for Catalysis, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea)

    2009-01-15

    Duck tallow was employed as a feedstock for the production of biodiesel by transesterification with methanol. The content of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was evaluated on various alkali catalysts during transesterification. The composition and chemical properties of the FAME were investigated in the raw duck tallow and the biodiesel products. The major constituent in the biodiesel product was oleic acid. The FAME content was 97% on KOH catalyst in the reaction. It was acceptable for the limit of European biodiesel qualities for BD100. Acid value, density, and kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel products also came up to the biodiesel qualities. (author)

  17. Application of kaolin-based catalysts in biodiesel production via transesterification of vegetable oils in excess methanol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dang, Tan Hiep; Chen, Bing-Hung; Lee, Duu-Jong

    2013-10-01

    Biodiesel production from transesterification of vegetable oils in excess methanol was performed by using as-prepared catalyst from low-cost kaolin clay. This effective heterogeneous catalyst was successfully prepared from natural kaolin firstly by dehydroxylation at 800°C for 10h and, subsequently, by NaOH-activation hydrothermally at 90°C for 24h and calcined again at 500°C for 6h. The as-obtained catalytic material was characterized with instruments, including FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and porosimeter (BET/BJH analysis). The as-prepared catalyst was advantageous not only for its easy preparation, but also for its cost-efficiency and superior catalysis in transesterification of vegetable oils in excess methanol to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Conversion efficiencies of soybean and palm oils to biodiesel over the as-prepared catalysts reached 97.0±3.0% and 95.4±3.7%, respectively, under optimal conditions. Activation energies of transesterification reactions of soybean and palm oils in excess methanol using these catalysts are 14.09 kJ/mol and 48.87 kJ/mol, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Optimization and kinetic studies of sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil for biodiesel production via supercritical reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ang, Gaik Tin; Ooi, San Nee; Tan, Kok Tat; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Sea mango oil as feedstock for biodiesel via non-catalytic supercritical reaction. • Extracted sea mango oil with high FFA could produce high yield of FAME. • Employment of Response Surface Methodology for optimization of FAME. • Kinetic study for reversible transesterification and esterification reactions. - Abstract: Sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil, which is rich in free fatty acids, was utilized to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) via supercritical transesterification reaction. Sea mango oil was extracted from seeds and was subsequently reacted with methanol in a batch-type supercritical reactor. Response surface methodology (RSM) analysis was used to optimize important parameters, including reaction temperature, reaction time and the molar ratio of methanol to oil. The optimum conditions were found as 380 °C, 40 min and 45:1 mol/mol, respectively, to achieve 78% biodiesel content. The first kinetic modelling of FAME production from sea mango oil incorporating reversible transesterification and reversible esterification was verified simultaneously. The kinetic parameters, including reaction rate constants, k, the pre-exponential constant, A, and the activation energy, Ea, for transesterification and esterification were determined using an ordinary differential equation (ODE45) solver. The highest activation energy of 40 kJ/mol and the lowest reaction rate constant of 2.50 × 10 −5 dm 3 /mol s verified that the first stepwise reaction of TG to produce DG was the rate-limiting step

  19. Biodiesel production through non-catalytic supercritical transesterification: current state and perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. da Silva

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The inconveniences of the conventional method for biodiesel production by alkaline catalysis suggests research towards alternative methods, with the non-catalytic transesterification using an alcohol at supercritical conditions proposed as a promising technique for biodiesel production. The so-called supercritical method (SCM has powerful advantages over conventional techniques, such as fast reaction rates, feedstock flexibility, production efficiency and environmentally friendly benefits. However, application of this methodology has some limitations, like operating conditions (elevated temperature and pressure and higher amounts of alcohol, which result in high energy costs and degradation of the products generated. In this review paper the state of the art in relation to the use of the SCM for biodiesel production is reported and discussed, describing the characteristics of the method, the influence of operational parameters on the ester yield, patents available in the field and the perspectives for application of the technique.

  20. The Effect of Acetone Amount Ratio as Co-Solvent to Methanol in Transesterification Reaction of Waste Cooking Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julianto, T. S.; Nurlestari, R.

    2018-04-01

    The production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil by transesterification reaction using acetone as co-solvent has been carried out. This research studied the optimal amount ratio of acetone as co-solvent to methanol in the transesterification process using homogeneous alkaline catalyst KOH 1% (w/w) of waste cooking oil at room temperature for 15 minutes of reaction time. Mole ratio of waste cooking oil to methanol is 1:12. Acetone was added as co-solvent in varied amount ratio to methanol are 1:4, 1:2, and 1:1, respectively. The results of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were analysed using GC-MS instrument. The results showed that the optimal ratio is 1:4 with 99.93% of FAME yield.

  1. Transesterification of triacetin, tributyrin, and soybean oil with methanol over hydrotalcites with different water contents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Mi Jin; Park, Se Min; Seo, Gon [School of Applied Chemical Engineering and the Research Institute for Catalysis, Chonnam National University, Yungbong-Dong, Buk-Gu, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea); Chang, Duck Rae [Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, 1110-9 Oryoung-Dong, Buk-Gu, Gwangju 500-480 (Korea)

    2010-06-15

    Transesterification of triacetin, tributyrin and soybean oil with methanol was examined over rehydrated hydrotalcites (HT-reh), which were previously calcined at 550 C and exposed to an ambient atmosphere, in order to investigate the effect of the water content on their catalytic activity. Rehydration of a calcined hydrotalcite at 25 C produced uniform mesopores of around 4 nm diameter, while the removal of water from the HT-reh by pretreatment at 500 C, formed large heterogeneous mesopores. Methanol was adsorbed and desorbed rapidly in the mesopores of the HT-reh filled with water. The pretreatment of the HT-reh at 500 C removed both water and carbon dioxide, producing strong basic sites. The high activity of fully rehydrated hydrotalcite in the transesterification of three triglycerides was explained by the generation of Broensted basic sites and the rapid migration of methanol in the mesopores, while the improved activity of the rehydrated hydrotalcite pretreated at 500 C by the generation of strong basic sites and empty mesopores due to the removal of water and carbon dioxide. (author)

  2. Ultrasound assisted production of fatty acid methyl esters from transesterification of triglycerides with methanol in the presence of KOH catalyst: optimization, mechanism and kinetics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thanh, Le Tu; Okitsu, Kenji; Maeda, Yasuaki; Bandow, Hiroshi

    2014-03-01

    Ultrasound assisted transesterification of triglycerides (TG) with methanol in the presence of KOH catalyst was investigated, where the changes in the reactants and products (diglycerides (DG), monoglycerides (MG), fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and glycerin (GL)) concentrations were discussed to understand the reaction mechanism and kinetics under ultrasound irradiation. The optimum reaction condition for the FAME production was the concentration of KOH 1.0 wt.%, molar ratio of TG to methanol of 1:6, and irradiation time of 25 min. The rate constants during the TG transesterification with methanol into GL and FAME were estimated by a curve fitting method with simulated curves to the obtained experimental results. The rate constants of [Formula: see text] were estimated to be 0.21, 0.008, 0.23, 0.005, 0.14 and 0.001 L mol(-1)min(-1), respectively. The rate determining step for the TG transesterification with methanol into GL and FAME was the reaction of MG with methanol into GL and FAME. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A review on biodiesel production using catalyzed transesterification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leung, Dennis Y.C.; Wu, Xuan; Leung, M.K.H. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (China)

    2010-04-15

    Biodiesel is a low-emissions diesel substitute fuel made from renewable resources and waste lipid. The most common way to produce biodiesel is through transesterification, especially alkali-catalyzed transesterification. When the raw materials (oils or fats) have a high percentage of free fatty acids or water, the alkali catalyst will react with the free fatty acids to form soaps. The water can hydrolyze the triglycerides into diglycerides and form more free fatty acids. Both of the above reactions are undesirable and reduce the yield of the biodiesel product. In this situation, the acidic materials should be pre-treated to inhibit the saponification reaction. This paper reviews the different approaches of reducing free fatty acids in the raw oil and refinement of crude biodiesel that are adopted in the industry. The main factors affecting the yield of biodiesel, i.e. alcohol quantity, reaction time, reaction temperature and catalyst concentration, are discussed. This paper also described other new processes of biodiesel production. For instance, the Biox co-solvent process converts triglycerides to esters through the selection of inert co-solvents that generates a one-phase oil-rich system. The non-catalytic supercritical methanol process is advantageous in terms of shorter reaction time and lesser purification steps but requires high temperature and pressure. For the in situ biodiesel process, the oilseeds are treated directly with methanol in which the catalyst has been preciously dissolved at ambient temperatures and pressure to perform the transesterification of oils in the oilseeds. This process, however, cannot handle waste cooking oils and animal fats. (author)

  4. Optimization of sodium loading on zeolite support for catalyzed transesterification of triolein with methanol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yu-Yuan; Chou, Hsin-Yu; Chen, Bing-Hung; Lee, Duu-Jong

    2013-10-01

    Optimization of sodium loading on zeolite HY for catalyzed transesterification of triolein in excess methanol to biodiesel was studied. Zeolite HY catalyst was activated by loading sodium ions to their surface via an ion-exchange method. The effects of ion-exchange process parameters, including the temperature, the process time, the pH value, as well as concentrations and sources of Na(+) cations (NaOH, NaCl and Na2SO4), on the conversion yield of triolein to biodiesel were investigated. Most of these Na(+)-activated zeolite HY catalysts could really facilitate the catalyzed transesterification reaction of triolein to biodiesel at a lower temperature near 65°C. Consequently, a high conversion yield of triglycerides to biodiesel at 97.3% was obtained at 65°C. Moreover, the durability of zeolite catalysts was examined as well. Catalytic performance tests of these zeolite catalysts in transesterification did not show a significant decrease in catalysis at least for three batch cycles. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Esterification kinetics of free fatty acids with supercritical methanol for biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alenezi, R.; Leeke, G.A.; Winterbottom, J.M.; Santos, R.C.D.; Khan, A.R.

    2010-01-01

    Non-catalytic esterification of Free Fatty Acids (FFA) with supercritical methanol was studied under reaction conditions of (250-320 deg. C) at 10 MPa. A detailed experimental programme was implemented to investigate the influence of temperature, stirring rate and the molar ratio of methanol to FFA in the feed in a batch-type reaction vessel. The esterification products of FFA with supercritical methanol are Fatty Acids Methyl Esters (FAME; biodiesel) and water. The yield of FAME was found to increase with an increase in temperature, and with an increase in the molar ratio of methanol to FFA. At >850 rpm the yield of FAME was not affected by stirring rate. The rate constants and energy of activation have been numerically evaluated by solving an ordinary differential equation that describes the reaction kinetics. The proposed kinetic model shows a reversible second order reaction and represents all the experimental data satisfactorily, providing deeper insight into the kinetics of the reaction.

  6. Biodiesel production from wet microalgae feedstock using sequential wet extraction/transesterification and direct transesterification processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ching-Lung; Huang, Chien-Chang; Ho, Kao-Chia; Hsiao, Ping-Xuan; Wu, Meng-Shan; Chang, Jo-Shu

    2015-10-01

    Although producing biodiesel from microalgae seems promising, there is still a lack of technology for the quick and cost-effective conversion of biodiesel from wet microalgae. This study was aimed to develop a novel microalgal biodiesel producing method, consisting of an open system of microwave disruption, partial dewatering (via combination of methanol treatment and low-speed centrifugation), oil extraction, and transesterification without the pre-removal of the co-solvent, using Chlamydomonas sp. JSC4 with 68.7 wt% water content as the feedstock. Direct transesterification with the disrupted wet microalgae was also conducted. The biomass content of the wet microalgae increased to 56.6 and 60.5 wt%, respectively, after microwave disruption and partial dewatering. About 96.2% oil recovery was achieved under the conditions of: extraction temperature, 45°C; hexane/methanol ratio, 3:1; extraction time, 80 min. Transesterification of the extracted oil reached 97.2% conversion within 15 min at 45°C and 6:1 solvent/methanol ratio with simultaneous Chlorophyll removal during the process. Nearly 100% biodiesel conversion was also obtained while conducting direct transesterification of the disrupted oil-bearing microalgal biomass. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Production of biodiesel fuel by transesterification of different vegetable oils with methanol using Al₂O₃ modified MgZnO catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olutoye, M A; Hameed, B H

    2013-03-01

    An active heterogeneous Al2O3 modified MgZnO (MgZnAlO) catalyst was prepared and the catalytic activity was investigated for the transesterification of different vegetable oils (refined palm oil, waste cooking palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil) with methanol to produce biodiesel. The catalyst was characterized by using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectra, thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analysis to ascertain its versatility. Effects of important reaction parameters such as methanol to oil molar ratio, catalyst dosage, reaction temperature and reaction time on oil conversion were examined. Within the range of studied variability, the suitable transesterification conditions (methanol/oil ratio 16:1, catalyst loading 3.32 wt.%, reaction time 6h, temperature 182°C), the oil conversion of 98% could be achieved with reference to coconut oil in a single stage. The catalyst can be easily recovered and reused for five cycles without significant deactivation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Ultrasonication aided in-situ transesterification of microbial lipids to biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaolei; Yan, Song; Tyagi, Rajeshwar Dayal; Surampalli, Rao Y; Valéro, Jose R

    2014-10-01

    In-situ transesterification of microbial lipid to biodiesel has been paid substantial attention due to the fact that the lipid extraction and transesterification can be conducted in one-stage process. To improve the feasibility of in-situ transesterification, ultrasonication was employed to reduce methanol requirement and reaction time. The results showed that the use of ultrasonication could achieve high conversion of lipid to FAMEs (92.1% w lipid conversion/w total lipids) with methanol to lipid molar ratio 60:1 and NaOH addition 1% w/w lipid in 20 min, while methanol to lipid molar ratio 360:1, NaOH addition 1% w/w lipid, and reaction time 12h was required to obtain similar yield in in-situ transesterification without ultrasonication. The compositions of FAMEs obtained in case of ultrasonication aided in-situ transesterification were similar as that of two-stage extraction followed by transesterification processes. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Biodiesel from Jojoba oil-wax: Transesterification with methanol and properties as a fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canoira, Laureano; Alcantara, Ramon; Garcia-Martinez, Jesus; Carrasco, Jesus [Department of Chemical Engineering and Fuels, School of Mines, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Rios Rosas 21, 28003-Madrid (Spain)

    2006-01-15

    The Jojoba oil-wax is extracted from the seeds of the Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis Link Schneider), a perennial shrub that grows in semi desert areas in some parts of the world. The main uses of Jojoba oil-wax are in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, but new uses could arise related to the search of new energetic crops. This paper summarizes a process to convert the Jojoba oil-wax to biodiesel by transesterification with methanol, catalysed with sodium methoxide (1wt% of the oil). The transesterification reaction has been carried out in an autoclave at 60 deg C, with a molar ratio methanol/oil 7.5:1, and vigorous stirring (600rpm), reaching a quantitative conversion of the oil after 4h. The separation of the fatty acid methyl esters (the fraction rich in FAME, 79% FAME mixture; 21% fatty alcohols; 51% of methyl cis-11-eicosenoate) from the fatty alcohols rich fraction (72% fatty alcohols; 28% FAME mixture; 26% of cis-11-eicosen-1-ol, 36% of cis-13-docosen-1-ol) has been accomplished in a single crystallization step at low temperature (-18 deg C) from low boiling point petroleum ether. The fraction rich in FAME has a density (at 15 deg C), a kinematic viscosity (at 40 deg C), a cold filter plugging point and a high calorific value in the range of the European standard for biodiesel (EN 14214)

  10. One-pot reduction of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural via hydrogen transfer from supercritical methanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Thomas Søndergaard; Barta, Katalin; Anastas, Paul T.

    2012-01-01

    Catalytic conversion of HMF to valuable chemicals was achieved over a Cu-doped porous metal oxide in supercritical methanol. The hydrotalcite catalyst precursor is prepared following simple synthetic procedures, using inexpensive and earth-abundant starting materials in aqueous solutions. The hyd......Catalytic conversion of HMF to valuable chemicals was achieved over a Cu-doped porous metal oxide in supercritical methanol. The hydrotalcite catalyst precursor is prepared following simple synthetic procedures, using inexpensive and earth-abundant starting materials in aqueous solutions....... The hydrogen equivalents needed for the reductive deoxygenation of HMF originate from the solvent itself upon its reforming. Dimethylfuran, dimethyltetrahydrofuran and 2-hexanol were obtained in good yields. At milder reaction temperatures, a combined yield (DMF + DMTHF) of 58% was achieved. Notably...

  11. Biodiesel production via injection of superheated methanol technology at atmospheric pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ang, Gaik Tin; Tan, Kok Tat; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Non-catalytic superheated methanol for biodiesel production is developed. • Crude Jatropha curcas oil with high FFA can be directly used as oil feedstock. • High content of biodiesel can be produced. • Separation of FAME and glycerol from the sample product is easy. - Abstract: In this high demand of renewable energy market, biodiesel was extensively produced via various catalytic and non-catalytic technologies. Conventional catalytic transesterification for biodiesel production has been shown to have limitation in terms of sensitivity to high water and free fatty acid, complicated separation and purification of biodiesel. In this study, an alternative and innovative approach was carried out via non-catalytic superheated methanol technology to produce biodiesel. Similar to supercritical reaction, the solvent need to be heated beyond the critical temperature but the reactor pressure remained at 0.1 MPa (atmospheric pressure). Transesterification reaction with superheated methanol was carried out at different reaction temperature within the limit of 270–300 °C and at different methanol flow rate ranging from 1 ml/min to 3 ml/min for 4 h. Results obtained showed that the highest biodiesel yield at 71.54% w/w was achieved at reaction temperature 290 °C and methanol flow rate at 2 ml/min with 88.81% w/w FAME content, implying the huge potential of superheated technology in producing FAME

  12. Production of biodiesel by transesterification of refined soybean oil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study focused on the production of biodiesel via transesterification of refined soybean oil obtained locally. Sodium hydroxide was used as the alkali catalyst and methanol (as alcohol) was used in the transesterification process due to its low cost. The methanol-to-oil molar ratio was maintained at 6:1. The effect of ...

  13. Biodiesel Production from Chlorella protothecoides Oil by Microwave-Assisted Transesterification

    OpenAIRE

    G?lyurt, Mustafa ?mer; ?z?imen, Didem; ?nan, Benan

    2016-01-01

    In this study, biodiesel production from microalgal oil by microwave-assisted transesterification was carried out to investigate its efficiency. Transesterification reactions were performed by using Chlorella protothecoides oil as feedstock, methanol, and potassium hydroxide as the catalyst. Methanol:oil ratio, reaction time and catalyst:oil ratio were investigated as process parameters affected methyl ester yield. 9:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 1.5% KOH catalyst/oil ratio and 10 min were opti...

  14. Model study on transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel with methanol using solid base catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xuejun; Piao, Xianglan; Wang, Yujun; Zhu, Shenlin

    2010-03-25

    Modeling of the transesterification of vegetable oils to biodiesel using a solid base as a catalyst is very important because the mutual solubilities of oil and methanol will increase with the increasing biodiesel yield. The heterogeneous liquid-liquid-solid reaction system would become a liquid-solid system when the biodiesel reaches a certain content. In this work, we adopted a two-film theory and a steady state approximation assumption, then established a heterogeneous liquid-liquid-solid model in the first stage. After the diffusion coefficients on the liquid-liquid interface and the liquid-solid interface were calculated on the basis of the properties of the system, the theoretical value of biodiesel productivity changing with time was obtained. The predicted values were very near the experimental data, which indicated that the proposed models were suitable for the transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel when solid bases were used as catalysts. Meanwhile, the model indicated that the transesterification reaction was controlled by both mass transfer and reaction. The total resistance will decrease with the increase in biodiesel yield in the liquid-liquid-solid stage. The solid base catalyst exhibited an activation energy range of 9-20 kcal/mol, which was consistent with the reported activation energy range of homogeneous catalysts.

  15. Process intensification for biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas L. seeds: Supercritical reactive extraction process parameters study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Steven; Lee, Keat Teong

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Investigation of supercritical reactive extraction process for biodiesel production. ► Focus is given on optimizing methyl esters yield for Jatropha curcas L. seeds. ► Influence of process parameters to the reaction are discussed thoroughly. ► Comparison between the novel reaction with conventional process are studied. ► High methyl esters yield can be obtained without pre-extraction and catalyst. -- Abstract: In a bid to increase the cost competitiveness of biodiesel production against mineral diesel, process intensification has been studied for numerous biodiesel processing technologies. Subsequently, reactive extraction or in situ transesterification is actively being explored in which the solid oil-bearing seeds are used as the reactant directly with short-chain alcohol. This eliminates separate oil extraction process and combines both extraction and transesterification in a single unit. Supercritical reactive extraction takes one step further by substituting the role of catalyst with supercritical conditions to achieve higher yield and shorter processing time. In this work, supercritical reactive extraction with methanol was carried out in a high-pressure batch reactor to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from Jatropha curcas L. seeds. Material and process parameters including space loading, solvent to seed ratio, co-solvent (n-hexane) to seed ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time and mixing intensity were varied one at a time and optimized based on two responses i.e. extraction efficiency, M extract and FAME yield, F y . The optimum responses for supercritical reactive extraction obtained were 104.17% w/w and 99.67% w/w (relative to 100% lipid extraction with n-hexane) for M extract and F y respectively under the following conditions: 54.0 ml/g space loading, 5.0 ml/g methanol to seeds ratio, 300 °C, 9.5 MPa (Mega Pascal), 30 min reaction time and without n-hexane as co-solvent or any agitation source. This proved that

  16. Biodiesel Production from Chlorella protothecoides Oil by Microwave-Assisted Transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gülyurt, Mustafa Ömer; Özçimen, Didem; İnan, Benan

    2016-04-22

    In this study, biodiesel production from microalgal oil by microwave-assisted transesterification was carried out to investigate its efficiency. Transesterification reactions were performed by using Chlorella protothecoides oil as feedstock, methanol, and potassium hydroxide as the catalyst. Methanol:oil ratio, reaction time and catalyst:oil ratio were investigated as process parameters affected methyl ester yield. 9:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 1.5% KOH catalyst/oil ratio and 10 min were optimum values for the highest fatty acid methyl ester yield.

  17. Optimization of non-catalytic transesterification of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seed oil using supercritical methanol to biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    García-Martínez, Nuria; Andreo-Martínez, Pedro; Quesada-Medina, Joaquín; Pérez de los Ríos, Antonia Pérez; Chica, Antonio; Beneito-Ruiz, Rubén; Carratalá-Abril, Juan

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Biodiesel from tobacco oil was produced by non-catalytic supercritical methanolysis. • Maximum experimental yield of FAMEs (92.8%) was reached at 300 °C and 90 min. • Optimal conditions by RSM (303.4 °C and 90 min) predicted a maximum FAME yield of 91.1%. • Thermal decomposition of biodiesel was observed above 325 °C and 60 min of reaction. • Glycerol generated at 300 °C and 90 min was degraded and incorporated to the biodiesel. - Abstract: The biodiesel production from non-edible oils has high potential as renewable and ecological fuel. Few researches have been conducted to date on the production of biodiesel from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seed oil. The aim of this study was to optimize the biodiesel production from this crude oil by non-catalytic supercritical methanolysis using response surface methodology (RSM). Triglyceride conversion, total and individual FAME yield, monoglyceride and diglyceride yield, and thermal decomposition degree of biodiesel were determined in the temperature and reaction time ranges of 250–350 °C (12–43 MPa) and 15–90 min, respectively, at a fixed methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 43:1. According to the RSM, the optimal conditions were 303.4 °C and 90 min, reaching a predicted maximum FAME yield of 91.1 ± 3.2 mol%. This maximum was very close to that obtained experimentally (92.8 ± 2.1 mol%) at 300 °C and 90 min. Decomposition of biodiesel became evident at 325 °C and 60 min of reaction due to the thermal instability of unsaturated methyl esters (methyl linoleate and oleate). The biodiesel obtained in the best experimental reaction conditions (300 °C and 90 min), where no thermal decomposition of FAMEs was observed, contained most of the byproduct glycerol generated, which was degraded and incorporated to the product. This biodiesel basically failed to meet the content of FAMEs as required by the standard EN 14214, the content of monoglycerides and total glycerol, and the acid value, being a

  18. Conventional and in situ transesterification of sunflower seed oil for the production of biodiesel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Georgogianni, K.G.; Kontominas, M.G.; Pomonis, P.J. [Section of Industrial and Food Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina 45110-Ioannina (Greece); Avlonitis, D. [Department of Petroleum Technology, TEI of Chalkida, 34600-Kavala (Greece); Gergis, V. [Department of Food Technology, TEI of Athens, 12210-Egaleo (Greece)

    2008-05-15

    In the present work the alkaline transesterification of sunflower seed oil with methanol and ethanol, for the production of biodiesel fuel was studied. Both conventional and in situ transesterification were investigated using low frequency ultrasonication (24 kHz) and mechanical stirring (600 rpm). Use of ultrasonication in conventional transesterification with methanol gave high yields of methyl esters (95%) after a short reaction time (20 min) similar to those using mechanical stirring. Use of ultrasonication in conventional transesterification with ethanol gave similar yields to those using mechanical stirring but significantly lower than respective yields using methanol. In the in situ transesterification the use of ultrasonication and mechanical stirring led to similar high yields (95%) of methyl esters after approximately 20 min of reaction time. In the presence of ethanol use of ultrasonication led to high ester yields (98%) in only 40 min of reaction time while use of mechanical stirring gave lower yields (88%) even after 4 h of reaction time. In situ transesterification gave similar ester yields to those obtained by conventional transesterification being an alternative, efficient and economical process. In all cases a concentration of 2.0% NaOH gave higher ester yields. Reaction rate constants were calculated, using first order reaction kinetics, to be equal to 3.1 x 10{sup -} {sup 3} s{sup -} {sup 1} for conventional transesterification using methanol and 2.0% NaOH, and 9.5 x 10{sup -} {sup 4} s{sup -} {sup 1} using ethanol. (author)

  19. Depolymerization of organosolv lignin using doped porous metal oxides in supercritical methanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warner, Genoa; Hansen, Thomas Søndergaard; Riisager, Anders

    2014-01-01

    conversion to methanol-soluble products, without char formation, were based on copper in combination with other dopants based on relatively earth-abundant metals. Nearly complete conversion of lignin to bio-oil composed of monomers and low-mass oligomers with high aromatic content was obtained in 6. h at 310......An isolated, solvent-extracted lignin from candlenut (Aleurites moluccana) biomass was subjected to catalytic depolymerization in the presence of supercritical methanol, using a range of porous metal oxides derived from hydrotalcite-like precursors. The most effective catalysts in terms of lignin...

  20. Investigation to biodiesel production by the two-step homogeneous base-catalyzed transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Jianchu; Tu, Song; Sha, Yong

    2010-10-01

    For the two-step transesterification biodiesel production made from the sunflower oil, based on the kinetics model of the homogeneous base-catalyzed transesterification and the liquid-liquid phase equilibrium of the transesterification product, the total methanol/oil mole ratio, the total reaction time, and the split ratios of methanol and reaction time between the two reactors in the stage of the two-step reaction are determined quantitatively. In consideration of the transesterification intermediate product, both the traditional distillation separation process and the improved separation process of the two-step reaction product are investigated in detail by means of the rigorous process simulation. In comparison with the traditional distillation process, the improved separation process of the two-step reaction product has distinct advantage in the energy duty and equipment requirement due to replacement of the costly methanol-biodiesel distillation column. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Mixed methanol/ethanol on transesterification of waste cooking oil using Mg/Al hydrotalcite catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Yingqun; Wang, Qunhui; Zheng, Lu; Gao, Zhen; Wang, Qiang; Ma, Yuhui

    2016-01-01

    Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using calcined Mg/Al HT (hydrotalcite) as heterogeneous catalyst was investigated. This study describes the calcined Mg/Al HT prepared under optimal conditions to catalyse waste cooking oil for biodiesel preparation and proposes a plausible catalysis mechanism. The catalysts were characterised by Fourier Transform-Infrared, X-ray diffraction, Thermal Gravity Analysis-Differential thermal gravity and Brunner−Emmet−Teller measurements. Hydrotalcite with Mg/Al ratio of 3:1 showed a uniform mesoporous structure, excellent crystallinity, high surface area (270.5 m 2 /g) and good catalytic activity (at 500 °C calcination). The highest biodiesel yield obtained was 95.2% under optimised conditions of alcohol/oil molar ratio of 6:1, methanol/ethanol molar ratio of 4:2, catalyst content of 1.5%, reaction time of 2.5 h, reaction temperature of 80 °C. Mixed methanol/ethanol showed good synergistic effects as an ester exchange agent, and the catalyst was easily separated and recycled. Therefore, Mg/Al hydrotalcite can effectively catalyse waste cooking oil for biodiesel preparation with mixed methanol/ethanol. - Highlights: • Mg/Al hydrotalcite filtered and stirred with acetone has the better dispersion. • Mg/Al hydrotalcite used as catalyst to prepare biodiesel. • Catalytic mechanism of Mg/Al hydrotalcite was investigated. • Mixed Methanol/Ethanol used as transesterification agent to prepare biodiesel. • Regenerative catalyst was assessed to make catalyst reuse well.

  2. Continuous and pulse sonication effects on transesterification of used vegetable oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez-Guerra, Edith; Gude, Veera Gnaneswar

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We studied continuous and pulse sonication effects on transesterification reaction. • Pulse sonication appears to have superior effects on transesterification reaction. • Effects of various process parameters on FAMEs yield were discussed in detail. • Effects of ultrasonic intensity and power density were compared for both conditions. • Continuous sonication may be beneficial for short time and plug-flow conditions. - Abstract: This study reports on the effects of direct application of continuous and pulse sonication on transesterification reaction of used vegetable oil. Specific to this research, thermal effects of ultrasonics in transesterification reaction without external conventional heating along with the effects of different ultrasonic intensities and power densities were reported. Two process parametric evaluation studies were conducted to compare the effects of continuous and pulse sonication. These included methanol to oil ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time effects on the transesterification reaction. For continuous sonication, a catalyst amount of 0.5% (wt/wt), methanol to oil ratio of 9:1 was sufficient to complete the transesterification reaction in 1–2 min at a power output of 150 W with a biodiesel yield of 93.5%. For pulse sonication, a maximum biodiesel yield of 98% was achieved at 2.5 min of reaction time, 9:1 methanol to oil ratio, and 1.25% catalyst. Generally, higher biodiesel yields were observed for pulse sonication compared to continuous sonication under any given process condition. Power density and ultrasonic intensity tests revealed that biodiesel yields were more sensitive to continuous sonication due to intense mixing. A plug-flow or contact-type reactor design may improve overall ultrasonic utilization in the transesterification reaction under continuous sonication

  3. Fatty acid methyl esters synthesis from non-edible vegetable oils using supercritical methanol and methyl tert-butyl ether

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamba, Neha; Modak, Jayant M.; Madras, Giridhar

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • FAMEs were synthesized from non-edible oils using supercritical MeOH and MTBE. • Effect of time, temperature, pressure and molar ratio on conversions was studied. • Rate constants of reaction with methanol and MTBE differ by an order of magnitude. • Non-catalytic supercritical reactions are one order faster than acid catalyzed synthesis. - Abstract: Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) are useful as biodiesel and have environmental benefits compared to conventional diesel. In this study, these esters were synthesized non-catalytically from non-edible vegetable oils: neem oil and mahua oil with two different methylating agents: methanol and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The effects of temperature, pressure, time and molar ratio on the conversion of triglycerides were studied. The temperature was varied in the range of 523–723 K with molar ratios upto 50:1 and a reaction time of upto 150 min. Conversion of neem and mahua oil to FAMEs with supercritical methanol was found to be 83% in 15 min and 99% in 10 min, respectively at 698 K. Further, a conversion of 46% of mahua oil and 59% of neem oil was obtained in 15 min at 723 K using supercritical MTBE. The rate constants evaluated using pseudo first order reaction kinetics were in the range of 4.7 × 10"−"6 to 1.0 × 10"−"3 s"−"1 for the investigated range of temperatures. The activation energies obtained were in the range of 62–113 kJ/mol for the reaction systems investigated. The supercritical synthesis was found to be superior to the catalytic synthesis of the corresponding FAMEs.

  4. Using renewable ethanol and isopropanol for lipid transesterification in wet microalgae cells to produce biodiesel with low crystallization temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Rui; Cheng, Jun; Qiu, Yi; Li, Tao; Zhou, Junhu; Cen, Kefa

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Ethanol and isopropanol were used for transesterification in wet microalgae cell. • Decreased droplet size and polarity of lipid were observed after transesterification. • Ethanol and isopropanol dosage needed for 95% FAAE yield were 75% of methanol dosage. • Crystallization temperature of crude biodiesel decreased from 2.08 °C to −3.15 °C. - Abstract: Renewable ethanol and isopropanol were employed for lipid transesterification in wet microalgae cells to produce biodiesel with low crystallization temperature and reduce the alcohol volume needed for biodiesel production. Decreased droplet size and lipid polarity were observed after transesterification with alcohol in microalgae cells. Such decrease was beneficial in extracting lipid from microalgae with apolar hexane. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, and alcohol volume on microwave-assisted transesterification with ethanol and isopropanol were investigated, and results were compared with those with methanol. Microwave-assisted transesterification with ethanol and isopropanol, which were more miscible with lipid in cells, resulted in higher fatty acid alkyl ester (FAAE) yields than that with methanol when the reaction temperature was lower than 90 °C. The ethanol and isopropanol volumes in the transesterification with 95% FAAE yield were only 75% of the methanol volume. The crystallization temperatures (0.19 °C and −3.15 °C) of biodiesels produced from wet microalgae through lipid transesterification in cells with ethanol and isopropanol were lower than that with methanol (2.08 °C), which was favorable for biodiesel flow in cold districts and winter.

  5. [Column chromatography purification and analysis of biodiesel by transesterification].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yang; Yi, Huai-feng; Chen, Yu; Wu, Yu-long; Yang, Ming-de; Chen, Zeng; Tong, Jun-mao

    2012-02-01

    In the present paper, crude biodiesel prepared with sorbifolia oil as raw material by transesterification was purified by column chromatography, then the composition of biodiesel was analyzed by gas chromatography, FTIR, GC-MS and 1H NMR. Column chromatography can separate the crude biodiesel into two fractions: petroleum ether eluted fraction (A1) and methanol eluted fraction (A2). Petroleum ether eluted fraction was mainly biodiesel fraction, which was produced from sorbifolia oil by transesterification, including methyl linoleate, methyl cis-9-octadecenoate and so on; methanol eluted fraction was mainly glycerol fraction, which came from the side reaction of transesterification. The results show that the purity of refined biodiesel increased from 77.51% to 93.872, and the product recovery rate reached up to 91.04% after the purification by column chromatography. The results obtained by FTIR and 1H NMR further showed that the column chromatography can effectively improve the purity of biodiesel. This paper provides a basis for industrialization of purification of biodiesel.

  6. Continuous production of biodiesel from microalgae by extraction coupling with transesterification under supercritical conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Dan; Qiao, Baoquan; Li, Gen; Xue, Song; Yin, Jianzhong

    2017-08-01

    Raw material for biodiesel has been expanded from edible oil to non-edible oil. In this study, biodiesel continuous production for two kinds of microalgae Chrysophyta and Chlorella sp. was conducted. Coupling with the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, the oil of microalgae was extracted firstly, and then sent to the downstream production of biodiesel. The residue after decompression can be reused as the material for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Results showed that the particle size of microalgae, temperature, pressure, molar ration of methanol to oil, flow of CO 2 and n-hexane all have effects on the yield of biodiesel. With the optimal operation conditions: 40mesh algae, extraction temperature 60°C, flow of n-hexane 0.4ml/min, reaction temperature: 340°C, pressure: 18-20MPa, CO 2 flow of 0.5L/min, molar ration of methanol to oil 84:1, a yield of 56.31% was obtained for Chrysophyta, and 63.78% for Chlorella sp. due to the higher lipid content. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Production of Methyl Ester (Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oils via Trans-esterification process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sameer Mohammed Salman

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Used cooking oil was undergoing trans-esterification reaction to produce biodiesel fuel. Method of production consisted of pretreatment steps, trans-esterification, separation, washing and drying. Trans-esterification of treated oils was studied at different operation conditions, the methanol to oil mole ratio were 6:1, 8:1, 10:1, and 12:1, at different temperature 30, 40, 50, and 60 º C, reaction time 40, 60, 80, and 120 minutes, amount of catalyst 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 wt.% based on oil and mixing speed 400 rpm. The maximum yield of biodiesel was 91.68 wt.% for treated oils obtained by trans-esterification reaction with 10:1 methanol to oil mole ratio, 60 º C reaction temperature, 80 minute reaction time and 0.5 wt.% of NaOH catalyst. The physical properties such as specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, acid number, flash point, pour point, and water content, were measured and compared them with American Standard Test Methods (ASTM D6751. The results of these properties for biodiesel product at (6:1, 8:1, 10:1, and 12:1 of methanol to oil mole ratio were within the range of American Standard Test Methods (ASTM D6751.

  8. Biodiesel Production from Spent Fish Frying Oil Through Acid-Base Catalyzed Transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdalrahman B. Fadhil

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel fuels were prepared from a special type of frying oil namely spent fish frying oil through two step transesterification viz. acid-base catalyzed transesterification. Hydrochloric acid and potassium hydroxide with methanol were used for this purpose. The oil was pre-treated with (1.0 wt% HCl and methanol to reduce free fatty acids content of the oil. Then, conditions of the base catalyzed step such as base concentration, reaction temperature, methanol to oil molar ratio and reaction time were optimized. The study raveled that, 0.50% KOH w/w of oil; a 6:1 methanol to oil molar ratio; a reaction temperature of 60°C and a duration of 1h were the optimal conditions because they resulted in high biodiesel yield. Fuel properties of the products were assessed and found better than those of the parent oil. Furthermore, they met the specified limits according to the ASTM standards. Thin layer chromatography was used as a simple technique to monitor the transesterification of the oil. Blending of the optimal biodiesel sample with petro diesel using specified volume percentages was done as well. The results indicated that biodiesel had slight effect on the values of the assessed properties.

  9. Transesterification for the preparation of biodiesel from crude-oil of Pongamia pinnata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babu Veeresh A.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel was prepared from the non-edible oil of Pongamia pinnata L. by transesterification of the crude-oil with methanol in the presence of NAOH as catalyst. Vegetable oils can be transesterified by heating them with a large excess of anhydrous methanol and an acidic or basic reagent as catalyst. Both the acid as well as alkaline esterifications were subsequently performed to get the final product. A catalyst is usually used to improve the reaction rate and yield. NaOH was found to be a better catalyst than KOH in terms of yield. In a transesterification reaction, a larger amount of methanol was used to shift the reaction equilibrium to the right side and produce more methyl esters as the proposed product. Several aspects including the type of catalyst (alkaline, acid, or enzyme, alcohol/vegetable oil molar ratio, temperature, purity of the reactants (mainly water content and free fatty acid content have an influence on the course of the transesterification. A maximum conversion of 94% (oil to ester was achieved using a 1:10 molar ratio of oil to methanol at 60 to 65 °C. Important fuel properties of methyl esters of pongamia oil (biodiesel compare well with ASTM standards.

  10. Biodiesel Production from Wet Spirulina sp. by One-Step Extraction-Transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surya Pradana Yano

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Microalgae has gained immense interests as the raw material for biofuel production. The lipid content in microalgae can be converted into biodiesel through conventional method which involves separated process of extraction and transesterification. In this study, the production of biodiesel from Spirulina sp. was performed through one-step extraction-transesterification using KOH as base catalyst to simplify the production of biodiesel. The mixture of methanol-hexane was employed as both solvent and reactant in the process. The resulting biodiesel was found to be mainly composed of methyl oleate and methyl palmitate. On the other hand, increasing the reaction temperature and reducing the quantity of methanol in solvent mixture would also increase the yield of biodiesel. The optimum methanol-hexane volumetric ratio and temperature which gave the highest biodiesel yield were 3:7 and 50°C, respectively.

  11. Biodiesel Production from Microalgae by Extraction – Transesterification Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The environmental impact of using petroleum fuels has led to a quest to find a suitable alternative fuel source. In this study, microalgae were explored as a highly potential feedstock to produce biodiesel fuel. Firstly, algal oil is extracted from algal biomass by using organic solvents (n–hexan.  Lipid is contained in microalgae up to 60% of their weight. Then, Biodiesel is created through a chemical reaction known as transesterification between algal oil and alcohol (methanol with strong acid (such as H2SO4 as the catalyst. The extraction – transesterification method resulted in a high biodiesel yield (10 % of algal biomass and high FAMEs content (5.2 % of algal biomass. Biodiesel production from microalgae was studied through experimental investigation of transesterification conditions such as reaction time, methanol to oil ration and catalyst dosage which are deemed to have main impact on reaction conversion efficiency. All the parameters which were characterized for purified biodiesel such as free glycerin, total glycerin, flash point, sulfur content were analyzed according to ASTM standardDoi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12777/wastech.1.1.6-9Citation:  Thao, N.T.P., Tin, N.T., and Thanh, B.X. 2013. Biodiesel Production from Microalgae by Extraction – Transesterification Method. Waste Technology 1(1:6-9. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12777/wastech.1.1.6-9

  12. Solvation in supercritical water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochran, H.D.; Cummings, P.T.; Karaborni, S.

    1991-01-01

    The aim of this work is to determine the solvation structure in supercritical water composed with that in ambient water and in simple supercritical solvents. Molecular dynamics studies have been undertaken of systems that model ionic sodium and chloride, atomic argon, and molecular methanol in supercritical aqueous solutions using the simple point charge model of Berendsen for water. Because of the strong interactions between water and ions, ionic solutes are strongly attractive in supercritical water, forming large clusters of water molecules around each ion. Methanol is found to be a weakly-attractive solute in supercritical water. The cluster of excess water molecules surrounding a dissolved ion or polar molecule in supercritical aqueous solutions is comparable to the solvent clusters surrounding attractive solutes in simple supercritical fluids. Likewise, the deficit of water molecules surrounding a dissolved argon atom in supercritical aqueous solutions is comparable to that surrounding repulsive solutes in simple supercritical fluids. The number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule in supercritical water was found to be about one third the number in ambient water. The number of hydrogen bonds per water molecule surrounding a central particle in supercritical water was only mildly affected by the identify of the central particle--atom, molecule, or ion. These results should be helpful in developing a qualitative understanding of important processes that occur in supercritical water. 29 refs., 6 figs

  13. Biodiesel production via non-catalytic SCF method and biodiesel fuel characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demirbas, Ayhan

    2006-01-01

    Vegetable oil (m)ethyl esters, commonly referred to as 'biodiesel,' are prominent candidates as alternative Diesel fuels. Biodiesel is technically competitive with or offers technical advantages compared to conventional petroleum Diesel fuel. The vegetable oils, as alternative engine fuels, are all extremely viscous with viscosities ranging from 10 to 20 times greater than that of petroleum Diesel fuel. The purpose of the transesterification process is to lower the viscosity of the oil. Transesterifications of vegetable oils in supercritical methanol are performed without using any catalyst. The most important variables affecting the methyl ester yield during the transesterification reaction are the molar ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil and the reaction temperature. Biodiesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits. The cost of biodiesel, however, is the main obstacle to commercialization of the product. With cooking oils used as raw material, the viability of a continuous transesterification process and recovery of high quality glycerol as a biodiesel by product are primary options to be considered to lower the cost of biodiesel. Supercritical methanol has a high potential for both transesterification of triglycerides and methyl esterification of free fatty acids to methyl esters for a Diesel fuel substitute. In the supercritical methanol transesterification method, the yield of conversion increases to 95% in 10 min. The viscosity values of vegetable oils are between 27.2 and 53.6 mm 2 /s, whereas those of vegetable oil methyl esters are between 3.59 and 4.63 mm 2 /s. The flash point values of vegetable oil methyl esters are much lower than those of vegetable oils. An increase in density from 860 to 885 kg/m 3 for vegetable oil methyl esters or biodiesels increases the viscosity from 3.59 to 4.63 mm 2 /s. Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel that can be used in any Diesel engine without modification

  14. In-situ transesterification of wet spent coffee grounds for sustainable biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jeongseok; Kim, Bora; Lee, Jae W

    2016-12-01

    This work addresses in-situ transesterification of wet spent coffee grounds (SCGs) for the production of biodiesel. For in-situ transesterification process, the methanol, organic solvent and acid catalyst were mixed with wet SCG in one pot and the mixture was heated for simultaneous lipid extraction and transesterification. Maximum yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was 16.75wt.% based on the weight of dry SCG at 95°C. Comprehensive experiments were conducted with varying temperatures and various amounts of moisture, methanol, co-solvent and acid catalyst. Moderate polar and alcohol-miscible organic solvent is suitable for the high FAME yield. Unsaturated FAMEs are subject to oxidative cleavage by nitric acid and shorter chain (C6 and C10) FAMEs were mainly produced while sulfuric acid yielded long chain unsaturated FAMEs (C16 and C18). Utilization of wet SCGs as a biodiesel feedstock gives economic and environmental benefits by recycling the municipal waste. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate catalyzed in-situ transesterification of Nannochloropsis to fatty acid methyl esters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Yingqiang; Cooke, Peter; Reddy, Harvind K.; Muppaneni, Tapaswy; Wang, Jun; Zeng, Zheling; Deng, Shuguang

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • [Bmim][HSO_4] catalyzed in-situ transesterification of wet algae. • [Bmim][HSO_4] served as both effective solvent and excellent acid catalyst. • Proposed a mechanism for [Bmim][HSO_4] catalyzed in-situ transesterification. • Identified cell walls and lipid droplets in algae using confocal imaging tests. • Obtained crude biodiesel yield about 95% in 30 min at 200 °C. - Abstract: 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([Bmim][HSO_4]) is used as a solvent and an acid catalyst for in-situ extractive transesterification of wet Nannochloropsis with methanol. The reaction is supposed to be a five-step process: (1) wet algae cell wall dissolves in ionic liquid at reaction temperatures; (2) hydrogen ions and sulfate ions release from the ionization of HSO_4"−. The hydrogen ions (H"+) act as catalysts for accelerating the reactive extraction of triglyceride from wet Nannochloropsis; (3) hydrogen ions and methanol molecules transfer from bulk to active site of cells without passing through cell wall that is dissolved by ionic liquid; (4) in-situ transesterification of lipid (mainly triglycerides) with methanol; and (5) products transfer from inside of algae cells to outside of cells. The crude biodiesel yield of [Bmim][HSO_4] catalyzed in-situ transesterification is about 95.28% at reaction temperature of 200 °C, reaction time of 30 min, mass ratio of [Bmim][HSO_4] to wet Nannochloropsis of 0.9:1, and a mass ratio of methanol to wet algae of 3:1. It decreases to 81.23% after [Bmim][HSO_4] is recycled for 4 times, which indicates that [Bmim][HSO_4] catalyzed in-situ transesterification is an economic approach for biodiesel production from wet algae.

  16. Degradation Characteristics of Wood Using Supercritical Alcohols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeeban Poudel

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available In this work, the characteristics of wood degradation using supercritical alcohols have been studied. Supercritical ethanol and supercritical methanol were used as solvents. The kinetics of wood degradation were analyzed using the nonisothermal weight loss technique with heating rates of 3.1, 9.8, and 14.5 °C/min for ethanol and 5.2, 11.3, and 16.3 °C/min for methanol. Three different kinetic analysis methods were implemented to obtain the apparent activation energy and the overall reaction order for wood degradation using supercritical alcohols. These were used to compare with previous data for supercritical methanol. From this work, the activation energies of wood degradation in supercritical ethanol were obtained as 78.0–86.0, 40.1–48.1, and 114 kJ/mol for the different kinetic analysis methods used in this work. The activation energies of wood degradation in supercritical ethanol were obtained as 78.0–86.0, 40.1–48.1, and 114 kJ/mol. This paper also includes the analysis of the liquid products obtained from this work. The characteristic analysis of liquid products on increasing reaction temperature and time has been performed by GC-MS. The liquid products were categorized according to carbon numbers and aromatic/aliphatic components. It was found that higher conversion in supercritical ethanol occurs at a lower temperature than that of supercritical methanol. The product analysis shows that the majority of products fall in the 2 to 15 carbon number range.

  17. Pulse radiolysis study on temperature and pressure dependence of the yield of solvated electron in methanol from room temperature to supercritical condition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Zhenhui; He, Hui; Lin, Mingzhang; Muroya, Yusa; Katsumura, Yosuke

    2012-09-01

    A new concept of nuclear reactor, supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR), has been proposed, which is based on the success of the use of supercritical water (SCW) in fossil fuel power plants for more than three decades. This new concept reactor has advantages of higher thermal conversion efficiency, simplicity in structure, safety, etc, and it has been selected as one of the reactor concepts for the next generation nuclear reactor systems. In these reactors, the same as in boiling water reactors (BWR) and pressurized water reactors (PWR), water is used not only as a coolant but also as a moderator. It is very important to understand the behavior of the radiolysis products of water under the supercritical condition, since the water is exposed to a strong radiation field under very high temperature condition. Usually, in order to predict the concentrations of water decomposition products with carrying out some kinds of computer simulations, knowledge of the temperature and/or pressure dependent G-values (denoting the experimentally measured radiolytic yields) as well as of the rate constants of a set of reactions becomes very important. Therefore, in recent years, two groups from Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Tokyo, simultaneously conducted two projects aimed at obtaining basic data on radiolysis of SCW. However, it is still lack of reliable radiolytic yields of water decomposition products in very high temperature region. As we known, the properties of solvated electrons in polar liquid are very helpful for our understanding how they play a central role in many processes, such as solvation and reducing reactions. The solvated electron can also be used as a probe to determine the dynamic nature of the polar liquid systems. Comparing to water, the primary alcohols have much milder critical points, for example, for water and methanol, the critical temperature and pressure are 374 deg. C and 22.1 MPa and 239.5 deg. C and 8.1 MPa, respectively

  18. Optimization of biodiesel production from Chlorella protothecoides oil via ultrasound assisted transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Özçimen Didem

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a growing interest in biodiesel as an alternative fuel for diesel engines because of the high oil prices and environmental issues related to massive greenhouse gas emissions. Nowadays, microalgal biomass has become a promising biodiesel feedstock. However, traditional biodiesel production from microalgae consumes a lot of energy and solvents. It is necessary to use an alternative method that can reduce the energy and alcohol consumption and save time. In this study, biodiesel production from Chlorella protothecoides oil by ultrasound assisted transesterification was conducted and effects of reaction parameters such as methanol:oil ratio, catalyst/oil ratio and reaction time on fatty acid methyl ester yields were investigated. The transesterification reactions were carried out by using methanol as alcohol and potassium hydroxide as the catalyst. The highest methyl ester production was obtained under the conditions of 9:1 methanol/oil mole ratio, 1.5% potassium hydroxide catalyst in oil, and for reaction time of 40 min. It was also found that catalyst/oil molar ratio was the most effective parameter on methyl ester yield according to statistical data. The results showed that ultrasound-assisted transesterification may be an alternative and cost effective way to produce biodiesel efficiently.

  19. A closer study of methanol adsorption and its impact on solute retentions in supercritical fluid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenne, Emelie; Öhlén, Kristina; Leek, Hanna; Klarqvist, Magnus; Samuelsson, Jörgen; Fornstedt, Torgny

    2016-04-15

    Surface excess adsorption isotherms of methanol on a diol silica adsorbent were measured in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using a mixture of methanol and carbon dioxide as mobile phase. The tracer pulse method was used with deuterium labeled methanol as solute and the tracer peaks were detected using APCI-MS over the whole composition range from neat carbon dioxide to neat methanol. The results indicate that a monolayer (4Å) of methanol is formed on the stationary phase. Moreover, the importance of using the set or the actual methanol fractions and volumetric flows in SFC was investigated by measuring the mass flow respective pressure and by calculations of the actual volume fraction of methanol. The result revealed a significant difference between the value set and the actually delivered volumetric methanol flow rate, especially at low modifier fractions. If relying only on the set methanol fraction in the calculations, the methanol layer thickness should in this system be highly overestimated. Finally, retention times for a set of solutes were measured and related to the findings summarized above concerning methanol adsorption. A strongly non-linear relationship between the logarithms of the retention factors and the modifier fraction in the mobile phase was revealed, prior to the established monolayer. At modifier fractions above that required for establishment of the methanol monolayer, this relationship turns linear which explains why the solute retention factors are less sensitive to changes in modifier content in this region. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Transesterification of Waste Activated Sludge for Biosolids Reduction and Biodiesel Production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeng, Min Ho; Cha, Daniel K

    2018-02-01

    Transesterification of waste activated sludge (WAS) was evaluated as a cost-effective technique to reduce excess biosolids and recover biodiesel feedstock from activated sludge treatment processes. A laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was operated with recycling transesterification-treated WAS back to the aeration basin. Seventy percent recycling of WAS resulted in a 48% reduction of excess biosolids in comparison with a conventional SBR, which was operated in parallel as the control SBR. Biodiesel recovery of 8.0% (dried weight basis) was achieved at an optimum transesterification condition using acidic methanol and xylene as cosolvent. Average effluent soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations from the test SBR and control SBR were comparable, indicating that the recycling of transesterification-treated WAS did not have detrimental effect on the effluent quality. This study demonstrated that transesterification and recycling of WAS may be a feasible technique for reducing excess biosolids, while producing valuable biodiesel feedstock from the activated sludge process.

  1. Upgrading pyrolysis bio-oil to biofuel over bifunctional Co-Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst in supercritical methanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, Shouyun; Wei, Lin; Julson, James; Muthukumarappan, Kasiviswanathan; Kharel, Parashu Ram

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Integration of Co-Zn/HZSM-5 and supercritical methanol was used for bio-oil hydrodeoxygenation. • Co-Zn/HZSM-5 exhibited higher effectiveness than Co/HZSM-5 or Zn/HZSM-5. • 15%Co5%Zn/HZSM-5 produced biofuel with the highest hydrocarbons content at 35.33%. • Loading of Co and/or Zn did not change crystalline structure of HZSM-5. • Hydrogenation and esterification are main reactions in bio-oil hydrodeoxygenation. - Abstract: The role of catalyst is essential in processes of upgrading biomass pyrolysis bio-oil into hydrocarbon biofuel. While the majority of heterogeneous catalytic processes are conducted in the presence of gas (nearly ideal) or liquid phase, a growing number of processes are utilizing supercritical fluids (SCFs) as reaction media. Although hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is proven a promising process for pyrolysis bio-oil upgrading to hydrocarbon biofuel, catalyst efficiency remains a challenge. Integrating heterogeneous catalysts with SCFs in a bio-oil HDO process was investigated in this study. Bifunctional Co-Zn/HZSM-5 catalysts were firstly used to upgrade bio-oil to biofuel in supercritical methanol. The loading of Co and Zn did not change HZSM-5 crystalline structure. Physicochemical properties of biofuel produced by Co and/or Zn loaded HZSM-5 catalysts such as water content, total acid number, viscosity and higher heating value improved. Bimetallic Co-Zn/HZSM-5 catalysts showed enhanced reactions of decarboxylation and decarbonylation that resulted in higher yields of CO and CO 2 . Bimetallic Co-Zn/HZSM-5 catalysts were more effective for bio-oil HDO than monometallic Co/HZSM-5 or Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst , which was attributed to the synergistic effect of Co and Zn on HZSM-5 support. Bimetallic Co-Zn/HZSM-5 catalysts increased biofuel yields and hydrocarbons contents in biofuels in comparison with monometallic Co/HZSM-5 and Zn/HZSM-5 catalysts. 5%Co15%Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst generated the highest biofuel yield at 22.13 wt.%, and 15%Co5

  2. Transesterification of coconut oil for FAME production using ultrasound

    Science.gov (United States)

    Supriadi, Eko; Marlinda, Lenny; Prajitno, Danawati Hari; Mahfud, Mahfud

    2017-05-01

    To overcome energy crisis, the vegetable oils-derived biofuel can be chosen as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel. The transesterification of coconut oil in methanol with K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst using ultrasound-assisted to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) as one of type biofuel was studied. The reaction occurred in batch reactor at a 9 : 1 molar ratio of methanol to coconut oil. The following reaction conditions were used in the catalytic test : concentration of catalyst to oil of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5%, the reaction time of 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 s, and the frequency ultrasonication of 20 and 40 KHz. At first, the preparation of K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was done and followed by transesterification process. After reaction, the phase separation and purification from impurities were done. Finally, FAME was analized based on this parameters, i.e., yield, density, viscosity, and flash point. FAME yield of 93.76% was obtained at the frequency ultrasonication of 40 kHz with K/γ-Al2O3 catalyst concentration to oil of 2.5 wt.% for 150 s. It's the best conditions for FAME production by transesterification of coconut oil using ultrasound-assisted.

  3. Kinetics of acid base catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Siddharth; Sharma, M P

    2010-10-01

    Out of various non-edible oil resources, Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) is considered as future feedstock for biodiesel production in India. Limited work is reported on the kinetics of transesterification of high free fatty acids containing oil. The present study reports the results of kinetic study of two-step acid base catalyzed transesterification process carried out at an optimum temperature of 65 °C and 50 °C for esterification and transesterification respectively under the optimum methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1% (w/w) for H₂SO₄ and NaOH. The yield of methyl ester (ME) has been used to study the effect of different parameters. The results indicate that both esterification and transesterification reaction are of first order with reaction rate constant of 0.0031 min⁻¹ and 0.008 min⁻¹ respectively. The maximum yield of 21.2% of ME during esterification and 90.1% from transesterification of pretreated JCO has been obtained. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Cogeneration of biodiesel and nontoxic rapeseed meal from rapeseed through in-situ alkaline transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Junfeng; Yang, Qiuhui; Sun, Fuan; He, Mingyang; Chen, Qun; Yun, Zhi; Qin, Lizhen

    2013-01-01

    In-situ alkaline transesterification of rapeseed oil with methanol for the production of biodiesel and nontoxic rapeseed meal was carried out. Water removal from milled rapeseed by methanol washing was more effective than vacuum drying. The conversion rate of rapeseed oil into FAME was 92%, FAME mass was 8.81 g, glucosinolates content in remaining rapeseed meal was 0.12% by methanol washing, while by vacuum drying the values were 46%, 4.44 g, 0.58%, respectively. In the presence of 0.10 mol/L NaOH in methanol, with methanol/oil molar ratio of 180:1 and a 3h reaction at 40 °C, a conversion rate of 98% was achieved, and the glucosinolates content was reduce to 0.07%, a value which below the GB/T 22514-2008 standard in China. Thus the rapeseed meal can be used as a source of protein in animal feed. The FAME prepared through in-situ alkaline transesterification met the ASTM specifications for biodiesel. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Rape oil transesterification over heterogeneous catalysts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Encinar, J.M.; Martinez, G. [Dpto. Ingenieria Quimica y Quimica Fisica, UEX, Avda. Elvas s/n, 06071-Badajoz (Spain); Gonzalez, J.F. [Dpto. Fisica Aplicada, UEX, Avda Elvas s/n, 06071-Badajoz (Spain); Pardal, A. [Dpto. Ciencias do Ambiente, ESAB, IPBeja, Rua Pedro Soares s/n, 7800-Beja (Portugal)

    2010-11-15

    This work studies the application of KNO{sub 3}/CaO catalyst in the transesterification reaction of triglycerides with methanol. The objective of the work was characterizing the methyl esters for its use as biodiesel in compression ignition motors. The variables affecting the methyl ester yield during the transesterification reaction, such as, amount of KNO{sub 3} impregnated in CaO, the total catalyst content, reaction temperature, agitation rate, and the methanol/oil molar ratio, were investigated to optimize the reaction conditions. The evolution of the process was followed by gas chromatography, determining the concentration of the methyl esters at different reaction times. The biodiesel was characterized by its density, viscosity, cetane index, saponification value, iodine value, acidity index, CFPP (cold filter plugging point), flash point and combustion point, according to ISO norms. The results showed that calcium oxide, impregnated with KNO{sub 3}, have a strong basicity and high catalytic activity as a heterogeneous solid base catalyst. The biodiesel with the best properties was obtained using an amount of KNO{sub 3} of 10% impregnated in CaO, a methanol/oil molar ratio of 6:1, a reaction temperature of 65 C, a reaction time of 3.0 h, and a catalyst total content of 1.0%. In these conditions, the oil conversion was 98% and the final product obtained had very similar characteristics to a no. 2 diesel, and therefore, these methyl esters might be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. (author)

  6. Microbial Biodiesel Production by Direct Transesterification of Rhodotorula glutinis Biomass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I-Ching Kuan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available (1 Background: Lipids derived from oleaginous microbes have become promising alternative feedstocks for biodiesel. This is mainly because the lipid production rate from microbes is one to two orders of magnitude higher than those of energy crops. However, the conventional process for converting these lipids to biodiesel still requires a large amount of energy and organic solvents; (2 Methods: In this study, an oleaginous yeast, Rhodotorula glutinis, was used for direct transesterification without lipid pre-extraction to produce biodiesel, using sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. Such processes decreased the amount of energy and organic solvents required simultaneously; (3 Results: When 1 g of dry R. glutinis biomass was subject to direct transesterification in 20 mL of methanol catalyzed by 0.6 M H2SO4 at 70 °C for 20 h, the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME yield reached 111%. Using the same amount of biomass and methanol loading but catalyzed by 1 g/L NaOH at 70 °C for 10 h, the FAME yield reached 102%. The acid-catalyzed process showed a superior moisture tolerance; when the biomass contained 70% moisture, the FAME yield was 43% as opposed to 34% of the base-catalyzed counterpart; (4 Conclusions: Compared to conventional transesterification, which requires lipid pre-extraction, direct transesterification not only simplifies the process and shortens the reaction time, but also improves the FAME yield.

  7. EFFECT OF GLYCEROL SEPARATION ON PALM OIL TRANSESTERIFICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Budy Rahmat

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This research was aimed to study the effect of glycerol separation on palm oil transesterification. Objectives of this study were to suppress the use of excess methanol and shorten the processing time. This research consisted of: design-build reactor, the effect of the glycerol separation on the transesterification reaction, characterization of biodiesel, and mass balance analysis. The reactor was designed by integrating circulate stirrer pump, static mixer, and sprayer that will bring out the intense reaction in the outer tank reactor. The experiment in this research was the treatment of decreasing the quantity of methanol to 5:1 molar ratio and reducing of processing time to 20 min, which was arranged in a completely randomized factorial design. The result showed that, (i the stirring system was effectively worked outside the reactor tank, and in its reactor tank occurred glycerol separation during the process; (ii the rate of glycerol during the process followed the inverse regression equation of Ŷ = 66.44-351.17 X-1; (iii the decrease in the level of methanol to 5:1 molar ratio and the reduction of processing time to 20 min in this engineering did not influence the biodiesel yield and quality that met the SNI 04-7182-2006 standard.

  8. Biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oil catalyzed by whole ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    my mord

    2013-07-03

    Jul 3, 2013 ... catalyzed by whole cells of Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanogenum ... friendly and renewable fuel that can be used directly in diesel engines ... methanol (or supercritical ethanol) transesterification is not commercially ...

  9. Optimization of catalyst-free production of biodiesel from Ceiba pentandra (kapok) oil with high free fatty acid contents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ong, Lu Ki; Effendi, Chintya; Kurniawan, Alfin; Lin, Chun Xiang; Zhao, Xiu Song; Ismadji, Suryadi

    2013-01-01

    Catalyst-free biodiesel production from non-edible Ceiba pentandra (kapok) oil via supercritical methanol transesterification was demonstrated in this work. The supercritical transesterification experiments were performed in a batch reactor at temperatures of 250–350 °C, pressures of 10–18 MPa, reaction times of 120–600 s, and methanol to oil molar ratios of 15:1–35:1. Response surface methodology (RSM) and four-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied for the design and optimization of the experiments with respect to temperature, pressure, reaction time, and molar ratio of methanol to oil simultaneously. The response (i.e., FAME yield) was fitted by a quadratic polynomial regression model using least square analysis in a five-level-four-factor central composite design (CCD). The optimum conditions were found as follows: methanol to oil molar ratio of 30:1, temperature of 322 °C, pressure of 16.7 MPa, and reaction time of 476 s with FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) yield of 95.5%. The significance of the reaction parameters toward FAME yield was in the order of methanol to oil molar ratio > reaction time > pressure > temperature. - Highlights: • Transesterification of non-edible kapok oil into biodiesel via a non-catalytic route. • Methanol to oil molar ratio, temperature, pressure, and reaction time were optimized. • Experimental design in a five-level-four-factor central composite design. • Application of quadratic polynomial model for fitting the response (FAME yield)

  10. Comparison between direct transesterification of microalgae and hydrochar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vo Thanh Phuoc

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC of microalgae is one of processes that can effectively remove moisture from microalgae. In addition, the hydrochar retains most of fatty acids from microalgae feedstock, and the content of fatty acids in hydrochar is doubled. This research concentrates on the comparison between direct transesterification of microalgae and hydrochar. The result shows that the biodiesel yields of hydrochar were higher than those of microalgae at the same reaction conditions due to the higher extraction rate of fatty acids from hydrochar. Finally, the amount of methanol and catalyst which is required for a given amount of microalgae can be reduced to a half through the direct transesterification of hydrochar.

  11. Production of Biodiesel from Roasted Chicken Fat and Methanol: Free Catalyst

    OpenAIRE

    Jorge Ramírez-Ortiz; Merced Martínez Rosales; Horacio Flores Zúñiga

    2014-01-01

    Transesterification reactions free of catalyst between roasted chicken fat with methanol were carried out in a batch reactor in order to produce biodiesel to temperatures from 120°C to 140°C. Parameters related to the transesterification reactions, including temperature, time and the molar ratio of chicken fat to methanol also investigated. The maximum yield of the reaction was of 98% under conditions of 140°C, 4 h of reaction time and a molar ratio of chicken fat to meth...

  12. Role of ultrasonic irradiation on transesterification of palm oil using calcium oxide as a solid base catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poosumas, Jutipong; Ngaosuwan, Kanokwan; Quitain, Armando T.; Assabumrungrat, Suttichai

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Transesterification of palm oil using a circulated continuous flow ultrasonic reactor. • Heterogeneous system using CaO as catalyst. • Effects of ultrasonic frequency and power, and catalyst reusability were considered. • A single high frequency and high intensity irradiation is favorable for heterogeneous system. - Abstract: Biodiesel production from transesterification of palm oil using a circulated continuous flow ultrasonic reactor was investigated. Transesterification was carried out at 60 °C, 1 atm and a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9:1. The highest reaction rate was achieved at the catalyst loading of 2 wt%, and biodiesel yield constantly increased until transesterification equilibrium (about 80%) was reached. A higher ultrasonic frequency (50 kHz) promoted the heterogeneously catalyzed transesterification of refined palm oil, because the three-phase system (packed solid catalyst, methanol and oil) required more spatial distribution by ultrasonic irradiation. Moreover, the highest ultrasonic power also provided highest transesterification rate and biodiesel yield due to cavitation activity enhancement. Reusability of calcium oxide catalysts was also investigated, and results showed that this can be reused to provide high biodiesel yield for at least three operations with slight decrease in the rate of reaction due to counter balance effect of organic compounds deposition on the catalyst surface. The results from this study can be a basis for scaling up of the process to industrial scale.

  13. Enzymatic transesterification of used frying oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovacs, S.; Hancsok, J. (Univ. of Pannonia, Veszprem (HU)), Email: hancsokj@almos.uni-pannon.hu

    2009-07-01

    The research of converting used frying oils to less harmful products with much higher value was forced by environmental, human biological and economical reasons. One possible pathway of the transformation is the enzymatic transesterification. Through the research work used frying oils (UFO) and sunflower oils (SO) from different origins were first properly pre-treated. Then the previously mentioned feeds and different mixtures of them were transesterified in the presence of Novozym 435 enzyme catalyst under different process conditions. Characteristics of the produced methyl esters were evaluated according to the requirements of EN 14214:2009 standard. We determined that the transesterification of used frying oils is not expediential in the presence of enzyme catalyst because the significant decreasing of catalyst activity. We have found proper UFO and SO mixtures and combination of process conditions (pressure: atmospheric, temperature: 54 +-1 deg C; methanol to triglyceride molar ratio: 4:1; reaction time: 16 hours) resulting in high (>90 %) yield of monoesters. We clearly established that the best results through the enzymatic transesterification were obtained with the improved sunflower oils containing the highest amount (>88 %) of oleic acid and the used frying oils originated from this source. (orig.)

  14. Substantial rate enhancements of the esterification reaction of phthalic anhydride with methanol at high pressure and using supercritical CO2 as a co-solvent in a glass microreactor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benito-Lopez, F.; Tiggelaar, Roald M.; Salblut, K.; Huskens, Jurriaan; Egberink, Richard J.M.; Reinhoudt, David; Gardeniers, Johannes G.E.; Verboom, Willem

    2007-01-01

    The esterification reaction of phthalic anhydride with methanol was performed at different temperatures in a continuous flow glass microreactor at pressures up to 110 bar and using supercritical CO2 as a co-solvent. The design is such that supercritical CO2 can be generated inside the microreactor.

  15. Highly active CaO for the transesterification to biodiesel production ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    TMCS) for transesterification of rapeseed oil and methanol to biodiesel production was studied. It was found that the fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield of the modified CaO was greatly enhanced from 85.4% to 94.6% under 65 oC with 15:1 ...

  16. Transesterification of jatropha oil with methanol over Mg–Zn mixed metal oxide catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, H.V.; Taufiq-Yap, Y.H.; Hussein, M.Z.; Yunus, R.

    2013-01-01

    A design was developed for the transesterification reaction of non-edible Jatropha Curcas oil using a heterogeneous catalysis system to replace the use of a homogeneous catalytic reaction. Investigations were conducted on solid MgO–ZnO mixed metal oxide catalyst bases with different atomic ratios of magnesium to zinc (Mg/Zn). These catalysts were characterized by BET (Brunauer–Emmer–Teller) surface area analysis, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and the alkalinity of the catalysts was studied by Temperature Programmed Desorption of carbon dioxide (TPD-CO 2 ). The physicochemical properties of the MgO–ZnO binary system were superior to those of the individual bulk oxides of MgO and ZnO. In addition, the formation of a binary system between MgO and ZnO established an effective method for transesterification processes. In this study, the effects of stoichiometric composition and surface characteristics on the transesterification activity of MgO–ZnO were investigated. The catalysts exhibited high catalytic activity (∼80%) with reliable reusability for biodiesel production. -- Highlights: ► Transesterification reaction of non-edible jatropha oil using solid base catalyst. ► MgO–ZnO binary system showed superior effect than the individual MgO and ZnO. ► More than 80% of FAME yield was achieved under mild condition. ► MgO–ZnO catalyst showed reliable reusability throughout 5 runs. ► Fuel properties of prepared biodiesel were complying with the biodiesel standards.

  17. Activation of Mg-Al hydrotalcite catalysts for transesterification of rape oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hong-yan Zeng; Zhen Feng; Xin Deng; Yu-qin Li [University of Xiangtan, Hunan (China). Institute of Biotechnology

    2008-10-15

    Mg-Al hydrotalcites with different Mg/Al molar ratios were prepared and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FTIR), thermogravimetric apparatus and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) and scanning electron micrograph (SEM). It was confirmed by XRD that the materials had hydrotalcite structure. The hydrotalcite catalyst calcined at 773 K with Mg/Al molar ratio of 3.0 exhibited the highest catalytic activity in the transesterification. In addition, a study for optimizing the transesterification reaction conditions such as molar ratio of the methanol to oil, the reaction temperature, the reaction time, the stirring speed and the amount of catalyst, was performed. The optimized parameters, 6:1 methanol/oil molar ratio with 1.5% catalyst (w/w of oil) reacted under stirring speed 300 rpm at 65{sup o}C for 4 h reaction, gave a maximum ester conversion of 90.5%. Moreover, the solid catalyst could be easily separated and possibly reused. 33 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

  18. Kinetic studies of sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil for biodiesel production via injection of superheated methanol vapour technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ang, Gaik Tin; Tan, Kok Tat; Lee, Keat Teong; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Sea mango oil with high FFA was directly used to produce biodiesel. • Non-catalytic superheated methanol transesterification system is developed. • High content of FAME can be obtained. • Kinetic modelling based on reaction mechanism is proposed and verified. • Kinetic study for reversible transesterification and esterification reactions. - Abstract: In this study, sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil which is rich in free fatty acid was utilised as the feedstock in one-step superheated methanol vapour (SMV) transesterification reaction without going through pre-treatment step. SMV transesterification reaction was initiated by injecting superheated methanol vapour into sea mango oil phase. Effect of methanol flow rate at the range of 1–4 mL/min as well as effect of reaction temperatures at the range of 260–290 °C was studied based on FAME production rates at constant initial oil volume of 100 mL. Kinetic modelling of semi-batch system, incorporating second-order of three-stepwise reversible transesterification of triglycerides (TG) and second order of reversible esterification of free fatty acid (FFA) were verified simultaneously using ordinary differential equation (ODE45) solver. It shows that transesterification reaction of TG and esterification of FFA would occur simultaneously. The high activation energy of 50 kJ/mol and low reaction rate constant of 1.62 × 10"−"4 dm"3/mol min verified that the reaction of TG to become diglycerides (DG) as the rate limiting step in this semi-batch SMV system.

  19. Production of biodiesel by transesterification of soybean oil using calcium supported tin oxides as heterogeneous catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie, Wenlei; Zhao, Liangliang

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Heterogeneous catalysts were prepared by an impregnation method with different conditions. • The catalysts were efficient in the soybean oil transesterification. • The catalytic activity and stability of the catalyst were investigated. - Abstract: The main objective of this work was to develop an environmentally benign process for the production of biodiesel by using a stable solid base catalyst. To this purpose, different heterogeneous CaO–SnO 2 catalysts have been prepared by means of impregnation methods. Various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were applied for the catalyst characterization. The transesterification of soybean oil with methanol, to produce biodiesel, was carried out under batch conditions at refluxed methanol over the CaO–SnO 2 catalysts. The catalytic activity is found to be highly dependent on the Ca/Sn ratio and calcination temperature. The solid catalyst with the Ca/Sn molar ratio of 4:1 and calcined at a temperature of 973 K, performed the best activity, reaching the conversion to methyl esters of 89.3% after 6 h of reaction at methanol reflux temperature (343 K) when a methanol/oil molar ratio of 12:1 and catalyst dosage of 8 wt.% were employed. Further, the solid catalyst is proved to be stable and durable for the transesterification reaction

  20. Detergent assisted ultrasonication aided in situ transesterification for biodiesel production from oleaginous yeast wet biomass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yellapu, Sravan Kumar; Kaur, Rajwinder; Tyagi, Rajeshwar D

    2017-01-01

    In situ transesterification of oleaginous yeast wet biomass for fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) production using acid catalyst, methanol with or without N-Lauroyl sarcosine (N-LS) treatment was performed. The maximum FAMEs yield obtained with or without N-LS treatment in 24h reaction time was 96.1±1.9 and 71±1.4% w/w, respectively. The N-LS treatment of biomass followed by with or without ultrasonication revealed maximum FAMEs yield of 94.3±1.9% and 82.9±1.8% w/w using methanol to lipid molar ratio 360:1 and catalyst concentration 360mM (64μL H 2 SO 4 /g lipid) within 5 and 25min reaction time, respectively. The FAMEs composition obtained in in situ transesterification was similar to that obtained with conventional two step lipid extraction and transesterification process. Biodiesel fuel properties (density, kinematic viscosity, cetane number and total glycerol) were in accordance with international standard (ASTM D6751), which suggests the suitability of biodiesel as a fuel. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Supercritical fluid extraction of reed (thypa)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kucuk, M.; Genel, Y. [YYU Educational Faculty, Van (Turkey); Demir, H. [YYU Science and Art Faculty, Van (Turkey)

    2005-04-15

    Reed (typha) mill was converted to liquid products by using organic solvents (methanol, ethanol and acetone) with catalysts (% 10 NaOH and ZnCl{sub 2}) and without catalyst in an autoclave at temperatures of 533, 553, and 573 K. The liquid products were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction [DSA1] (benzene and diethyl ether). The yields from supercritical methanol, ethanol and acetone conversions were 36.2, 24.5, and 55.1%, respectively, at 573 K. In the catalytic runs with methanol and ethanol extracts were 46.3 and 35.5% (for NaOH catalyst) and 51.8 and 38.5% (for ZnCl{sub 2} catalyst) respectively, at 573 K. The yields from supercritical methanol were increased from 38.2 to 52.4% as the temperature was increased from 533 to 573 K in the catalytic run. (Author)

  2. Acid base catalyzed transesterification kinetics of waste cooking oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jain, Siddharth; Sharma, M.P.; Rajvanshi, Shalini [Alternate Hydro Energy Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (India)

    2011-01-15

    The present study reports the results of kinetics study of acid base catalyzed two step transesterification process of waste cooking oil, carried out at pre-determined optimum temperature of 65 C and 50 C for esterification and transesterification process respectively under the optimum condition of methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1%(w/w) for H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and NaOH and 400 rpm of stirring. The optimum temperature was determined based on the yield of ME at different temperature. Simply, the optimum concentration of H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and NaOH was determined with respect to ME Yield. The results indicated that both esterification and transesterification reaction are of first order rate reaction with reaction rate constant of 0.0031 min{sup -1} and 0.0078 min{sup -1} respectively showing that the former is a slower process than the later. The maximum yield of 21.50% of ME during esterification and 90.6% from transesterification of pretreated WCO has been obtained. This is the first study of its kind which deals with simplified kinetics of two step acid-base catalyzed transesterification process carried under the above optimum conditions and took about 6 h for complete conversion of TG to ME with least amount of activation energy. Also various parameters related to experiments are optimized with respect to ME yield. (author)

  3. Response surface methodology optimization of lipase catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil for biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yingxia; Wang, Yun; Guan, Xiu Li; Yu, Dong Dong

    2013-01-01

    The immobilized lipase-catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil and methanol for biodiesel production in tert-butanol was investigated. The effects of different tert-butanol volume, methanol molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time and immobilized lipase amount on the total conversion were systematically analyzed by response surface methodology (RSM). RSM analysis showed good correspondence between experimental and predicted values. The optimal conditions for the transesterification were a reaction time of 17.355 h, a reaction temperature of 34.868 °C, an immobilized lipase amount of 12.435 %, a methanol molar ratio of 5.282:1, a tert-butanol volume ratio of 0.577:1. The optimal predicted yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was 88.5 % and the actual value was 88.1 %. The predicted yield of fatty acid esters and the real one was very close, indicating that the RSM based on central composite design (CCD) was adaptable for a FAME study for the present transesterification system. Moreover, the infrared spectrum of biodiesel showed the characteristic bands of C=O, O–C–O, C=C and –(CH_2)n–. Furthermore, GC-linked mass spectrometry showed that biodiesel was mainly composed of the methyl esters of hexadecanoic, 9,12-octadecadienoic and 9-octadecadienoic acid

  4. A novel spiral reactor for biodiesel production in supercritical ethanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farobie, Obie; Sasanami, Kazuma; Matsumura, Yukihiko

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel spiral reactor for biodiesel production in supercritical ethanol was proposed. • The spiral reactor employed in this study successfully recovered heat. • The effects of temperature and time on FAEE yield were investigated. • FAEE yield as high as 0.937 mol/mol was obtained at 350 °C after 30 min. • The second-order kinetic model expressed the experimental yield well. - Abstract: A spiral reactor is proposed as a novel reactor design for biodiesel production under supercritical conditions. Since the spiral reactor serves as a heat exchanger, it offers the advantage of reduced apparatus space compared to conventional supercritical equipment. Experimental investigations were carried out at reaction temperatures of 270–400 °C, pressure of 20 MPa, oil-to-ethanol molar ratio of 1:40, and reaction times of 3–30 min. An FAEE yield of 0.937 mol/mol was obtained in a short reaction time of 30 min at 350 °C and oil-to-ethanol molar ratio of 1:40 under a reactor pressure of 20 MPa. The spiral reactor was not only as effective as conventional reactor in terms of transesterification reactor but also was superior in terms of heat recovery. A second-order kinetic model describing the transesterification of canola oil in supercritical ethanol was proposed, and the reaction was observed to follow Arrhenius behavior. The corresponding reaction rate constants and the activation energies as well as pre-exponential factors were determined

  5. EFFECT OF PALM EMPTY BUNCH ASH ON TRANSESTERIFICATION OF PALM OIL INTO BIODIESEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johan Sibarani

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel conversion from transesterification reaction palm oil with methanol was studied by using an ash of palm empty bunch as a base catalyst. Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS and indicator titration analysis were used as tools for characterization of ash sample. Chemical structure of biodiesel was analyzed by GC-MS. The effects of ash sample weight (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 g immersed in 75 mL methanol and the methanol-palm oil mol ratio (3:1; 6:1; 9:1 and 12:1 toward the conversion of biodiesel were investigated. Biodiesel was prepared by refluxing palm oil and methanol containing ash sample. The reflux was done at room temperature for 2 h. Ester layer was distillated at 74 oC, extracted with aquadest and then dried using Na2SO4 anhydrous. The product was characterized by GC-MS, ASTM D 1298 (specific gravity 60/60 °F, ASTM D 97 (pour point, ASTM D 2500 (cloud point, ASTM D 93 (flash point, ASTM D 445 (kinematics viscosity 40 °C and ASTM D 482 (ash content. The result of GC-MS analysis showed that methyl palmitate is primary content of biodiesel product. A 15 g weight of ash sample gave the maximum biodiesel conversion. By increasing methanol mole quantity, biodiesel conversion increased progressively and maximum at 9:1 methanol-palm oil ratio (84.12 % and decreased on 12:1 ratio (75.58 %. Most of the biodiesel products were similar to those of the diesel physical characters.   Keywords: Biodiesel conversion, transesterification, palm oil, palm empty bunch

  6. Base catalyzed transesterification of acid treated vegetable oil blend for biodiesel production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yusup, Suzana; Khan, Modhar Ali [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Tronoh, Perak 31750 (Malaysia)

    2010-10-15

    Biodiesel can be produced from low cost non-edible oils and fats. However, most of these sources are of high free fatty acid content which requires two stage transesterification to reduce the acid value and produce biodiesel. The acid treatment step is usually followed by base transesterification since the latter can yield higher conversions of methyl esters at shorter reaction time when compared with acid catalyzed reaction. In the current study, base transesterification in the second stage of biodiesel synthesis is studied for a blend of crude palm/crude rubber seed oil that had been characterized and treated with acid esterification. Optimum conditions for the reaction were established and effect of each variable was investigated. The base catalyzed transesterification favored a temperature of 55 C with methanol/oil molar ratio of 8/1 and potassium hydroxide at 2% (ww{sup -1}) (oil basis). The conversion of methyl esters exceeded 98% after 5 h and the product quality was verified to match that for biodiesel with international standards. (author)

  7. Supercritical methanol drying as a convenient route to phenolic-furfural aerogels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albert, Donald F.; Bruno, Joseph W. [Department of Chemistry, Wesleyan University, 06459 Middletown, CT (United States); Andrews, Greg R.; Mendenhall, Robert S. [American Aerogel Corporation, 1000 Corporate Row, 06416 Cromwell, CT (United States)

    2001-12-01

    Organic aerogels are prepared by the acid catalyzed cross-linking of phenolic-furfural (PF) precursors in methanol solution, and the solvent is subsequently removed at high temperature as the supercritical fluid. The resulting aerogel is a brown opaque solid and has been prepared as 30 ml cylindrical monoliths exhibiting little or no shrinkage during formation. These solids, which are routinely available with a density as low as ca. 125mg/cm{sup 3}, have been characterized by chemical methods (infrared spectroscopy and CP-MAS 13C NMR spectrometry) and physical techniques (Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area, transmission and scanning electron microscopy). In addition, thermal conductivities have been determined, and show that the PF aerogels are excellent thermal insulators. These studies establish that the materials described herein exhibit chemical and physical properties very similar to those seen for organic aerogels prepared with low temperature processing techniques. The current method constitutes a convenient and rapid route to organic aerogels.

  8. Biodiesel transesterification kinetics monitored by pH measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, William M; Medeiros, Nicholas J; Boyd, Donal J; Snell, Jared R

    2013-05-01

    Quantification of a pH change that was observed over the course of the transesterification reaction that converts vegetable oil to biodiesel may provide a simple method to monitor the reaction. Transesterification of canola oil at 6:1 methanol to oil ratio with 0.5 wt.% KOH as catalyst was studied at 25, 35, and 45 °C. Reaction conversion was correlated to pH measurements and the results were shown to be in agreement with an independent measure of conversion using an enzymatic assay for glycerol. Rate constants obtained from these measurements are consistent with those in the literature. The measured pH change appears to be related to dilution of OH(-) ions as the oil is converted to products rather than to depletion of OH(-) due to reaction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Direct conversion of wet algae to crude biodiesel under supercritical ethanol conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddy, Harvind K. [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Chemical Engineering Dept.; Muppaneni, Tapaswy [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Chemical Engineering Dept.; Patil, Prafulla D. [American Refining Group, Inc., Bradford, PA (United States); Ponnusamy, Sundaravadivelnathan [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Chemical Engineering Dept.; Cooke, Peter [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Core University Research Resource Lab.; Schaub, Tanner [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Bio Security and Food Safety Center; Deng, Shuguang [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Chemical Engineering Dept.

    2013-08-06

    This paper presents a single-step, environmentally friendly approach for the direct conversion of wet algae to crude biodiesel under supercritical ethanol conditions. Ethanol was used for the simultaneous extraction and transesterification of lipids in algae to produce fatty acid ethyl esters at supercritical conditions. In this work the effects of process parameters dry algae to ethanol (wt./vol.) ratio (1:6-1:15), reaction temperature (245-270 C), and reaction time (2-30 min.) on the yield of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) were studied. 67% conversion was achieved at 265 C and 20 min of reaction time. The calorific value of a purified biodiesel sample produced at optimum conditions was measured to be 43 MJ/kg, which is higher than that of fatty acid methyl esters produced from the same biomass. The purified fatty acid ethyl esters were analyzed using GC-MS and FTIR. TGA analysis of algal biomass and purified FAEE was presented along with TEM images of the biomass captured before and after supercritical ethanol transesterification. This green conversion process has the potential to provide an energy-efficient and economical route for the production of renewable biodiesel production.

  10. Transesterification of rapeseed oil for biodiesel production in trickle-bed reactors packed with heterogeneous Ca/Al composite oxide-based alkaline catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Yong-Lu; Tian, Song-Jiang; Li, Shu-Fen; Wang, Bo-Yang; Zhang, Min-Hua

    2013-05-01

    A conventional trickle bed reactor and its modified type both packed with Ca/Al composite oxide-based alkaline catalysts were studied for biodiesel production by transesterification of rapeseed oil and methanol. The effects of the methanol usage and oil flow rate on the FAME yield were investigated under the normal pressure and methanol boiling state. The oil flow rate had a significant effect on the FAME yield for the both reactors. The modified trickle bed reactor kept over 94.5% FAME yield under 0.6 mL/min oil flow rate and 91 mL catalyst bed volume, showing a much higher conversion and operational stability than the conventional type. With the modified trickle bed reactor, both transesterification and methanol separation could be performed simultaneously, and glycerin and methyl esters were separated additionally by gravity separation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Purification of crude glycerol from transesterification reaction of palm oil using direct method and multistep method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasir, N. F.; Mirus, M. F.; Ismail, M.

    2017-09-01

    Crude glycerol which produced from transesterification reaction has limited usage if it does not undergo purification process. It also contains excess methanol, catalyst and soap. Conventionally, purification method of the crude glycerol involves high cost and complex processes. This study aimed to determine the effects of using different purification methods which are direct method (comprises of ion exchange and methanol removal steps) and multistep method (comprises of neutralization, filtration, ion exchange and methanol removal steps). Two crude glycerol samples were investigated; the self-produced sample through the transesterification process of palm oil and the sample obtained from biodiesel plant. Samples were analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The results of this study for both samples after purification have showed that the pure glycerol was successfully produced and fatty acid salts were eliminated. Also, the results indicated the absence of methanol in both samples after purification process. In short, the combination of 4 purification steps has contributed to a higher quality of glycerol. Multistep purification method gave a better result compared to the direct method as neutralization and filtration steps helped in removing most excess salt, fatty acid and catalyst.

  12. Effect of solvents and oil content on direct transesterification of wet oil-bearing microalgal biomass of Chlorella vulgaris ESP-31 for biodiesel synthesis using immobilized lipase as the biocatalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Dang-Thuan; Chen, Ching-Lung; Chang, Jo-Shu

    2013-05-01

    In this work, a one-step extraction/transesterification process was developed to directly convert wet oil-bearing microalgal biomass of Chlorella vulgaris ESP-31 into biodiesel using immobilized Burkholderia lipase as the catalyst. The microalgal biomass (water content of 86-91%; oil content 14-63%) was pre-treated by sonication to disrupt the cell walls and then directly mixed with methanol and solvent to carry out the enzymatic transesterification. Addition of a sufficient amount of solvent (hexane is most preferable) is required for the direct transesterification of wet microalgal biomass, as a hexane-to-methanol mass ratio of 1.65 was found optimal for the biodiesel conversion. The amount of methanol and hexane required for the direct transesterification process was also found to correlate with the lipid content of the microalga. The biodiesel synthesis process was more efficient and economic when the lipid content of the microalgal biomass was higher. Therefore, using high-lipid-content microalgae as feedstock appears to be desirable. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Behaviors of rice straw two-step liquefaction with sub/supercritical ethanol in carbon dioxide atmosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Tianhua; Wang, Jian; Li, Bingshuo; Kai, Xingping; Xing, Wanli; Li, Rundong

    2018-06-01

    This study extended previous work investigating two-step liquefaction by supercritical ethanol of rice straw under CO 2 atmosphere at temperatures of 270-345 °C. Subcritical CO 2 -subcritical ethanol (SubCO 2 -SubEtOH) pretreatment decreased the content of lignin in the rice stalk from 22.94 to 21.43 wt%. The results showed that although oxygen-transfer reaction, transesterification, carbonylation, and other reactions may occur with the supercritical CO 2 -supercritical ethanol (ScCO 2 -ScEtOH) liquefaction reactions, transesterification was the main reaction. The "de-oxygen-transfer" reaction mainly comprised de-oxygenation and decarboxylation. For temperatures exceeding 320 °C, the bio-oil yield decreased because the effects of esters decreased. The residence time affected the H/C and O/C ratios to a minor extent. It was shown that the nucleophilic and hydrolytic functions of ethanol might be strengthened, generating higher amounts of ester, phenolic, acidic, and hydrocarbon derivatives in the bio-oil fraction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Biodiesel development from rice bran oil: Transesterification process optimization and fuel characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinha, Shailendra; Agarwal, Avinash Kumar; Garg, Sanjeev

    2008-01-01

    Increased environmental awareness and depletion of resources are driving industry to develop viable alternative fuels from renewable resources that are environmentally more acceptable. Vegetable oil is a potential alternative fuel. The most detrimental properties of vegetable oils are its high viscosity and low volatility, and these cause several problems during their long duration usage in compression ignition (CI) engines. The most commonly used method to make vegetable oil suitable for use in CI engines is to convert it into biodiesel, i.e. vegetable oil esters using process of transesterification. Rice bran oil is an underutilized non-edible vegetable oil, which is available in large quantities in rice cultivating countries, and very little research has been done to utilize this oil as a replacement for mineral Diesel. In the present work, the transesterification process for production of rice bran oil methyl ester has been investigated. The various process variables like temperature, catalyst concentration, amount of methanol and reaction time were optimized with the objective of producing high quality rice bran oil biodiesel with maximum yield. The optimum conditions for transesterification of rice bran oil with methanol and NaOH as catalyst were found to be 55 deg. C reaction temperature, 1 h reaction time, 9:1 molar ratio of rice bran oil to methanol and 0.75% catalyst (w/w). Rice bran oil methyl ester thus produced was characterized to find its suitability to be used as a fuel in engines. Results showed that biodiesel obtained under the optimum conditions has comparable properties to substitute mineral Diesel, hence, rice bran oil methyl ester biodiesel could be recommended as a mineral Diesel fuel substitute for compression ignition (CI) engines in transportation as well as in the agriculture sector

  15. Kinetics of transesterification of methyl acetate and n-octanol catalyzed by cation exchange resins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Yong; Gao, Li; Li, Xiying; Mao, Liqun [Henan University, Kaifeng (China); Wei, Min [Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou (China)

    2013-05-15

    The transesterification kinetics of methyl acetate with n-octanol to octyl acetate and methanol were studied using Amberlyst 15 as catalyst in a batch stirred reactor. The influence of the agitation speed, particle size, temperature, catalyst loading, and initial reactants molar ratio was investigated in detail. A pseudo-homogeneous (PH) kinetic model was applied to correlate the experimental data in the temperature range of 313.15 K to 328.15 K. The estimated kinetic parameters made the calculated results in good agreement with the experimental data. A kinetic model describing the transesterification reaction catalyzed by cation exchange resins was developed.

  16. Biodiesel production via the transesterification of soybean oil using waste starfish (Asterina pectinifera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Yong Beom; Park, Sung Hoon; Jeon, Jong-Ki; Ko, Chang Hyun; Ryu, Changkook; Park, Young-Kwon

    2013-07-01

    Calcined waste starfish was used as a base catalyst for the production of biodiesel from soybean oil for the first time. A batch reactor was used for the transesterification reaction. The thermal characteristics and crystal structures of the waste starfish were investigated by thermo-gravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction. The biodiesel yield was determined by measuring the content of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The calcination temperature appeared to be a very important parameter affecting the catalytic activity. The starfish-derived catalyst calcined at 750 °C or higher exhibited high activity for the transesterification reaction. The FAME content increased with increasing catalyst dose and methanol-over-oil ratio.

  17. Comparative assessment of various lipid extraction protocols and optimization of transesterification process for microalgal biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Shovon; Patnaik, Reeza; Singh, Amit Kumar; Mallick, Nirupama

    2013-01-01

    Biodiesel, using microalgae as feedstocks, is being explored as the most potent form of alternative diesel fuel for sustainable economic development. A comparative assessment of various protocols for microalgal lipid extraction was carried out using five green algae, six blue-green algae and two diatom species treated with different single and binary solvents both at room temperature and using a soxhlet. Lipid recovery was maximum with chloroform-methanol in the soxhlet extractor. Pretreatments ofbiomass, such as sonication, homogenization, bead-beating, lyophilization, autoclaving, microwave treatment and osmotic shock did not register any significant rise in lipid recovery. As lipid recovery using chloroform-methanol at room temperature demonstrated a marginally lower value than that obtained under the soxhlet extractor, on economical point of view, the former is recommended for microalgal total lipid extraction. Transesterification process enhances the quality of biodiesel. Experiments were designed to determine the effects of catalyst type and quantity, methanol to oil ratio, reaction temperature and time on the transesterification process using response surface methodology. Fatty acid methyl ester yield reached up to 91% with methanol:HCl:oil molar ratio of 82:4:1 at 65 degrees C for 6.4h reaction time. The biodiesel yield relative to the weight of the oil was found to be 69%.

  18. Complete removal of uranyl nitrate from tissue matrix using supercritical fluid extraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, R.; Sivaraman, N.; Senthil Vadivu, E.; Srinivasan, T.G.; Vasudeva Rao, P.R.

    2003-01-01

    The removal of uranyl nitrate from tissue matrix has been studied with supercritical carbon dioxide modified with methanol alone as well as complexing reagents dissolved in methanol. A systematic study of various complexing agents led to the development of an extraction procedure for the quantitative recovery of uranium from tissue matrix with supercritical carbon dioxide modified with methanol containing small quantities of acetylacetone. The drying time and temperature employed in loading of uranyl nitrate onto tissue paper were found to influence the extraction efficiency significantly

  19. Microwave Energy Increases Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Yield in Human Whole Blood Due to Increased Sphingomyelin Transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metherel, Adam H; Aristizabal Henao, Juan J; Ciobanu, Flaviu; Taha, Ameer Y; Stark, Ken D

    2015-09-01

    Dried blood spots (DBS) by fingertip prick collection for fatty acid profiling are becoming increasingly popular due to ease of collection, minimal invasiveness and its amenability to high-throughput analyses. Herein, we assess a microwave-assisted direct transesterification method for the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from DBS. Technical replicates of human whole blood were collected and 25-μL aliquots were applied to chromatography strips prior to analysis by a standard 3-h transesterification method or microwave-assisted direct transesterification method under various power (variable vs constant), time (1-5 min) and reagent (1-10% H2SO4 in methanol) conditions. In addition, a standard method was compared to a 5-min, 30-W power microwave in 1% H2SO4 method for FAME yield from whole blood sphingomyelin, and sphingomyelin standards alone and spiked in whole blood. Microwave-assisted direct transesterification yielded no significant differences in both quantitative (nmol/100 µL) and qualitative (mol%) fatty acid assessments after as little as 1.5- and 1-min reaction times, respectively, using the variable power method and 5% H2SO4 in methanol. However, 30-W power for 5 min increased total FAME yield of the technical replicates by 14%. This increase appears largely due to higher sphingomyelin-derived FAME yield of up to 109 and 399% compared to the standard method when determined from whole blood or pure standards, respectively. In conclusion, microwave-assisted direct transesterification of DBS achieved in as little as 1-min, and 5-min reaction times increase total fatty acids primarily by significantly improving sphingomyelin-derived fatty acid yield.

  20. Use of Ultrasound and Co-solvents to improve the in-situ Transesterification of Microalgae Biomass

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ehimen, Ehiazesebhor Augustine; Sun, Zhifa; Carrington, Gerry C.

    2012-01-01

    and transesterification process. To further improve the feasibility of the use of the in-situ method, this paper investigates modifications to reduce the large process methanol requirements, and potentially improve the oil to methyl esters conversion and biodiesel yields. The results obtained showed that use...... of ultrasound agitation for the in-situ process, as well as combining this stirring regime with co-solvent use (n-pentane and diethyl ether) significantly improved the Chlorella oil to methyl esters conversion with reduced reacting methanol volumes....

  1. Development of a millimetrically scaled biodiesel transesterification device that relies on droplet-based co-axial fluidics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, S. I.; Huang, Y. C.; Cheng, C. H.; Cheng, C. M.; Yang, J. T.

    2016-07-01

    In this study, we investigated a fluidic system that adheres to new concepts of energy production. To improve efficiency, cost, and ease of manufacture, a millimetrically scaled device that employs a droplet-based co-axial fluidic system was devised to complete alkali-catalyzed transesterification for biodiesel production. The large surface-to-volume ratio of the droplet-based system, and the internal circulation induced inside the moving droplets, significantly enhanced the reaction rate of immiscible liquids used here - soybean oil and methanol. This device also decreased the molar ratio between methanol and oil to near the stoichiometric coefficients of a balanced chemical equation, which enhanced the total biodiesel volume produced, and decreased the costs of purification and recovery of excess methanol. In this work, the droplet-based co-axial fluidic system performed better than other methods of continuous-flow production. We achieved an efficiency that is much greater than that of reported systems. This study demonstrated the high potential of droplet-based fluidic chips for energy production. The small energy consumption and low cost of the highly purified biodiesel transesterification system described conforms to the requirements of distributed energy (inexpensive production on a moderate scale) in the world.

  2. Conversion of dried Aspergillus candidus mycelia grown on waste whey to biodiesel by in situ acid transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kakkad, Hardik; Khot, Mahesh; Zinjarde, Smita; RaviKumar, Ameeta; Ravi Kumar, V; Kulkarni, B D

    2015-12-01

    This study reports optimization of the transesterification reaction step on dried biomass of an oleaginous fungus Aspergillus candidus grown on agro-dairy waste, whey. Acid catalyzed transesterification was performed and variables affecting esterification, viz., catalyst methanol and chloroform concentrations, temperature, time, and biomass were investigated. Statistical optimization of the transesterification reaction using Plackett-Burman Design showed biomass to be the predominant factor with a 12.5-fold increase in total FAME from 25.6 to 320mg. Studies indicate that the transesterification efficiency in terms of conversion is favored by employing lower biomass loadings. A. candidus exhibited FAME profiles containing desirable saturated (30.2%), monounsaturated (31.5%) and polyunsaturated methyl esters (38.3%). The predicted and experimentally determined biodiesel properties (density, kinematic viscosity, iodine value, cetane number, TAN, water content, total and free glycerol) were in accordance with international (ASTM D6751, EN 14214) and national (IS 15607) standards. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Synthesis of 11C labelled methyl esters: transesterification of enol esters versus BF3 catalysed esterification-a comparative study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ackermann, Uwe; Blanc, Paul; Falzon, Cheryl L.; Issa, William; White, Jonathan; Tochon-Danguy, Henri J.; Sachinidis, John I.; Scott, Andrew M.

    2006-01-01

    C-11 labelled methyl esters have been synthesized via the transesterification of enol esters in the presence of C-11 methanol and 1,3 dichlorodibutylstannoxane as catalyst. This method leaves functional groups intact and allows access to a wider variety of C-11 labelled methyl esters compared to the BF 3 catalysed ester formation, which uses carboxylic acids and C-11 methanol as starting materials

  4. Transesterification catalyzed by Lipozyme TLIM for biodiesel production from low cost feedstock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Siti Fatimah Abdul; Hassan, Hamizura; Amri, Nurulhuda; Bashah, Nur Alwani Ali

    2015-05-01

    The development of new strategies to efficiently synthesize biodiesel is of extreme important. This is because biodiesel has been accepted worldwide as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel as alkyl ester derived from vegetable oil has considerable advantages in terms of environmental protection. The diminishing petroleum reserves are the major driving force for researchers to look for better strategies in producing biodiesel. The main hurdle to commercialization of biodiesel is the cost of the raw material. Biodiesel is usually produced from food-grade vegetable oil that is more expensive than diesel fuel. Therefore, biodiesel produced from food-grade vegetable oil is currently not economically feasible. Use of an inexpensive raw material such as waste cooking palm oil and non edible oil sea mango are an attractive option to lower the cost of biodiesel. This study addresses an alternative method for biodiesel production which is to use an enzymatic approach in producing biodiesel fuel from low cost feedstock waste cooking palm oil and unrefined sea mango oil using immobilized lipase Lipozyme TL IM. tert-butanol was used as the reaction medium, which eliminated both negative effects caused by excessive methanol and glycerol as the byproduct. Two variables which is methanol to oil molar ratio and enzyme loading were examine in a batch system. Transesterification of waste cooking palm oil reach 65% FAME yield (methanol to oil molar ratio 6:1 and 10% Novozyme 435 based on oil weight), while transesterification of sea mango oil can reach 90% FAME yield (methanol to oil molar ratio 6:1 and 10% Lipozyme TLIM based on oil weight).

  5. The stability evaluation of lime mud as transesterification catalyst in resisting CO2 and H2O for biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hui; Niu, Sheng-li; Lu, Chun-mei; Cheng, Shi-qing

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Lime mud (LM) is pretreated with calcination, hydration and desiccation. • The alkali solubility is the amount of alkali compounds dissolved in methanol. • The soluble alkali amount in LM700-H is higher than that of CaO–H. • LM700 possesses a stronger capability than CaO in resisting H 2 O and CO 2 . - Abstract: The most outstanding property of the heterogeneous transesterification catalysts is recyclable, but their catalytic activity may be depressed for the absorption of moisture (H 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in air, especially for the basic ones. Lime mud (LM) is effective in catalyzing transesterification, yet its property in resisting H 2 O and CO 2 is indistinct, which should be emphasized. In this study, the LM based transesterification catalyst is prepared through calcinations. Then, it is hydrated and desiccated to simulate the contamination by H 2 O and CO 2 . Further, the fresh and the contaminated catalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Hammette indicator, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and soluble alkali examination, to reveal the mechanism of LM in resisting H 2 O and CO 2 . Meanwhile, the analytical grade calcium oxide (CaO) is chosen for comparison. Finally, to comprehensively investigate the influences of H 2 O and CO 2 on LM in catalyzing transesterification, the factors of the catalyst addition percentage, molar ratio of methanol to oil and transesterification temperature are evaluated

  6. Continuous production of biodiesel under supercritical methyl acetate conditions: Experimental investigation and kinetic model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farobie, Obie; Matsumura, Yukihiko

    2017-10-01

    In this study, biodiesel production by using supercritical methyl acetate in a continuous flow reactor was investigated for the first time. The aim of this study was to elucidate the reaction kinetics of biodiesel production by using supercritical methyl. Experiments were conducted at various reaction temperatures (300-400°C), residence times (5-30min), oil-to-methyl acetate molar ratio of 1:40, and a fixed pressure of 20MPa. Reaction kinetics of biodiesel production with supercritical methyl acetate was determined. Finally, biodiesel yield obtained from this method was compared to that obtained with supercritical methanol, ethanol, and MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether). The results showed that biodiesel yield with supercritical methyl acetate increased with temperature and time. The developed kinetic model was found to fit the experimental data well. The reactivity of supercritical methyl acetate was the lowest, followed by that of supercritical MTBE, ethanol, and methanol, under the same conditions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. Discovery and characterizaton of a novel lipase with transesterification activity from hot spring metagenomic library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Yan

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available A new gene encoding a lipase (designated as Lip-1 was identified from a metagenomic bacterial artificial chromosome(BAC library prepared from a concentrated water sample collected from a hot spring field in Niujie, Eryuan of Yunnan province in China. The open reading frame of this gene encoded 622 amino acid residues. It was cloned, fused with the oleosin gene and over expressed in Escherichia coli to prepare immobilized lipase artificial oil body AOB-sole-lip-1. The monomeric Sole-lip-1 fusion protein presented a molecular mass of 102.4 kDa. Enzyme assays using olive oil and methanol as the substrates in petroleum ether confirmed its transesterification activity. Hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, 8,11-Octadecadienoic acid methyl ester, 8-Octadecenoic acid methyl ester, and Octadecanoic acid methyl ester were detected. It showed favorable transesterification activity with optimal temperature 45 °C. Besides, the maximal biodiesel yield was obtained when the petroleum ether system as the organic solvent and the substrate methanol in 350 mmol/L (at a molar ratio of methanol of 10.5:1 and the water content was 1%. In light of these advantages, this lipase presents a promising resource for biodiesel production.

  8. Biodiesel from wet microalgae: extraction with hexane after the microwave-assisted transesterification of lipids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Jun; Huang, Rui; Li, Tao; Zhou, Junhu; Cen, Kefa

    2014-10-01

    A chloroform-free novel process for the efficient production of biodiesel from wet microalgae is proposed. Crude biodiesel is produced through extraction with hexane after microwave-assisted transesterification (EHMT) of lipids in wet microalgae. Effects of different parameters, including reaction temperature, reaction time, methanol dosage, and catalyst dosage, on fatty acids methyl esters (FAMEs) yield are investigated. The yield of FAME extracted into the hexane from the wet microalgae is increased 6-fold after the transesterification of lipids. The yield of FAME obtained through EHMT of lipids in wet microalgae is comparable to that obtained through direct transesterification of dried microalgae biomass with chloroform; however, FAME content in crude biodiesel obtained through EHMT is 86.74%, while that in crude biodiesel obtained through the chloroform-based process is 75.93%. EHMT ensures that polar pigments present in microalgae are not extracted into crude biodiesel, which leads to a 50% reduction in nitrogen content in crude biodiesel. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Transesterification of Waste Cooking Sunflower Oil by Porcine Pancreas Lipase Using Response Surface Methodology for Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soraya Ebrahimi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Biodiesel production from recycled vegetable oils is considered as an economically acceptable alternative for fossil fuels in the recent years. In this work, porcine pancreas lipase as an active catalyst in transesterification reaction of waste cooking sunflower oil with methanol for biodiesel production was used.Material and Methods: In order to define optimum process parameters and predict the best results, response surface methodology and the central composite design was performed. The effects of methanol to oil molar ratio, lipase concentration and reaction temperature on transesterification were investigated. Biodiesel production was carried out in 25 ml shake flasks at 180 rpm for 72 h.Results and Conclusion: Under optimal conditions, the biodiesel yield was 75% which was nearly consistent with the predicted yield of 76%. At optimal conditions the molar ratio of methanol to oil, reaction temperature, and lipase percent were determined as 3:1, 44°C and 4.4%, respectively. Due to relatively high obtained yield, biodiesel production from waste cooking sunflower oil has provided a sound environmental and commercial process.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  10. Co-deposition of Pt and ceria anode catalyst in supercritical carbon dioxide for direct methanol fuel cell applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    You, Eunyoung; Guzmán-Blas, Rolando; Nicolau, Eduardo; Aulice Scibioh, M.; Karanikas, Christos F.; Watkins, James J.; Cabrera, Carlos R.

    2012-01-01

    Pt and mixed Pt-ceria catalysts were deposited onto gas diffusion layers using supercritical fluid deposition (SFD) to fabricate thin layer electrodes for direct methanol fuel cells. Dimethyl (1,5-cyclooctadiene) platinum (II) (CODPtMe 2 ) and tetrakis (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl 3,5-heptanedionato) cerium (IV) (Ce(tmhd) 4 ) were used as precursors. Hydrogen-assisted Pt deposition was performed in compressed carbon dioxide at 60 °C and 17.2 MPa to yield high purity Pt on carbon-black based gas diffusion layers. During the preparation of the mixed Pt-ceria catalyst, hydrogen reduction of CODPtMe 2 to yield Pt catalyzed the deposition of ceria from Ce(tmhd) 4 enabling co-deposition at 150 °C. The catalyst layers were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectral (SEM-EDS) analyses. Their electrochemical performance toward methanol oxidation was examined in half cell mode using a three electrode assembly as well as in fuel cell mode. The thin layer electrodes formed via SFD exhibited higher performance in fuel cell operations compared to those prepared by the conventional brush-paint method. Furthermore, the Pt-ceria catalyst with an optimized composition exhibited greater methanol oxidation activity than pure platinum.

  11. Evaluation of reaction mechanisms and the kinetic parameters for the transesterification of castor oil by liquid enzymes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andrade, Thalles Allan; Errico, Massimiliano; Christensen, Knud Villy

    2017-01-01

    of the transesterification of castor oil with methanol using the enzyme Eversa® Transform as catalyst were investigated. Reactions were carried out for 8 hours at 35 °C with: an alcohol-to-oil molar ratio equal to 6:1, a 5 wt% of liquid enzyme solution and addition of 5 wt% of water by weight of castor oil. From...... methanolysis rates of glycerides obtained, indicated that transesterification dominates over hydrolysis. The mechanism among the four models proposed that gave the best fit could be simplified, eliminating the kinetic parameters with negligible effects on the reaction rates. This model was able to fit...

  12. Kinetics and mechanism of the cutinase-catalyzed transesterification of oils in AOT reversed micellar system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badenes, Sara M; Lemos, Francisco; Cabral, Joaquim M S

    2011-11-01

    The kinetics of the enzymatic transesterification between a mixture of triglycerides (oils) and methanol for biodiesel production in a bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane reversed micellar system, using recombinant cutinase from Fusarium solani pisi as a catalyst, was investigated. In order to describe the results that were obtained, a mechanistic scheme was proposed, based on the literature and on the experimental data. This scheme includes the following reaction steps: the formation of the active enzyme-substrate complex, the addition of an alcohol molecule to the complex followed by the separation of a molecule of the fatty acid alkyl ester and a glycerol moiety, and release of the active enzyme. Enzyme inhibition and deactivation effects due to methanol and glycerol were incorporated in the model. This kinetic model was fitted to the concentration profiles of the fatty acid methyl esters (the components of biodiesel), tri-, di- and monoglycerides, obtained for a 24 h transesterification reaction performed in a stirred batch reactor under different reaction conditions of enzyme and initial substrates concentration.

  13. Synthesis of biodiesel from soybean oil by coupling catalysis with subcritical methanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yin Jianzhong; Xiao Min; Wang Aiqin; Xiu Zhilong

    2008-01-01

    Biodiesel synthesis from soybean oil and methanol was investigated under supercritical and subcritical conditions. Under the supercritical conditions, the maximum methyl ester yield exceeded 98% when the molar ratio of methanol to oil was 42:1 and the reaction temperature ranged from 260 deg. C to 350 deg. C. In order to decrease the operational temperature and pressures and to increase the conversion efficiency of methanol, first co-solvent was added to the reaction mixture to improve the reaction process, and then a novel idea was presented in which catalysis and supercritical effect were coupled together. Thus, with 2.5 wt% hexane, temperature of 300 deg. C, methanol to oil ratio of 42, a 85.5% conversion is observed in 30 min, while a 62.2% conversion is observed without hexane in the same condition; with less carbon dioxide, temperature of 300 deg. C, methanol to oil ratio of 42, a 91.6% conversion is observed in 20 min, while a 51.4% conversion is observed without carbon dioxide in the same condition; With only a little amount of potassium hydroxide as the catalyst (KOH/oil = 0.1 wt%), a 98% yield of methyl esters was obtained in 10 min at a reaction temperature of 160 deg. C and the molar ratio (methanol/oil) of 24:1. In contrast, above 1 wt% of catalyst is required in the conventional alkali-catalyzed method; while only 6% yield of methyl ester was obtained at 260 deg. C (corresponding to subcritical conditions) without the catalyst. This result demonstrated that by coupling the catalysis and subcritical operation, the amount of catalyst could be largely reduced and the methanol utilization could be significantly enhanced. Thus, the present method offers some advantages over both the conventional alkali-catalyst method and the expensive supercritical method

  14. Ultrasonic assisted biodiesel production of microalgae by direct transesterification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalsum, Ummu; Mahfud, Mahfud; Roesyadi, Achmad

    2017-03-01

    Microalgae are considered as the third generation source of biofuel and an excellent candidate for biofuel production to replace the fossil energy. The use of ultrasonic in producing biodiesel by direct transesterification of Nannochloropsis occulata using KOH as catalyst and methanol as a solvent was investigated. The following condition were determined as an optimum by experimental evaluates:: 1: 15 microalga to methanol (molar ratio); 3% catalyst concentration at temperature 40°C after 30 minute of ultrasonication. The highest yield of biodiesel produced was 30.3%. The main components of methyl ester from Nannochloropsis occulata were palmitic (C16 :0),, oleic (C18:1), stearic (C18;0), arahidic (C20:0) and myristic (C14:0). This stated that the application of ultrasounic for direct transesterificaiton of microalgae effectively reduced the reaction time compared to the reported values of conventional heating systems.

  15. Esterification of oily-FFA and transesterification of high FFA waste oils using novel palm trunk and bagasse-derived catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ezebor, Francis; Khairuddean, Melati; Abdullah, Ahmad Zuhairi; Boey, Peng Lim

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Novel palm trunk and bagasse derived catalysts have been prepared. • Reduction of FFAs from 42 to <1 wt.% in 15 min under pseudo-infinite methanol. • Transesterification of waste oil results in FAME yield of 80.6–83.2% in 4 h. • Pseudo-infinite methanol affords two-folds FAME yield of conventional methods. - Abstract: Waste cooking oil is increasingly becoming a significant component of biodiesel feedstock and its conversion to FAME requires coupling of esterification and transesterification processes. In this study, new environmentally benign catalysts were prepared from oil palm trunk and sugarcane bagasse, which are sustainable because of the superfluity of oil palm trunk and abundant supply of bagasse. Effect of preparation variable, surface acidity and textural properties, pre-esterification of FFA in oil matrices and transesterification of waste oil under pseudo-infinite methanol and conventional methods were investigated. The preparation variable, H 2 SO 4 impregnation time showed marginal effect on sulfonic acid density after 6 h, and the corresponding values for 6–10 h impregnations were 1.33 ± 0.01–1.41 ± 0.01mmol g −1 for OPT and 1.44 ± 0.01–1.48 ± 0.01mmol g −1 for SCB catalysts. In esterification of palmitic acid, activity of catalysts with different H 2 SO 4 impregnation time correlates with their sulfonic acid density. The catalysts demonstrated rapid esterification of FFA in oil matrices under pseudo infinite methanol, reducing its content from 42 wt.% to <1 wt.% in just 15 min. Similarly, the conversions of waste oil by OPT and SCB derived catalysts were 80.6% and 83.2%, respectively after 4 h under pseudo-infinite methanol, and 43.7% and 45%, respectively after 6 h under conventional method. These catalysts have shown remarkable properties that are suitable for biodiesel production from waste oil

  16. Transesterification of oil mixtures catalyzed by microencapsulated cutinase in reversed micelles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badenes, Sara M; Lemos, Francisco; Cabral, Joaquim M S

    2010-03-01

    Recombinant cutinase from Fusarium solani pisi was used to catalyze the transesterification reaction between a mixture of triglycerides (oils) and methanol in reversed micelles of bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT) in isooctane for the purposes of producing biodiesel. The use of a bi-phase lipase-catalyzed system brings advantages in terms of catalyst re-use and the control of water activity in the medium and around the enzyme micro-environment. Small-scale batch studies were performed to study the influence of the initial enzyme and alcohol concentrations, and the substrates molar ratio. Conversions in excess of 75 were obtained with reaction times under 24 h, which makes this enzymatic process highly competitive when compared to similar lipase catalyzed reactions for biodiesel production using methanol.

  17. Continuous production of biofuel from refined and used palm olein oil with supercritical methanol at a low molar ratio

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakdasri, Winatta; Sawangkeaw, Ruengwit; Ngamprasertsith, Somkiat

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Continuous production of biofuel in SCM at low molar ratio was studied. • The actual density of mixture was applied to calculate residence times. • The maximum FAME of 80–90% was observed for refined and used palm oils. • The glycerol–methanol reaction showed a positive effect in fuel yield. - Abstract: The high energy consumption and high environmental impact in the supercritical methanol (SCM) process primarily originates from the preheating of reactants and the recovery of excess alcohols. This work demonstrated the synthesis of biofuel using a lowered methanol to oil molar ratio of 12:1, instead of the 40:1–42:1 ratios that are commonly employed in conventional SCM. The apparent density of the reacting mixture was measured and applied to accurately calculate residence times in a continuous reactor. The effects of residence time were considered from 10 to 25 min. The results revealed that excessive residence times reduced the ester content, especially for unsaturated esters, in the resulting biofuel. A residence time of 20 min was recommended to simultaneously achieve a maximum ester content of 90% and a triglyceride conversion of up to 99%. Used palm olein oil with high free fatty acid (4.56 wt.%) can be employed as a feedstock and give a maximum ester content of 80%. In addition, the side reaction between glycerol and methanol at 400 °C and 15 MPa showed a positive effect in increasing fuel yield by 2%–7%

  18. Microwave assisted alkali-catalyzed transesterification of Pongamia pinnata seed oil for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Ritesh; Kumar, G Ravi; Chandrashekar, N

    2011-06-01

    In this study, microwave assisted transesterification of Pongamia pinnata seed oil was carried out for the production of biodiesel. The experiments were carried out using methanol and two alkali catalysts i.e., sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH). The experiments were carried out at 6:1 alcohol/oil molar ratio and 60°C reaction temperature. The effect of catalyst concentration and reaction time on the yield and quality of biodiesel was studied. The result of the study suggested that 0.5% sodium hydroxide and 1.0% potassium hydroxide catalyst concentration were optimum for biodiesel production from P. pinnata oil under microwave heating. There was a significant reduction in reaction time for microwave induced transesterification as compared to conventional heating. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Biodiesel production by lipase-catalyzed transesterification of Ocimum basilicum L. (sweet basil) seed oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amini, Zeynab; Ong, Hwai Chyuan; Harrison, Mark D.; Kusumo, Fitranto; Mazaheri, Hoora; Ilham, Zul

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Need for alternative energy has led to explore new feedstock. • Ocimum basilicum seeds oil was used as biodiesel feedstock. • Biodiesel was produced via lipase-catalyzed transesterification by Novozym. • Artificial neural network with genetic algorithm modelling was employed. - Abstract: The increasing global demand for fuel, limited fossil fuel resources, and increasing concern about the upturn in gaseous CO_2 emissions are the key drivers of research and development into sources of renewable liquid transport fuels, such as biodiesel. In the present work, we demonstrate biodiesel production from Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) seed oil by lipase-catalyzed transesterification. Sweet basil seeds contain 22% oil on a dry weight basis. Artificial neural network with genetic algorithm modelling was used to optimize reaction. Temperature, catalyst concentration, time, and methanol to oil molar ratio were the input factors in the optimization study, while fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield was the key model output. FAME composition was determined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The optimized transesterification process resulted in a 94.58% FAME yield after reaction at 47 °C for 68 h in the presence of 6% w/w catalyst and a methanol to oil ratio of 10:1. The viscosity, density, calorific value, pour point, and cloud point of the biodiesel derived from sweet basil seed oil conformed to the EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 standard specifications. The antioxidant stability of the biodiesel did not meet these specifications but could be improved via the addition of antioxidant.

  20. Biodiesel production from rice bran oil by transesterification using heterogeneous catalyst natural zeolite modified with K2CO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taslim; Iriany; Bani, O.; Parinduri, S. Z. D. M.; Ningsih, P. R. W.

    2018-02-01

    In the present study, an effort had been made to use natural zeolite from Tapanuli Utara, North Sumatera as a potential catalyst for biodiesel production. Biodiesel production is usuallythrough transesterification, and a catalyst is employed to improve reaction rate and yield. In this research rice bran oil (RBO) was used as feedstock. The objective of this work was to discover the effectiveness of natural zeolite modified by K2CO3 as catalysts in biodiesel production from RBO. K2CO3/natural zeolite catalyst modification was by impregnation method at various K2CO3 concentrations followed by drying and calcination. Transesterification was conducted at 65°C and 500 rpm. Effect of process variables such as the amount of catalyst, reaction time, and the molar ratio of methanol to RBO was investigated.The maximum yield of 98.18% biodiesel was obtained by using 10:1 molar ratio of methanol to RBO at a reaction time of 3 hours in the presence of 4 w% catalyst. The obtained biodiesel was then characterized by its density, viscosity and ester content. The biodiesel properties met the Indonesia standard (SNI).The results showed that natural zeolite modified by K2CO3 was suitable as a catalyst in the synthesis of biodiesel through transesterification from RBO.

  1. Continuous low cost transesterification process for the production of coconut biodiesel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, G.; Kumar, D.; Singh, S.; Kothari, S.; Bhatt, S.; Singh, CH. P. [Department of Chemistry, Sahu Jain College, Najibabad, 246763 (India)

    2010-07-01

    Biodiesel, or alkyl ester, is an alternative renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic diesel fuel produced by the catalytic transesterification of vegetable oil. Here we characterize a system for continuous transesterification of vegetable oil using five continuous stirring tank reactors. We tested residence times of 16-43 min, stirring speeds of 200-800 rpm, a catalyst concentration (KOH) of 0.25-1 wt% of oil (in gram), different total flow rates of the oil and MeOH, and on the production performance of the 5 stage continuous reactor for transesterification of vegetable oil. Using a molar ratio of oil:methanol of 1:7 and a reaction temperature of 65 {sup o}C, we show that a high stirring speed increased the reaction rate, but an excessive stir speed decreased the reaction rate and conversion to biodiesel. Furthermore, a higher catalyst percentage significantly increased the reaction rate and production capacity. A catalyst percentage of 1 wt% of oil gave the best conversion; 99.04 {+-} 0.05%. The resulting biodiesel esters were characterized for their physical and fuel properties including density, viscosity, iodine volume, acid volume, cloud point, pure point, gross heat of combustion, and volatility. The purity and conversion of the biodiesel was analyzed by HPLC. (author)

  2. Biodiesel production from wet municipal sludge: evaluation of in situ transesterification using xylene as a cosolvent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, O K; Song, J S; Cha, D K; Lee, J W

    2014-08-01

    This study proposes a method to produce biodiesel from wet wastewater sludge. Xylene was used as an alternative cosolvent to hexane for transesterification in order to enhance the biodiesel yield from wet wastewater sludge. The water present in the sludge could be separated during transesterification by employing xylene, which has a higher boiling point than water. Xylene enhanced the biodiesel yield up to 8.12%, which was 2.5 times higher than hexane. It was comparable to the maximum biodiesel yield of 9.68% obtained from dried sludge. Xylene could reduce either the reaction time or methanol consumption, when compared to hexane for a similar yield. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) content of the biodiesel increased approximately two fold by changing the cosolvent from hexane to xylene. The transesterification method using xylene as a cosolvent can be applied effectively and economically for biodiesel recovery from wet wastewater sludge without drying process. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Petroleum Refinery Effluents Treatment by Advanced Oxidation Process with Methanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shoucheng, Wen [Yangtze Univ., HuBei Jingzhou (China)

    2014-02-15

    Petroleum refinery effluents are waste originating from industries primarily engaged in refining crude oil. It is a very complex compound of various oily wastes, water, heavy metals and so on. Conventional processes are unable to effectively remove the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of petroleum refinery effluents. Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) was proposed to treat petroleum refinery effluents. In this paper, methanol was used to investigate co-oxidative effect of methanol on petroleum refinery effluents treatment. The results indicated that supercritical water oxidation is an effective process for petroleum refinery effluents treatment. Adding methanol caused an increase in COD removal. When reaction temperature is 440 .deg. C, residence time is 20 min, OE is 0.5 and initial COD is 40000 mg/L, and COD removal increases 8.5%.

  4. Petroleum Refinery Effluents Treatment by Advanced Oxidation Process with Methanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shoucheng, Wen

    2014-01-01

    Petroleum refinery effluents are waste originating from industries primarily engaged in refining crude oil. It is a very complex compound of various oily wastes, water, heavy metals and so on. Conventional processes are unable to effectively remove the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of petroleum refinery effluents. Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) was proposed to treat petroleum refinery effluents. In this paper, methanol was used to investigate co-oxidative effect of methanol on petroleum refinery effluents treatment. The results indicated that supercritical water oxidation is an effective process for petroleum refinery effluents treatment. Adding methanol caused an increase in COD removal. When reaction temperature is 440 .deg. C, residence time is 20 min, OE is 0.5 and initial COD is 40000 mg/L, and COD removal increases 8.5%

  5. Oxidation of hazardous waste in supercritical water: A comparison of modeling and experimental results for methanol destruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butler, P.B.; Bergan, N.E.; Bramlette, T.T.; Pitz, W.J.; Westbrook, C.K.

    1991-01-01

    Recent experiments at Sandia National Laboratories conducted in conjunction with MODEC Corporation have demonstrated successful clean- up of contaminated water in a supercritical water reactor. These experiments targeted wastes of interest to Department of Energy production facilities. In this paper we present modeling and experimental results for a surrogate waste containing 98% water, 2% methanol, and parts per million of chlorinated hydrocarbons and laser dyes. Our initial modeling results consider only methanol and water. Experimental data are available for inlet and outlet conditions and axial temperature profiles along the outside reactor wall. The purpose of our model is to study the chemical and physical processes inside the reactor. We are particularly interested in the parameters that control the location of the reaction zone. The laboratory-scale reactor operates at 25 MPa., between 300 K and 900 K; it is modeled as a plug-flow reactor with a specified temperature profile. We use Chemkin Real-Gas to calculate mixture density, with the Peng-Robinson equation of state. The elementary reaction set for methanol oxidation and reactions of other C 1 and C 2 hydrocarbons is based on previous models for gas-phase kinetics. Results from our calculations show that the methanol is 99.9% destroyed at 1/3 the total reactor length. Although we were not able to measure composition of the fluid inside the experimental reactor, this prediction occurs near the location of the highest reactor temperature. This indicates that the chemical reaction is triggered by thermal effects, not kinetic rates. Results from ideal-gas calculations show nearly identical chemical profiles inside the reactor in dimensionless distance. However, reactor residence times are overpredicted by nearly 150% using an ideal-gas assumption. Our results indicate that this oxidation process can be successfully modeled using gas-phase chemical mechanisms. 23 refs., 8 figs

  6. Transesterification of triacetin with methanol on various solid acid catalysts: A role of catalyst properties

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zieba, A.; Drelinkiewicz, A.; Chmielarz, P.; Matachowski, L.; Stejskal, Jaroslav

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 387, 1/2 (2010), s. 13-25 ISSN 0926-860X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA400500905 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : transesterification * bio-esters * triacetin Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 3.383, year: 2010

  7. Ultrasonic transesterification of Jatrophacurcas L. oil to biodiesel by a two-step process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng Xin; Fang Zhen; Liu Yunhu

    2010-01-01

    Transesterification of high free fatty acid content Jatropha oil with methanol to biodiesel catalyzed directly by NaOH and high-concentrated H 2 SO 4 or by two-step process were studied in an ultrasonic reactor at 60 deg. C. If NaOH was used as catalyst, biodiesel yield was only 47.2% with saponification problem. With H 2 SO 4 as catalyst, biodiesel yield was increased to 92.8%. However, longer reaction time (4 h) was needed and the biodiesel was not stable. A two-step, acid-esterification and base-transesterification process was further used for biodiesel production. It was found that after the first-step pretreatment with H 2 SO 4 for 1 h, the acid value of Jatropha oil was reduced from 10.45 to 1.2 mg KOH/g, and subsequently, NaOH was used for the second-step transesterification. Stable and clear yellowish biodiesel was obtained with 96.4% yield after reaction for 0.5 h. The total production time was only 1.5 h that is just half of the previous reported. The two-step process with ultrasonic radiation is effective and time-saving for biodiesel production from Jatropha oil.

  8. Ultrasonic-assisted production of biodiesel from transesterification of palm oil over ostrich eggshell-derived CaO catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guanyi; Shan, Rui; Shi, Jiafu; Yan, Beibei

    2014-11-01

    In this study, waste ostrich eggshell-derived calcium oxide (denoted as CaO(OE)) particles were synthesized and explored as cost-effective catalysts for the ultrasonic-assisted transesterification of palm oil. The physicochemical properties of the resultant catalysts were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption, XRF and Hammett indicator, while the catalytic activity was evaluated through transesterification of palm oil with methanol under ultrasonic conditions. More specifically, the CaO(OE) showed comparable catalytic activity to the one derived from commercial calcium carbonate (denoted as CaO(Lab)). Moreover, under ultrasonic conditions, the catalytic activity of CaO(OE) could be enhanced significantly. The maximum yield of fatty acid methyl esters could reach 92.7% under the optimal condition of reaction time of 60 min with ultrasonic power of 60% (120 W), methanol-to-oil ratio of 9:1, and catalyst loading of 8 wt.%. The results indicated that the CaO(OE) catalysts showed good catalytic performance and reusability, and may potentially reduce the cost of biodiesel production. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Influence of vegetable oils fatty acid composition on reaction temperature and glycerides conversion to biodiesel during transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinzi, S; Gandía, L M; Arzamendi, G; Ruiz, J J; Dorado, M P

    2011-01-01

    Presence of unreacted glycerides in biodiesel may reduce drastically its quality. This is why conversion of raw material in biodiesel through transesterification needs to readjust reaction parameter values to complete. In the present work, monitoring of glycerides transformation in biodiesel during the transesterification of vegetable oils was carried out. To check the influence of the chemical composition on glycerides conversion, selected vegetable oils covered a wide range of fatty acid composition. Reactions were carried out under alkali-transesterification in the presence of methanol. In addition, a multiple regression model was proposed. Results showed that kinetics depends on chemical and physical properties of the oils. It was found that the optimal reaction temperature depends on both length and unsaturation degree of vegetable oils fatty acid chains. Vegetable oils with higher degree of unsaturation exhibit faster monoglycerides conversion to biodiesel. It can be concluded that fatty acid composition influences reaction parameters and glycerides conversion, hence biodiesel yield and economic viability. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Enzymatic transesterification of microalgal oil from Chlorella vulgaris ESP-31 for biodiesel synthesis using immobilized Burkholderia lipase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Dang-Thuan; Yeh, Kuei-Ling; Chen, Ching-Lung; Chang, Jo-Shu

    2012-03-01

    An indigenous microalga Chlorella vulgaris ESP-31 grown in an outdoor tubular photobioreactor with CO(2) aeration obtained a high oil content of up to 63.2%. The microalgal oil was then converted to biodiesel by enzymatic transesterification using an immobilized lipase originating from Burkholderia sp. C20. The conversion of the microalgae oil to biodiesel was conducted by transesterification of the extracted microalgal oil (M-I) and by transesterification directly using disrupted microalgal biomass (M-II). The results show that M-II achieved higher biodiesel conversion (97.3 wt% oil) than M-I (72.1 wt% oil). The immobilized lipase worked well when using wet microalgal biomass (up to 71% water content) as the oil substrate. The immobilized lipase also tolerated a high methanol to oil molar ratio (>67.93) when using the M-II approach, and can be repeatedly used for six cycles (or 288 h) without significant loss of its original activity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Application of response surface methodology for optimizing transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil: Biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rashid, Umer; Anwar, Farooq; Ashraf, Muhammad; Saleem, Muhammad; Yusup, Suzana

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Biodiesel production from Moringa oil (MO) has been optimized for the first time using RSM. → RSM-optimized reaction conditions gave a high Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs) yield (94.3%). → Fuel properties of MOMEs yielded satisfied the ASTM D 6751 and EU 14214 specifications. → Present RSM-model can be useful for predicting optimum biodiesel yield from other oils. - Abstract: Response surface methodology (RSM), with central composite rotatable design (CCRD), was used to explore optimum conditions for the transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil. Effects of four variables, reaction temperature (25-65 deg. C), reaction time (20-90 min), methanol/oil molar ratio (3:1-12:1) and catalyst concentration (0.25-1.25 wt.% KOH) were appraised. The quadratic term of methanol/oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time while the interaction terms of methanol/oil molar ratio with reaction temperature and catalyst concentration, reaction time with catalyst concentration exhibited significant effects on the yield of Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs)/biodiesel, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05, respectively. Transesterification under the optimum conditions ascertained presently by RSM: 6.4:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 0.80% catalyst concentration, 55 deg. C reaction temperature and 71.08 min reaction time offered 94.30% MOMEs yield. The observed and predicted values of MOMEs yield showed a linear relationship. GLC analysis of MOMEs revealed oleic acid methyl ester, with contribution of 73.22%, as the principal component. Other methyl esters detected were of palmitic, stearic, behenic and arachidic acids. Thermal stability of MOMEs produced was evaluated by thermogravimetric curve. The fuel properties such as density, kinematic viscosity, lubricity, oxidative stability, higher heating value, cetane number and cloud point etc., of MOMEs were found to be within the ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 biodiesel standards.

  12. Application of response surface methodology for optimizing transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil: Biodiesel production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rashid, Umer, E-mail: umer.rashid@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040 (Pakistan); Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 31750, Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia); Anwar, Farooq, E-mail: fqanwar@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040 (Pakistan); Ashraf, Muhammad, E-mail: ashrafbot@yahoo.com [Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040 (Pakistan); Department of Botany and Microbiology, King Saud University, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Saleem, Muhammad [Department of Statistics, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000 (Pakistan); Yusup, Suzana, E-mail: drsuzana_yusuf@petronas.com.my [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 31750, Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

    2011-08-15

    Highlights: {yields} Biodiesel production from Moringa oil (MO) has been optimized for the first time using RSM. {yields} RSM-optimized reaction conditions gave a high Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs) yield (94.3%). {yields} Fuel properties of MOMEs yielded satisfied the ASTM D 6751 and EU 14214 specifications. {yields} Present RSM-model can be useful for predicting optimum biodiesel yield from other oils. - Abstract: Response surface methodology (RSM), with central composite rotatable design (CCRD), was used to explore optimum conditions for the transesterification of Moringa oleifera oil. Effects of four variables, reaction temperature (25-65 deg. C), reaction time (20-90 min), methanol/oil molar ratio (3:1-12:1) and catalyst concentration (0.25-1.25 wt.% KOH) were appraised. The quadratic term of methanol/oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time while the interaction terms of methanol/oil molar ratio with reaction temperature and catalyst concentration, reaction time with catalyst concentration exhibited significant effects on the yield of Moringa oil methyl esters (MOMEs)/biodiesel, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05, respectively. Transesterification under the optimum conditions ascertained presently by RSM: 6.4:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 0.80% catalyst concentration, 55 deg. C reaction temperature and 71.08 min reaction time offered 94.30% MOMEs yield. The observed and predicted values of MOMEs yield showed a linear relationship. GLC analysis of MOMEs revealed oleic acid methyl ester, with contribution of 73.22%, as the principal component. Other methyl esters detected were of palmitic, stearic, behenic and arachidic acids. Thermal stability of MOMEs produced was evaluated by thermogravimetric curve. The fuel properties such as density, kinematic viscosity, lubricity, oxidative stability, higher heating value, cetane number and cloud point etc., of MOMEs were found to be within the ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 biodiesel standards.

  13. Production Biodiesel from Coconut Oil Using Microwave: Effect of Some Parameters on Transesterification Reaction by NaOH Catalyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Suryanto

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to study the effect of reaction time and NaOH catalyst in transesterification of coconut oil enhanced by microwave and to obtain a biodiesel. Reaction was conducted in batch reactor which equipped by microwave. Coconut oil contains saturated fatty acids about 70% with medium chain (C8-C14, especially lauric acid and myristic acid. The reaction was initiated by mixing oil and methanol with oil to methanol mole ratios of 1:3, 1:6, 1:9 and 1:12, catalyst concentration of 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3 wt.%, as well as setting electrical power at 100, 264 and 400 W. The reaction times were of  0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5 min. The result showed that microwave could be employed as an energy source and was able to accelerate the transesterification process to produce biodiesel using NaOH catalyst. The biodiesel yields increase with increasing microwave power. The highest yield of biodiesel obtained  was of  97.37%  with reaction conditions set at 0.2 wt.% catalyst, a reaction time of 2 min, molar ratio of methanol to oil 1:9 and microwave power of 400 watt. © 2015 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 15th January 2015; Revised: 10th March 2015; Accepted: 15th March 2015How to Cite: Suryanto, A., Suprapto, S., Mahfud, M. (2015. Production Biodiesel from Coconut Oil Using Microwave: Effect of Reaction Time on Transesterification Reaction by NaOH Catalyst. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 10 (2: 162-168. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.10.2.8080.162-168 Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.10.2.8080.162-168 

  14. Soybean oil transesterification: Study of using Nb2O5.xH2O as catalyst in biodiesel production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah A. dos Santos

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Economic and environmental reasons show a trend towards replacing fossil fuels with biofuels such as those from triglycerides. Biodiesel can be obtained from vegetable oils and animal fat through several processes such as transesterification, esterification, usually with methanol, ethanol or through pyrolysis, all of them in the presence of an acid or basis catalyst. The use of solid catalysts in biodiesel production has the following advantages: easy recovery and reuse, thus decreasing process costs and amount of waste generated.1 Some of the problems in the use of solid catalysts are: low concentration of active sites, microporosity, and leaching of active sites.2 Studies aiming at developing methodologies involving hydrated niobium oxide as catalyst in biodiesel production have been carried out by our research group.3,4 Parameters such as the use of assistant solvent to increase the boiling point of the mixture (toluene, ethylene glycol, and DMSO, pre-thermal treatment (calcinations and catalyst molar concentration were initially assessed in esterification, oleic acid, and methanol reactions.  From these studies we could observe that high temperatures and excessive alcohol favor esterification reactions.  The best reaction conditions were then used as models and employed in transesterification reactions of soybean oil.  DMSO (Dimethyl sulfoxide was the solvent used to increase the reaction medium temperature without evaporating all the methanol. Transesterification reactions were carried out with soybean oil (0.5 g, methanol (0.85 g, DMSO (2.50 ml, and hydrated niobium oxide as catalyst in ratios of 20% and 100% (in relation to oil mass.  Catalyst was employed without pretreatment and after pretreatment at 115 °C, 300 °C, and 500 °C. The reactions occurred at 170 °C, under reflux for 48 hours.  A reaction without a catalyst was also carried out. All the reactions have shown conversion using CCD and they have been determined by 1H NMR

  15. Comparison of extraction and transesterification methods on the determination of the fatty acid contents of three Brazilian seaweed species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline P. Martins

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Seaweeds are photosynthetic organisms important to their ecosystem and constitute a source of compounds with several different applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biotechnology industries, such as triacylglycerols, which can be converted to fatty acid methyl esters that make up biodiesel, an alternative source of fuel applied in economic important areas. This study evaluates the fatty acid profiles and concentrations of three Brazilian seaweed species, Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen J.V. Lamouroux (Rhodophya, Sargassum cymosum C. Agardh (Heterokontophyta, and Ulva lactuca L. (Chlorophyta, comparing three extraction methods (Bligh & Dyer - B&D; AOAC Official Methods - AOM; and extraction with methanol and ultrasound - EMU and two transesterification methods (7% BF3 in methanol - BF3; and 5% HCl in methanol - HCl. The fatty acid contents of the three species of seaweeds were significantly different when extracted and transesterified by the different methods. Moreover, the best method for one species was not the same for the other species. The best extraction and transesterification methods for H. musciformis, S. cymosum and U. lactuca were, respectively, AOM-HCl, B&D-BF3 and B&D-BF3/B&D-HCl. These results point to a matrix effect and the method used for the analysis of the fatty acid content of different organisms should be selected carefully.

  16. Comparison of extraction and transesterification methods on the determination of the fatty acid contents of three Brazilian seaweed species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline P. Martins

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Seaweeds are photosynthetic organisms important to their ecosystem and constitute a source of compounds with several different applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biotechnology industries, such as triacylglycerols, which can be converted to fatty acid methyl esters that make up biodiesel, an alternative source of fuel applied in economic important areas. This study evaluates the fatty acid profiles and concentrations of three Brazilian seaweed species, Hypnea musciformis (Wulfen J.V. Lamouroux (Rhodophya, Sargassum cymosum C. Agardh (Heterokontophyta, and Ulva lactuca L. (Chlorophyta, comparing three extraction methods (Bligh & Dyer - B&D; AOAC Official Methods - AOM; and extraction with methanol and ultrasound - EMU and two transesterification methods (7% BF3 in methanol - BF3; and 5% HCl in methanol - HCl. The fatty acid contents of the three species of seaweeds were significantly different when extracted and transesterified by the different methods. Moreover, the best method for one species was not the same for the other species. The best extraction and transesterification methods for H. musciformis, S. cymosum and U. lactuca were, respectively, AOM-HCl, B&D-BF3 and B&D-BF3/B&D-HCl. These results point to a matrix effect and the method used for the analysis of the fatty acid content of different organisms should be selected carefully.

  17. Co-solvents transesterification of cotton seed oil into biodiesel: Effects of reaction conditions on quality of fatty acids methyl esters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alhassan, Y.; Kumar, N.; Bugaje, I.M.; Pali, H.S.; Kathkar, P.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Using co-solvent systems reduce reaction time by 60%. • Only small volume of co-solvent is required to improve the process. • Greater than 90% yields were obtained within the first 10 min. • Physico-chemical and fuel properties of FAMEs were within standard limits. • Acetone was found to be the best co-solvent for the transesterification. - Abstract: Solvent Technology, is gaining the interest of researchers in improving transesterification process recently. Transesterification of cotton seed oil into biodiesel using different mixtures of methanol with Diethyl Ether (DEE), Dichlorobenzene (CBN) or Acetone (ACT) co-solvent systems was conducted. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) was used as the catalyst all through. The reaction conditions optimized include; the molar ratio of co-solvent in methanol, reaction temperature and time. The catalyst concentration was also optimized. The optimization was based on the percentage yields of Fatty Acids Methyl Esters (FAMEs) produced. In addition, the effects of co-solvent systems on physico-chemical properties (Acid value and fatty acids composition) and fuel properties (viscosity, density and calorific value) were investigated as well. The result obtained, indicated 10% (v/v) addition of co-solvents CBN and ACT in methanol was the optimal volume. The optimal reaction temperature was 55 ° 0 C for 10 min when the catalyst concentration of 0.75% (w/w) weight of oil was used. Fuel properties were within the acceptable limit of ASTM and not significantly affected by the co-solvent systems except for the calorific value. It was concluded that the addition of co-solvent reduced the reaction time and improved some fuel properties of the biodiesel produced

  18. Biodiesel production through transesterification of triolein with various alcohols in an ultrasonic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanh, Hoang Duc; Okitsu, Kenji; Nishimura, Rokuro; Maeda, Yasuaki [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Gakuen-cho 1-1, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan); Dong, Nguyen The [Institute of Environmental Technology, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi (Viet Nam)

    2009-03-15

    The biodiesel production through transesterification of triolein with various alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, hexanol, octanol and decanol was investigated at molar ratio 6:1 (alcohol:triolein) and 25 C in the presence of base catalysts (NaOH and KOH) under ultrasonic irradiation (40 kHz) and mechanical stirring (1800 rot/min) conditions. It was found that the rate of the alkyl ester formation under the ultrasonic irradiation condition was higher than that under the stirring condition. In addition, it was confirmed that the rate depended upon the kind of alcohols; as the number of carbon in alcohol increased, the rate of the ester formation tended to decrease. On the other hand, the secondary alcohols such as 2-propanol, 2-butanol, 2-hexanol, and 2-octanol showed little ester conversion, suggesting that the steric hindrance strongly affected the transesterification of triolein. (author)

  19. An alkali catalyzed trans-esterification of rice bran, cottonseed and waste cooking oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akhtar Faheem H.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this research work, biodiesel production by trans-esterification of three raw materials including virgin and used edible oil and non edible oil has been presented. A two step method following acidic and alkali catalyst was used for non edible oil due to the unsuitability of using the straight alkaline-catalyzed trans-esterification of high FFA present in rice bran oil. The acid value after processing for rice bran, cottonseed and waste cooking oil was found to be 0.95, 0.12 and 0.87 respectively. The influence of three variables on percentage yield i.e., methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction temperature and reaction time were studied at this stage. Cottonseed oil, waste cooking oil and rice bran oil showed a maximum yield of 91.7%, 84.1% and 87.1% under optimum conditions. Fuel properties of the three biodiesel satisfied standard biodiesel fuel results.

  20. Ultrasonic transesterification of Jatrophacurcas L. oil to biodiesel by a two-step process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deng, Xin; Fang, Zhen; Liu, Yun-hu [Biomass Group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefulu, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650223 (China)

    2010-12-15

    Transesterification of high free fatty acid content Jatropha oil with methanol to biodiesel catalyzed directly by NaOH and high-concentrated H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} or by two-step process were studied in an ultrasonic reactor at 60 C. If NaOH was used as catalyst, biodiesel yield was only 47.2% with saponification problem. With H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} as catalyst, biodiesel yield was increased to 92.8%. However, longer reaction time (4 h) was needed and the biodiesel was not stable. A two-step, acid-esterification and base-transesterification process was further used for biodiesel production. It was found that after the first-step pretreatment with H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} for 1 h, the acid value of Jatropha oil was reduced from 10.45 to 1.2 mg KOH/g, and subsequently, NaOH was used for the second-step transesterification. Stable and clear yellowish biodiesel was obtained with 96.4% yield after reaction for 0.5 h. The total production time was only 1.5 h that is just half of the previous reported. The two-step process with ultrasonic radiation is effective and time-saving for biodiesel production from Jatropha oil. (author)

  1. Ultrasonic transesterification of Jatrophacurcas L. oil to biodiesel by a two-step process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deng Xin [Biomass Group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefulu, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650223 (China); Fang Zhen, E-mail: zhenfang@xtbg.ac.c [Biomass Group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefulu, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650223 (China); Liu Yunhu [Biomass Group, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88 Xuefulu, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650223 (China)

    2010-12-15

    Transesterification of high free fatty acid content Jatropha oil with methanol to biodiesel catalyzed directly by NaOH and high-concentrated H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} or by two-step process were studied in an ultrasonic reactor at 60 deg. C. If NaOH was used as catalyst, biodiesel yield was only 47.2% with saponification problem. With H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} as catalyst, biodiesel yield was increased to 92.8%. However, longer reaction time (4 h) was needed and the biodiesel was not stable. A two-step, acid-esterification and base-transesterification process was further used for biodiesel production. It was found that after the first-step pretreatment with H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} for 1 h, the acid value of Jatropha oil was reduced from 10.45 to 1.2 mg KOH/g, and subsequently, NaOH was used for the second-step transesterification. Stable and clear yellowish biodiesel was obtained with 96.4% yield after reaction for 0.5 h. The total production time was only 1.5 h that is just half of the previous reported. The two-step process with ultrasonic radiation is effective and time-saving for biodiesel production from Jatropha oil.

  2. Feasibility of ion-pair/supercritical fluid extraction of an ionic compound--pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckard, P R; Taylor, L T

    1997-02-01

    The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of an ionic compound, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, from a spiked-sand surface was successfully demonstrated. The effect of carbon dioxide density (CO2), supercritical fluid composition (pure vs. methanol modified), and the addition of a commonly used reversed-phase liquid chromatographic ion-pairing reagent, 1-heptanesulfonic acid, sodium salt, on extraction efficiency was examined. The extraction recoveries of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride with the addition of the ion-pairing reagent from a spiked-sand surface were shown to be statistically greater than the extraction recoveries without the ion-pairing reagent with both pure and methanol-modified carbon dioxide.

  3. Direct Transesterification of Soy Biomass for Biodiesel Preparation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nyan Lin Htat; Moe Moe Kyaw

    2011-12-01

    In this study, three types of transesterification processes such as conventional base-catalyzed transesterification, conventional solvent- assisted base-catalyzed transesterification and solvent-assisted direct transesterification were studied. As for triglyceride source, refined soya oil was used for first two processes and soy biomass containing appreciable amount of gum was used for direct transesterification process. Methonal was used as alcohol source and ketone-base cosolvent and acetate-base cosolvent were used as cosolvent sources. It was found that the reaction time taken were within 8 to 45 min after oil extraction time 1.5 hr in solvent-assisted direct transesterification process. Time taken for conventional solvent-assisted base-catalyzed transesterification was found to be 1.33 to 8.5 min and, 15 mim and 30 min for conventional base-catalyzed transesterification process. According to yield percenttages of conventional solvent-assisted base-catalyzed transesterification and solvent-assisted direct transesterification by using ketone-base cosolvent and acetate-base cosolvent, acetate-base cosolvent gave the higher yields of biodiesel fuel (BDF) 99.4% and 73.78% repectively. From this investigation it could be seen that solvent assisted direct transesterification process achieved higher overall yield of BDF by comparing with the other transesterification processes when yields were based on soy biomass.

  4. Biodiesel synthesis via transesterification of lipid Chlorophyta cultivated in walne rich carbon medium using KOH/Zeolite catalyst

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dianursanti, Hayati, Siti Zahrotul; Putri, Dwini Normayulisa

    2017-11-01

    Microalgae from the Chlorophyta division such as Nannochloropsis oculata and Chlorella vulgaris are highly potential to be developed as biodiesel feedstocks because they have a high oil content up to 58%. Biodiesel is produced by transesterification of triglycerides and alcohols with the aid of homogeneous catalysts such as KOH. However, the use of KOH catalysts produces soaps in the biodiesel synthesis. Heterogeneous catalysts are known to solve this problem. One of them is natural zeolite. Zeolite can be used as a catalyst and as a support catalyst. Loading KOH on the zeolite surface is expected to increase alkalinity in KOH/Zeolite catalysts so as to increase the activity of KOH/Zeolite catalyst in transesterification of triglyceride with methanol. In this experimental lipid of microalgae will be used for produced biodiesel via transesterification reaction with methanol and KOH/Zeolite as a catalyst heterogeneous at 60 °C for 3h and utilized catalyst modificated KOH/Zeolite with variation 0.5 M, 1 M and 1.5 M KOH. The modified zeolite was then analyzed by XRF, XRD and BET. The result showed that the yield of biodiesel from lipid N.oculata was 81,09% by 0.5KOH/Zeolite catalyst, 86,53% by 1KOH/Zeolite catalyst, 1,5KOH/Zeolite and 88,13% by 1.5KOH/Zeolit, while the biodiesel produced from lipid C.vulgaris was 59.29% by 0.5KOH/Zeolite, 82.27% by 1KOH/Zeolite and 83.72% by 1.5KOH/Zeolite.

  5. Extraction of pesticides in soil using supercritical carbon dioxide co-solvents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forero, Jose R; Castro, Henry I; Guerrero, Jairo A.

    2009-01-01

    In this study, three organic solvents (ethyl acetate, methanol and acetone) were used as co solvent in supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of a mixture of pesticides with different physical and chemical properties present in soil. These pesticides were determined by gas chromatography with electronic micro capture detector μECD and nitrogen-phosphorus detector (NPD), coupled in parallel. The extractions were performed on spiked soil samples using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 SC) as the extracting phase to 35 celsius degrade and 14 MPa, using 10 mL of each co solvent and it was found that methanol offers the greatest efficiency in the extraction process obtaining recovery values between 51.24 and 123.50%.

  6. Selective extraction of hydrocarbons, phosphonates and phosphonic acids from soils by successive supercritical fluid and pressurized liquid extractions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudot, X; Tambuté, A; Caude, M

    2000-01-14

    Hydrocarbons, dialkyl alkylphosphonates and alkyl alkylphosphonic acids are selectively extracted from spiked soils by successive implementation of supercritical carbon dioxide, supercritical methanol-modified carbon dioxide and pressurized water. More than 95% of hydrocarbons are extracted during the first step (pure supercritical carbon dioxide extraction) whereas no organophosphorus compound is evidenced in this first extract. A quantitative extraction of phosphonates is achieved during the second step (methanol-modified supercritical carbon dioxide extraction). Polar phosphonic acids are extracted during a third step (pressurized water extraction) and analyzed by gas chromatography under methylated derivatives (diazomethane derivatization). Global recoveries for these compounds are close to 80%, a loss of about 20% occurring during the derivatization process (co-evaporation with solvent). The developed selective extraction method was successfully applied to a soil sample during an international collaborative exercise.

  7. CaFeAl mixed oxide derived heterogeneous catalysts for transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yongsheng; Zhang, Zaiwu; Xu, Yunfeng; Liu, Qiang; Qian, Guangren

    2015-08-01

    CaAl layered double oxides (LDO) were prepared by co-precipitation and calcined at 750°C, and then applied to biodiesel production by transesterification reaction between methanol and soybean oil. Compared with characteristics of CaFe/LDO and CaAl/LDO, CaFeAl/LDO had the best performance based on prominent catalytic activity and stability, and achieved over 90% biodiesel yield, which stayed stable (over 85%) even after 8 cycles of reaction. The optimal catalytic reaction condition was 12:1M-ratio of methanol/oil, reaction temperatures of 60°C, 270rpm stirring rate, 60min reaction time, and 6% weight-ratio of catalyst/oil. In addition, the CaFeAl/LDO catalyst is insoluble in both methanol and methyl esters and can be easily separated for further reaction, turning it into an excellent alternative for biodiesel synthesis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Transesterification of triacetin and castor oil with methanol catalyzed by supported polyaniline-sulfate. A role of polymer morphology

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Drelinkiewicz, A.; Kalemba-Jaje, Z.; Lalik, E.; Zieba, A.; Mucha, D.; Konyushenko, Elena; Stejskal, Jaroslav

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 455, 30 March (2013), s. 92-106 ISSN 0926-860X Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : transesterification * triacetin * castor oil Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 3.674, year: 2013

  9. Optimization of transesterification conditions for the production of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from Chinese tallow kernel oil with surfactant-coated lipase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Yin-yu; Liu, Yuhuan; Lin, Xiangyang [Key Laboratory of Food Science, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047 (China); Chen, Wen-wei [College of Life Science, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); Lei, Hanwu [Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007 (United States); Ruan, Roger [Key Laboratory of Food Science, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047 (China)]|[Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6005 (United States)

    2009-02-15

    Surfactant-coated lipase was used as a catalyst in preparing fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from Chinese tallow kernel oil from Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb. syn. Triadica sebifera (L.) small. FAME transesterification was analyzed using response surface methodology to find out the effect of the process variables on the esterification rate and to establish prediction models. Reaction temperature and time were found to be the main factors affecting the esterification rate with the presence of surfactant-coated lipase. Developed prediction models satisfactorily described the esterification rate as a function of reaction temperature, time, dosage of surfactant-coated lipase, ratio of methanol to oil, and water content. The FAME mainly contained fatty acid esters of C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, and C18:3, determined by a gas chromatograph. The optimal esterification rate was 93.86%. The optimal conditions for the above esterification ratio were found to be a reaction time of 9.2 h, a reaction temperature of 49 C, dosage of surfactant-coated lipase of 18.5%, a ratio of methanol to oil of 3:1, and water content of 15.6%. Thus, by using the central composite design, it is possible to determine accurate values of the transesterification parameters where maximum production of FAME occurs using the surfactant-coated lipase as a transesterification catalyst. (author)

  10. Rapid Determination of Two Triterpenoid Acids in Chaenomelis Fructus Using Supercritical Fluid Extraction On-line Coupled with Supercritical Fluid Chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaotian; Ji, Feng; Li, Yueqi; He, Tian; Han, Ya; Wang, Daidong; Lin, Zongtao; Chen, Shizhong

    2018-01-01

    In this study, an on-line supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) method was developed for the rapid determination of oleanoic acid and ursolic acid in Chaenomelis Fructus. After optimization of the conditions, the two triterpenoid acids was obtained by SFE using 20% methanol as a modifier at 35°C in 8 min. They were resolved on a Shim-pack UC-X Diol column (4.6 × 150 mm, 3 μm) in 14 min (0 - 10 min, 5 - 10%; 10 - 14 min, 10% methanol in CO 2 ) with a backpressure of 15 MPa at 40°C. The on-line SFE-SFC method could be completed within 40 min (10.79 mg/g dry plant, R s = 2.36), while the ultrasound-assisted extraction and HPLC method required at least 90 min (3.55 mg/g dry plant, R s = 1.92). This on-line SFE-SFC method is powerful to simplify the pre-processing and quantitative analysis of natural products.

  11. Attractive and repulsive interactions among methanol molecules in supercritical state investigated by Raman spectroscopy and perturbed hard-sphere theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saitow, Ken-ichi; Sasaki, Jungo

    2005-03-08

    The short-range structure of supercritical methanol (CH(3)OH) is investigated by measuring the spontaneous Raman spectra of the C-O stretching mode. The spectra are obtained at a reduced temperature, T(r)=T/T(c)=1.02 (522.9 K), which permits the neat fluid to be studied isothermally as a function of density. As the density increases, the spectral peaks shift toward the lower energy side and the spectra broaden. In the supercritical region, the amount of shifting shows nonlinear density dependence and the width becomes anomalously large. We use the perturbed hard-sphere model to analyze these density dependencies along the vibrational coordinate. The amount of shifting is decomposed into attractive and repulsive components, and the changes in attractive and repulsive energies are evaluated as functions of density and packing fraction, both of which are continuously varied by a factor of 120. Here we show that the shift amount consists principally of the attractive component at all densities, since the attractive energy is about eight times the repulsive energy. The density dependence of the widths is analyzed by calculating homogeneous and inhomogeneous widths as a function of density. The results show that, although vibrational dephasing and density inhomogeneity contribute similarly to the width at low and middle densities, at high density the main contributor turns out to be the vibrational dephasing. We estimate the local density enhancements of supercritical CH(3)OH as function of bulk density by two methods. The results of these analyses show common features, and both the estimated local density enhancements of CH(3)OH are considerably larger than the local density enhancements of simple fluids, i.e., those having nonhydrogen bonding. It is revealed that the local density of supercritical CH(3)OH is 40%-60% greater than the local densities of the simple fluids. We also estimate the local density fluctuation using the obtained values of attractive shift

  12. Biodiesel production by enzyme-catalyzed transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stamenković Olivera S.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The principles and kinetics of biodiesel production from vegetable oils using lipase-catalyzed transesterification are reviewed. The most important operating factors affecting the reaction and the yield of alkyl esters, such as: the type and form of lipase, the type of alcohol, the presence of organic solvents, the content of water in the oil, temperature and the presence of glycerol are discussed. In order to estimate the prospects of lipase-catalyzed transesterification for industrial application, the factors which influence the kinetics of chemically-catalysed transesterification are also considered. The advantages of lipase-catalyzed transesterification compared to the chemically-catalysed reaction, are pointed out. The cost of down-processing and ecological problems are significantly reduced by applying lipases. It was also emphasized that lipase-catalysed transesterification should be greatly improved in order to make it commercially applicable. The further optimization of lipase-catalyzed transesterification should include studies on the development of new reactor systems with immobilized biocatalysts and the addition of alcohol in several portions, and the use of extra cellular lipases tolerant to organic solvents, intracellular lipases (i.e. whole microbial cells and genetically-modified microorganisms ("intelligent" yeasts.

  13. Transesterification of used vegetable oil catalyzed by barium oxide under simultaneous microwave and ultrasound irradiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez-Guerra, Edith; Gude, Veera Gnaneswar

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Transesterification reaction mediated by simultaneous microwave and ultrasound irradiations with barium oxide (BaO) heterogeneous catalyst. - Highlights: • Synergistic effect of simultaneous microwave/ultrasound irradiations was evaluated. • Yields were higher for the MW/US reactions compared to MW or US individually. • BaO catalyzed MW/US transesterification reaction is more environmental-friendly. • BaO catalyzed MW/US transesterification reaction provides better biodiesel yields. • Optimum power density must be identified for energy-efficient biodiesel production. - Abstract: This study presents a novel application of simultaneous microwave and ultrasound (MW/US) irradiations on transesterification of used vegetable oil catalyzed by barium oxide, heterogeneous catalyst. Experiments were conducted to study the optimum process conditions, synergistic effect of microwave and ultrasound irradiations and the effect of power density. From the process parametric optimization study, the following conditions were determined as optimum: 6:1 methanol to oil ratio, 0.75% barium oxide catalyst by wt.%, and 2 min of reaction time at a combined power output rate of 200 W (100/100 MW/US). The biodiesel yields were higher for the simultaneous MW/US mediated reactions (∼93.5%) when compared to MW (91%) and US (83.5%) irradiations individually. Additionally, the effect of power density and a discussion on the synergistic effect of the microwave and ultrasound mediated reactions were presented. A power density of 7.6 W/mL appears to be effective for MW, and MW/US irradiated reactions (94.4% and 94.7% biodiesel yields respectively), while a power density of 5.1 W/mL was appropriate for ultrasound irradiation (93.5%). This study concludes that the combined microwave and ultrasound irradiations result in a synergistic effect that reduces the heterogeneity of the transesterification reaction catalyzed by heterogeneous catalysts to enhance the biodiesel

  14. Biodiesel production from Silybum marianum L. seed oil with high FFA content using sulfonated carbon catalyst for esterification and base catalyst for transesterification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fadhil, Abdelrahman B.; Aziz, Akram M.; Al-Tamer, Marwa H.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • PET was converted to activated carbon and then sulfonated to prepare carbon acid catalyst. • Carbon acid catalyst was used for esterification of high acid value Silybum marianum L. seed oil. • Biodiesel was obtained with 96.98% efficiency. - Abstract: In this research work, waste of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was converted into activated carbon and the latter was used in the preparation of a carbon acid catalyst. Waste of PET was converted into activated carbon via carbonization and steam activation, then the activated carbon was sulfonated using fuming sulfuric acid in order to produce the carbon acid catalyst. The prepared carbon acid catalyst was tested for esterification of high acid value non-edible oil, Silybum marianum L. seed oil (SMSO) via optimized protocol. Amount of the carbon acid catalyst, methanol to oil molar ratio, temperature and time were the experimental variables optimized. Esterification of SMSO with methanol using the prepared carbon acid catalyst reduced its parent acid value (20.0 mg KOH/g) to the acceptable limits for base-catalyzed transesterification (<2.0 mg KOH/g) using 6.0% w/w of the catalyst, 15:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 68 °C reaction temperature and 180 min of reaction. The performance of the catalyst was reduced gradually during its recycling and reached to 60.0% at the 5th cycle. Kinetics of esterification of SMSO using the prepared carbon acid catalyst followed pseudo first order kinetics, and the activation energy was found to be 70.98 kJ/mol. The esterified oil was converted to biodiesel through optimized base-catalyzed transesterification with methanol. Biodiesel with (96.98% yield and purity of 96.69% w/w) yield was obtained using 0.80% KOH w/w, 6:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 60 °C reaction temperature, 75 min of reaction and 600 rpm rate of stirring. The biodiesel properties were within the recommended biodiesel standards as prescribed by ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214. Transesterification of

  15. Waste crab shell derived CaO impregnated Na-ZSM-5 as a solid base catalyst for the transesterification of neem oil into biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vijayalakshmi Shankar

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Activated calcium oxide extracted from crab shell impregnated on Na-ZSM-5 has been investigated. Crab shells were collected, powdered and calcined at 900 °C, and CaO was impregnated on Na-ZSM-5 and calcined at 550 °C for 10 h. The CaO/Na-ZSM-5 was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and BET surface area. The prepared catalyst was tested for its catalytic activity by transesterifing neem oil into biodiesel in the presence of methanol. The influence of various parameters including reaction time, temperature, methanol to oil ratio, catalyst concentration and dosage were also investigated. Produced biodiesel have also been tested using proton NMR spectroscopy. Biodiesel yield as 95% has been achieved with 15% CaO impregnated on Na-ZSM-5 at 75 °C. The optimum transesterification reaction conditions were identified as follows: reaction temperature, 75 °C; reaction time, 6 h; methanol-to-neem oil molar ratio, 12:1; catalyst dosage, 0.2 g; and catalyst concentration, 15%. Based on the above study, it can be concluded that the calcium oxide impregnated Na-ZSM-5 can be a potential catalyst for biodiesel production.

  16. Efficient production of biodiesel from waste grease: one-pot esterification and transesterification with tandem lipases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Jinyong; Li, Aitao; Xu, Yi; Ngo, Thao P N; Phua, Szechao; Li, Zhi

    2012-11-01

    A novel concept and efficient method for producing biodiesel (FAME) from grease (15-40wt% free fatty acid, FFA) were developed by using tandem lipases for one-pot esterification of FFA and transesterification of triglyceride with methanol in a solvent-free system. Combining immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) (Novozyme 435) favoring the esterification and immobilized Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) (Lipozyme TLIM) preferring the transesterification at 2:8 (wt/wt) gave FAME in 80% yield, being better than that with Novozyme 435 or Lipozyme TLIM. Recombinant Escherichia coli (Calb/Tll) co-expressing CALB and TLL was engineered as a more efficient tandem-lipases system. Using wet or dry cells (4wt%) gave FAME in 87% or 95% yield, which is much better than that with E. coli cells expressing either CALB or TLL alone. Cells of E. coli (Calb/Tll) were recycled for five times and retained 75% productivity, thus being practical for producing biodiesel from grease. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Biodiesel fuels from vegetable oils via catalytic and non-catalytic supercritical alcohol transesterifications and other methods: a survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demirbas, Ayhan

    2003-01-01

    Vegetable oil fuels have not been acceptable because they were more expensive than petroleum fuels. With recent increases in petroleum prices and uncertainties concerning petroleum availability, there is renewed interest in vegetable oil fuels for Diesel engines. Dilution of oils with solvents and microemulsions of vegetable oils lowers the viscosity, but some engine performance problems still exist. The purpose of the transesterification process is to lower the viscosity of the oil. Pyrolysis produces more biogasoline than biodiesel fuel. Soap pyrolysis products of vegetable oils can be used as alternative Diesel engine fuel. Methyl and ethyl esters of vegetable oils have several outstanding advantages among other new renewable and clean engine fuel alternatives. The main factors affecting transesterification are the molar ratio of glycerides to alcohol, catalyst, reaction temperature and pressure, reaction time and the contents of free fatty acids and water in oils. The commonly accepted molar ratios of alcohol to glycerides are 6:1-30:1

  18. Biodiesel Production from Residual Palm Oil Contained in Spent Bleaching Earth by In Situ Trans-Esterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A S Fahmil QRM

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Spent Bleaching Earth (SBE is an industrial solid waste of vegetable oil industry that has a high residual oil to be potentialy converted to biodiesel. This study aims at developing a biodiesel production process technology by utilizing residual palm oil contained in SBE and to test the use of hexane in the trans-esterification process. Optimization process was done by using the Response Surface Method (RSM. The variables studied included catalyst concentration and reaction time. On the other hand, the deoiled SBE resulted from biodiesel production was tested as an adsorbent on biodiesel purification after being reactivated. The method used in the biodiesel production included an in situ acid catalysed esterification followed by in situ base catalysed trans-esterification. The results of RSM showed that the optimum process was obtained at NaOH concentration of 1.8% and reaction time of 104.73 minutes, with a predicted response rate of 97.18% and 95.63% for validation results. The use of hexane could also increase the yield of biodiesel which was obtained on the ratio of hexane to methanol of 0.4:1 (volume of hexane: volume of methanol. On the other hand, the reactivated bleaching earth was effective as an adsorbent in biodiesel production, which was still conform with the Indonesian National Standard.

  19. An optimization study on transesterification catalyzed by the activated carbide slag through the response surface methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Mengqi; Niu, Shengli; Lu, Chunmei; Cheng, Shiqing

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • New catalyst material for biodiesel production. • New utilization approach of waste carbide slag. • Detailed characterization of carbide slag used as transesterification catalyst. • Optimal parameters for biodiesel production obtained by response surface methodology. • Effect of impurities on catalytic activity of carbide slag in transesterification. - Abstract: After activated at 850 °C under air condition, calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate in carbide slag are transformed into calcium oxide. The prepared transesterification catalyst, labeled as CS-850, gains surface area of 8.00 m 2 g −1 , functional groups of vanishing O−C−O and O−H bonds, surface morphology of tenuous branch and porous structure and basic strength of 9.8 < H – < 15.0. From aspects of the molar ratio of methanol to oil (γ), the catalyst added amount (ζ) and the reaction temperature (T r ), transesterification catalyzed by CS-850 is optimized through the Box–Behnken design of the response surface methodology (BBD–RSM). A quadratic polynomial model is preferred for transesterification efficiency prediction with coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.9815. The optimal parameters are predicted to be γ = 13.8, ζ = 6.7% and T r = 60 °C with the efficiency of 94.70% and validated by experimental value of 93.83%. Meanwhile, γ is demonstrated to be the most significant variable for the minimum p-value. Besides, CS-850 performs acceptable reusability and for the fifth time reusage, efficiency of 82.61% could still be supplied. Aluminium oxide is proved to have the greatest effect on the catalytic activity of CS-850 among other small quality oxides. Physicochemical properties of the purified biodiesel meet American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) standard

  20. Influence of the reaction conditions on the enzyme catalyzed transesterification of castor oil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andrade, Thalles Allan; Errico, Massimiliano; Christensen, Knud Villy

    2017-01-01

    The identification of the influence of the reaction parameters is of paramount importance when defining a process design. In this work, non-edible castor oil was reacted with methanol to produce a possible component for biodiesel blends, using liquid enzymes as the catalyst. Temperature, alcohol......-to-oil molar ratio, enzyme and added water contents were the reaction parameters evaluated in the transesterification reactions. The optimal conditions, giving the optimal final FAME yield and FFA content in the methyl ester-phase was identified. At 35 °C, 6.0 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 5 wt% of enzyme and 5...... wt% of water contents, 94 % of FAME yield and 6.1 % of FFA in the final composition were obtained. The investigation was completed with the analysis of the component profiles, showing that at least 8 hours are necessary to reach a satisfactory FAME yield together with a minor FFA content....

  1. Ultrasound-enhanced rapid in situ transesterification of marine macroalgae Enteromorpha compressa for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suganya, Tamilarasan; Kasirajan, Ramachandran; Renganathan, Sahadevan

    2014-03-01

    In situ transesterification of Enteromorpha compressa algal biomass was carried out for the production of biodiesel. The maximum methyl esters (ME) yield of 98.89% was obtained using ultrasonic irradiation. Tetra hydro furan (THF) and acid catalyst (H2SO4) was found to be an appropriate co-solvent and catalyst for high free fatty acids (FFA) content E. compressa biomass to increase the efficiency of the reactive in situ process. The optimization study was conducted to obtain the maximum yield and it was determined as 30vol% of THF as a co-solvent, 10wt% of H2SO4, 5.5:1 ratio of methanol to algal biomass and 600rpm of mixing intensity at 65°C for 90min of ultrasonic irradiation time. The produced biodiesel was characterized by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H NMR) analysis. Kinetic studies revealed that the reaction followed the first-order reaction mechanism. Rapid in situ transesterification was found to be suitable technique to produce biodiesel from marine macroalgae feedstock. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Transesterification of waste cooking oil by an organic solvent-tolerant alkaline lipase from Streptomyces sp. CS273.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mander, Poonam; Yoo, Hah-Young; Kim, Seung Wook; Choi, Yun Hee; Cho, Seung Sik; Yoo, Jin Cheol

    2014-02-01

    The aim of this present study was to produce a microbial enzyme that can potentially be utilized for the enzymatic transesterification of waste cooking oil. To that end, an extracellular lipase was isolated and purified from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. CS273. The molecular mass of purified lipase was estimated to be 36.55 kDa by SDS PAGE. The optimum lipolytic activity was obtained at alkaline pH 8.0 to 8.5 and temperature 40 °C, while the enzyme was stable in the pH range 7.0 ∼ 9.0 and at temperature ≤40 °C. The lipase showed highest hydrolytic activity towards p-nitrophenyl myristate (C14). The lipase activity was enhanced by several salts and detergents including NaCl, MnSo₄, and deoxy cholic acid, while phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride at concentration 10 mM inhibited the activity. The lipase showed tolerance towards different organic solvents including ethanol and methanol which are commonly used in transesterification reactions to displace alcohol from triglycerides (ester) contained in renewable resources to yield fatty acid alkyl esters known as biodiesel. Applicability of the lipase in transesterification of waste cooking oil was confirmed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis.

  3. Optimization of Alkali Catalyzed Transesterification of Safflower Oil for Production of Biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. C. Math

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The Central Composite Design is used for the optimization of alkaline catalyzed transesterification parameters such as methanol quantity, catalytic concentration, and rotational speed by keeping the temperature and reaction time constant. The Central Composite Design method is employed to get the maximum safflower oil methyl ester yield. The combined effects of catalyst concentration, rotational speed, and molar ratio of alcohol to oil were investigated and optimized using response surface methodology. A statistical model has predicted the maximum yield of safflower oil methyl ester (94.69% volume of oil parameters such as catalyst concentration (0.6 grams, methanol amount (30 mL, rotational speed (600 rpm, and keeping constant reaction temperature (55°C to 65°C and reaction time (60 minutes. Experimental maximum yield of 91.66% was obtained at above parameters. XLSTAT is used to generate a linear model to predict the methyl ester yield as a function of methanol quantity, catalyst concentration, and rotational speed by keeping constant reaction temperature (55°C to 65°C and reaction time (60 minutes. MINITAB is used to draw the 3D response surface plot and 2D contour plot to predict the maximum biodiesel yield.

  4. Optimization of the Transesterification of Waste Cooking Oil with Mg-Al Hydrotalcite Using Response Surface Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laureano Costarrosa

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, biodiesel has become a very promising alternative to fossil diesel fuel, regarding environmental concerns and fuel resource depletion. Biodiesel is usually produced through homogeneous or heterogeneous transesterification of different fatty raw materials. Although main research has been carried out with homogenous catalysts, heterogeneous catalysts may be of interest due to ease of recovery and recycling, as well as readiness for continuous processing. In this work, calcined Mg-Al hydrotalcite (HT was used for the heterogeneous transesterification of waste cooking oil. Three reaction parameters, namely, reaction time, amount of catalyst, and methanol-to-oil molar ratio, were optimized by means of Response Surface Methodology (RSM at constant temperature (65 °C, using a Box-Behnken design. Optimal fatty acid methyl ester (FAME content (86.23% w/w FAME/sample was predicted by the model with an R-squared value of 98.45%, using 3.39 g of HT (8.5% w/w oil and an 8:1 methanol-oil molar ratio, for a duration of 3.12 h. It was observed that calcination of HT, while avoiding the previous washing step, allowed the presence of chemical species that enhanced the effect of the catalyst. It can be concluded from this field trial that calcined and nonwashed Mg-Al hydrotalcite may be considered an effective basic catalyst for the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil. Also, RSM proved to be a useful tool for predicting biodiesel yield.

  5. Process Parameters Optimization of Potential SO42-/ZnO Acid Catalyst for Heterogeneous Transesterification of Vegetable Oil to Biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Istadi Istadi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Among the possible renewable energy resources, diesel fuels derived from triglycerides of vegetable oils and animal fats have shown potential as substitutes for petroleum-based diesel fuels. The biodiesel could be produced from vegetable oils over homogeneous catalyst, heterogeneous catalyst, or enzymatic catalyst. In this study, the synthesized SO42-/ZnO catalyst was explored to be used in the heterogeneous biodiesel production by using the vegetable oils and methanol. The study began with the preparation of SO42-/ZnO catalyst followed by the transesterification reaction between vegetable oil with methanol. The independent variables (reaction time and the weight ratio of catalyst/oil were optimized to obtain the optimum biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester yield. The results of this study showed that the acid catalyst SO42-/ZnO was potential to be used as catalyst for biodiesel production through heterogeneous transesterification of vegetable oils. Optimum operating condition for this catalytic reaction was the weight ratio of catalyst/oil of 8:1 and reaction time of 2.6 h with respect to 75.5% yield of methyl ester products. The biodiesel product was also characterized to identify the respected fatty acid methyl ester components. Copyright © 2012 by BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved. (Selected Paper from International Conference on Chemical and Material Engineering (ICCME 2012Received: 23rd October 2012, Revised: 25th November 2012, Accepted: 25th November 2012[How to Cite: I. Istadi, Didi D. Anggoro, Luqman Buchori, Inshani Utami, Roikhatus Solikhah, (2012. Process Parameters Optimization of Potential SO42-/ZnO Acid Catalyst for Heterogeneous Transesterification of Vegetable Oil to Biodiesel. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7(2: 150-157. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.2.4064.150-157][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.2.4064.150-157 ] | View in 

  6. Catalyst-Free Biodiesel Production Methods: A Comparative Technical and Environmental Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oseweuba Valentine Okoro

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In response to existing global focus on improved biodiesel production methods via highly efficient catalyst-free high temperature and high pressure technologies, this study considered the comparative study of catalyst-free technologies for biodiesel production as an important research area. In this study, therefore, catalyst-free integrated subcritical lipid hydrolysis and supercritical esterification and catalyst-free one step supercritical transesterification processes for biodiesel production have been evaluated via undertaking straight forward comparative energetic and environmental assessments. Energetic comparisons were undertaken after heat integration was performed since energy reduction has favourable effects on the environmental performance of chemical processes. The study confirmed that both processes are capable of producing biodiesel of high purity with catalyst-free integrated subcritical lipid hydrolysis and supercritical esterification characterised by a greater energy cost than catalyst-free one step supercritical transesterification processes for an equivalent biodiesel productivity potential. It was demonstrated that a one-step supercritical transesterification for biodiesel production presents an energetically more favourable catalyst-free biodiesel production pathway compared to the integrated subcritical lipid hydrolysis and supercritical esterification biodiesel production process. The one-step supercritical transesterification for biodiesel production was also shown to present an improved environmental performance compared to the integrated subcritical lipid hydrolysis and supercritical esterification biodiesel production process. This is because of the higher potential environment impact calculated for the integrated subcritical lipid hydrolysis and supercritical esterification compared to the potential environment impact calculated for the supercritical transesterification process, when all material and energy flows are

  7. Production of biodiesel by enzymatic transesterification of waste sardine oil and evaluation of its engine performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arumugam, A; Ponnusami, V

    2017-12-01

    Waste sardine oil, a byproduct of fish industry, was employed as a low cost feedstock for biodiesel production. It has relatively high free fatty acid (FFA) content (32 mg KOH/g of oil). Lipase enzyme immobilized on activated carbon was used as the catalyst for the transesterification reaction. Process variables viz. reaction temperature, water content and oil to methanol molar ratio were optimized. Optimum methanol to oil molar ratio, water content and temperature were found to be 9:1, 10 v/v% and 30 °C respectively. Reusability of immobilized lipase was studied and it was found after 5 cycles of reuse there was about 13% drop in FAME yield. Engine performance of the produced biodiesel was studied in a Variable Compression Engine and the results confirm that waste sardine oil is a potential alternate and low-cost feedstock for biodiesel production.

  8. Kinetics and mechanism of methane oxidation in supercritical water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rofer, C.K.; Streit, G.E.

    1988-10-01

    This project, is a Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP) Research and Development task being carried out by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Its objective is to achieve an understanding of the technology for use in scaling up and applying oxidation in supercritical water as a viable process for treating a variety of Department of Energy Defense Programs (DOE-DP) waste streams. This report presents experimental results for the kinetics of the oxidation of methane and methanol in supercritical water and computer modeling results for the oxidation of carbonmonoxide and methane in supercritical water. The experimental and modeling results obtained to date on these one-carbon model compounds indicate that the mechanism of oxidation in supercritical water can be represented by free-radical reactions with appropriate modifications for high pressure and the high water concentration. If these current trends are sustained, a large body of existing literature data on the kinetics of elementary reactions can be utilized to predict the behavior of other compounds and their mixtures. 7 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

  9. Oxidation kinetics of model compounds of metabolic waste in supercritical water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webley, Paul A.; Holgate, Henry R.; Stevenson, David M.; Tester, Jefferson W.

    1990-01-01

    In this NASA-funded study, the oxidation kinetics of methanol and ammonia in supercritical water have been experimentally determined in an isothermal plug flow reactor. Theoretical studies have also been carried out to characterize key reaction pathways. Methanol oxidation rates were found to be proportional to the first power of methanol concentration and independent of oxygen concentration and were highly activated with an activation energy of approximately 98 kcal/mole over the temperature range 480 to 540 C at 246 bar. The oxidation of ammonia was found to be catalytic with an activation energy of 38 kcal/mole over temperatures ranging from 640 to 700 C. An elementary reaction model for methanol oxidation was applied after correction for the effect of high pressure on the rate constants. The conversion of methanol predicted by the model was in good agreement with experimental data.

  10. Fast Synthesis of High Quality Biodiesel from ‘Waste Fish Oil’ by Single Step Transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yogesh C. Sharma

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available A large volume of fish wastes is produced on a daily basis in the Indian sub-continent. This abundant waste source could serve as an economic feedstock for bioenergy generation. In the present study, oil extracted from discarded fish parts was used for high quality biodiesel production. More specifically, a single step transesterification of ‘waste fishoil’ with methanol using sodium methoxide (CH3ONa as homogeneous catalyst under moderate operational conditions resulted in highly pure biodiesel of > 98% of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME content. Characterization was performed by Fourier Transform-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FT-NMR.

  11. Effects of methanol on lipases: molecular, kinetic and process issues in the production of biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotti, Marina; Pleiss, Jürgen; Valero, Francisco; Ferrer, Pau

    2015-01-01

    The biotechnological production of biodiesel is based on transesterification/esterification reactions between a source of fatty acids and a short-chain alcohol, usually methanol, catalysed by enzymes belonging to the class known as lipases. Several lipases used in industrial processes, although stable in the presence of other organic solvents, are inactivated by methanol at or below the concentration optimal for biodiesel production, making it necessary to use stepwise methanol feeding or pre-treatment of the enzyme. In this review article we focus on what is currently know about methanol inactivation of lipases, a phenomenon which is not common to all lipase enzymes, with the goal of improving the biocatalytic process. We suggest that different mechanisms can lead to inactivation of different lipases, in particular substrate inhibition and protein unfolding. Attempts to improve the performances of methanol sensitive lipases by mutagenesis as well as process engineering approaches are also summarized. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Biodiesel synthesis by TiO2-ZnO mixed oxide nanocatalyst catalyzed palm oil transesterification process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madhuvilakku, Rajesh; Piraman, Shakkthivel

    2013-12-01

    Biodiesel is a promising alternating environmentally benign fuel to mineral diesel. For the development of easier transesterification process, stable and active heterogeneous mixed metal oxide of TiO2-ZnO and ZnO nanocatalysts were synthesized and exploited for the palm oil transesterification process. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, and FE-SEM studies for their structural and morphological characteristics. It was found that TiO2-ZnO nanocatalyst exhibits good catalytic activity and the catalytic performance was greatly depends on (i) catalyst concentration (ii) methanol to oil molar ratio (iii) reaction temperature and (iv) reaction time. A highest 98% of conversion was obtained at the optimum reaction parameters with 200 mg of catalyst loading and the biodiesel was analyzed by TLC and (1)H NMR techniques. The TiO2-ZnO nanocatalyst shows good catalytic performance over the ZnO catalyst, which could be a potential candidate for the large-scale biodiesel production from palm oil at the reduced temperature and time. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. In-situ Alkaline Transesterification of Jatropha Curcas Seed Oil for Production of Biodiesel and Nontoxic Jatropha Seed Cake

    OpenAIRE

    Nazir, Novizar; Mangunwidjaja, Djumali; Setyaningsih, Dwi; Yuliani, Sri; Yarmo, Mohd. Ambar; Salimon, Jumat; Ramli, Nazaruddin

    2014-01-01

    The production of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) by direct in situ alkaline-catalyzed transesterification of the triglycerides (TG) in Jatropha curcas seeds was examined. The experimental results showed that the amount of Jatropha curcas seed oil dissolved in methanol was approximately 83% of the total oil and the conversion of this oil could achieve 98% under the following conditions: less than 2% moisture content in Jatropha curcas seed flours, 0.3–0.335 mm particle size, 0.08 mol/L NaOH co...

  14. Transesterification of Jatropha and Karanja oils by using waste egg shell derived calcium based mixed metal oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joshi, Girdhar; Rawat, Devendra S.; Lamba, Bhawna Y.; Bisht, Kamal K.; Kumar, Pankaj; Kumar, Nayan; Kumar, Sanjay

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Waste chicken eggshell derived CaO(cesp) based mixed metal oxides were prepared. • Transesterification of high free fatty acid containing non-edible oils were achieved using prepared catalysts. • CaO(cesp) based mixed metal oxides have shown better activity in comparison to neat CaO(cesp). • Best Conversions were achieved with ZnO–CaO(cesp). • Catalyst has shown good reusability up to 4 cycles without significant loss in its activity. - Abstract: Solid base heterogeneous catalysts are one of the promising materials for the transesterification of vegetable oils because these catalysts are generally more reactive than solid acid catalysts which require very severe operating conditions. Calcium oxide has shown good catalytic activity due to its high basicity which is required for transesterification of triacylglycerides (TAGs). In the present study, the transesterification of non-edible, high free fatty acid containing Jatropha and Karanja oils was studied by using waste chicken egg shell derived calcium (i.e. CaO(cesp)) based mixed metal oxides (M-CaO; M = ZnO, MnO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 ) as heterogeneous catalyst. A comparison was also made on the catalytic performance of these prepared catalysts. The catalyst characterizations were done by XRD, SEM, TGA, FT-IR and BET techniques. The effectiveness of the catalysts was highly influenced by the calcination temperature. ZnO–CaO(cesp) catalyst was found to be the most efficient catalyst among all. The maximum conversion for the transesterification of Jatropha and Karanja oils were achieved using 5 wt% catalyst, 65 °C temperature and 12:1 methanol/oil ratio. The catalyst could be re-used effectively during four cycles. Use of the CaO(cesp) based mixed oxides made the process more environmental benign and economical. The biodiesel prepared has shown good fuel characteristics as per EN, ASTM and IS standards

  15. Production of biodiesel by enzymatic transesterification of waste sardine oil and evaluation of its engine performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Arumugam

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Waste sardine oil, a byproduct of fish industry, was employed as a low cost feedstock for biodiesel production. It has relatively high free fatty acid (FFA content (32 mg KOH/g of oil. Lipase enzyme immobilized on activated carbon was used as the catalyst for the transesterification reaction. Process variables viz. reaction temperature, water content and oil to methanol molar ratio were optimized. Optimum methanol to oil molar ratio, water content and temperature were found to be 9:1, 10 v/v% and 30 °C respectively. Reusability of immobilized lipase was studied and it was found after 5 cycles of reuse there was about 13% drop in FAME yield. Engine performance of the produced biodiesel was studied in a Variable Compression Engine and the results confirm that waste sardine oil is a potential alternate and low-cost feedstock for biodiesel production.

  16. Transesterification of Jatropha curcas crude oil to biodiesel on calcium lanthanum mixed oxide catalyst: Effect of stoichiometric composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taufiq-Yap, Yun Hin; Teo, Siow Hwa; Rashid, Umer; Islam, Aminul; Hussien, Mohd Zobir; Lee, Keat Teong

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Biodiesel synthesis from Jatropha curcas oil catalyzed by CaO–La 2 O 3 mixed oxide. • Effects of Ca-to-La ratio, catalyst concentration, methanol/oil ratio and reaction temperature were optimized. • Biodiesel yield >85% was achieved at 65 °C temperature. • CaO–La 2 O 3 catalyst can be easy regenerated. - Abstract: Heterogeneous solid mixed oxide (CaO–La 2 O 3 ) catalysts with different molar ratios of calcium to lanthanum (Ca-to-La) were synthesized by co-precipitation method. The synthesized solid CaO–La 2 O 3 mixed metal oxide catalysts were utilized in transesterification of Jatropha curcus oil as feedstock to produce biodiesel. Under the optimized conditions at 65 °C, 4% catalyst dose with 24:1 MeOH to Jatropha oil molar ratio, the transesterification reaction exhibited 86.51% of biodiesel yield. The prepared catalysts were characterized using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption with Brunauer–Emmer–Teller (BET) method, temperature-programmed desorption of CO 2 (CO 2 -TPD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Influence of Ca-to-La atomic ratio in the mixed metal oxide catalyst, catalyst amount, methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction time, different oils on the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield were appraised. Different catalyst regeneration procedures were also performed to investigate the reusability of the CaO–La 2 O 3 catalyst

  17. Efficient separation of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin from turmeric using supercritical fluid chromatography: From analytical to preparative scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Wei; Qiao, Xue; Liang, Wen-fei; Ji, Shuai; Yang, Lu; Wang, Yuan; Xu, Yong-wei; Yang, Ying; Guo, De-an; Ye, Min

    2015-10-01

    Curcumin is the major constituent of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). It has attracted widespread attention for its anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. The separation of curcumin and its two close analogs, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, has been challenging by conventional techniques. In this study, an environmentally friendly method based on supercritical fluid chromatography was established for the rapid and facile separation of the three curcuminoids directly from the methanol extract of turmeric. The method was first developed and optimized by ultra performance convergence chromatography, and was then scaled up to preparative supercritical fluid chromatography. Eluted with supercritical fluid CO2 containing 8-15% methanol (containing 10 mM oxalic acid) at a flow rate of 80 mL/min, curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin could be well separated on a Viridis BEH OBD column (Waters, 250 mm × 19 mm, 5 μm) within 6.5 min. As a result, 20.8 mg of curcumin (97.9% purity), 7.0 mg of demethoxycurcumin (91.1%), and 4.6 mg of bisdemethoxycurcumin (94.8%) were obtained after a single step of supercritical fluid chromatography separation with a mean recovery of 76.6%. Showing obvious advantages in low solvent consumption, large sample loading, and easy solvent removal, supercritical fluid chromatography was proved to be a superior technique for the efficient separation of natural products. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Catalytic activity of calcium-based mixed metal oxides nanocatalysts in transesterification reaction of palm oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Noraakinah; Ismail, Kamariah Noor; Hamid, Ku Halim Ku; Hadi, Abdul

    2017-12-01

    Nowadays, biodiesel has become the forefront development as an alternative diesel fuel derived from biological sources such as oils of plant and fats. Presently, the conventional transesterification of vegetable oil to biodiesel gives rise to some technological problem. In this sense, heterogeneous nanocatalysts of calcium-based mixed metal oxides were synthesized through sol-gel method. It was found that significant increase of biodiesel yield, 91.75 % was obtained catalyzed by CaO-NbO2 from palm oil compared to pure CaO of 53.99 % under transesterification conditions (methanol/oil ratio 10:1, reaction time 3 h, catalyst concentration 4 wt%, reaction temperature 60 °C, and mixing speed of 600 rpm). The phase structure and crystallinity as well as the texture properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and the textural properties were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption analysis. Sol-gel method has been known as versatile method in controlling the structural and chemical properties of the catalyst. Calcium-based mixed oxide synthesized from sol-gel method was found to exist as smaller crystallite size with high surface area.

  19. Production of Biodiesel from Thespesiapopulnea seed oil through rapid in situ transesterification - an optimization study and assay of fuel properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhargavi, G.; Nageswara Rao, P.; Renganathan, S.

    2018-03-01

    Biodiesel production was carried out from Thespesia populnea seed oil through rapid insitu transesterification. Influence of reaction parameters such as catalyst type and concentration, methanol to biomass ratio, co-solvent volume, temperature and agitation speed on conversion of oil into methyl esters was investigated. The effect of different co-solvents on conversion was evaluated. Optimum methyl ester conversion of 97.80% was achieved at 1.5wt% of KOH catalyst, 5.5:1 (v/w) methanol to biomass ratio, 25vol%tetrahydrofuranco-solvent, 60°C and 500 rpm within 120min of reaction time. Fuel properties of produced methyl esters were well fitted within the limits of ASTMD 6751 standards. Considering the properties of produced biodiesel, Thespesia populnea seed derived biodiesel can be used as potential alternate to fossil diesel fuel.

  20. The utilization of leftover as acid catalyst to catalyse the transesterification and esterification reactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, K. K.; Yau, Y. H.

    2017-08-01

    Biodiesel (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, FAME) is a green and renewable energy. It is carbon neutral and produces less air pollutants in combustion. In my project, the selected feedstock of biodiesel production is grease trap oil (GTO). It is extracted from restaurants, and needs pre-treatment. The triglycerides and free fatty acid (FFA) are the main components of GTO. Both triglycerides and free fatty acid can be converted to biodiesel (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) by transesterification and esterification, through reaction with alcohol (methanol) and catalyst. In the processes, acidic catalyst is chosen to speed up the reactions. The catalyst used In the study, a heterogeneous solid acid is applied. It is waste cooked rice (WCR) collected from leftover. The WCR powder is pyrolysed in 400°C furnace 15 hours and blown with nitrogen gas (incomplete carbonization). The WCR black powder is then mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid and heat in 160°C furnace 15 hours and continuous blown with nitrogen gas (sulphonation). This heterogeneous solid acid is used in the both transesterification and esterification to produce FAME. Moreover, in the optimal reaction conditions, this catalyst offers a stable catalytic effect. After 20 times usage in optimal reaction condition, the catalytic activity remains unchanged.

  1. Reusability and Stability Tests of Calcium Oxide Based Catalyst (K2O/CaO-ZnO for Transesterification of Soybean Oil to Biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Istadi Istadi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper was purposed for testing reusability and stability of calcium oxide-based catalyst (K2O/CaO-ZnO over transesterification reaction of soybean oil with methanol to produce biodiesel. The K2O/CaO-ZnO catalyst was synthesized by co-precipitation method of calcium and zinc nitrates followed by impregnation of potassium nitrate. The fresh and used catalysts were tested after regeneration. The catalysts were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, X-ray Diffraction (XRD, and BET Surface Area in order to compare the catalyst structure between the fresh and used catalysts. The catalyst testing in transesterification proses was carried out at following operating conditions, i.e. catalyst weight of 6 wt.%, oil to methanol mole ratio of 1:15, and temperature of 60 oC. In addition, metal oxide leaching of K2O/CaO-ZnO catalyst during reaction was also tested. From the results, the catalysts exhibited high catalytic activity (80% fatty acid methyl ester (FAME yield after three-cycles of usage and acceptable reusability after regeneration. The catalyst also showed acceptable stability of catalytic activity, even after three-cycles of usage. Copyright © 2016 BCREC GROUP. All rights reserved Received: 10th November 2015; Revised: 16th January 2016; Accepted: 16th January 2016 How to Cite: Istadi, I., Mabruro, U., Kalimantini, B.A.,  Buchori, L., Anggoro, D.D. (2016. Reusability and Stability Tests of Calcium Oxide Based Catalyst (K2O/CaO-ZnO for Transesterification of Soybean Oil to Biodiesel. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 11 (1: 34-39. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.11.1.413.34-39 Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.11.1.413.34-39

  2. Evaluation of Biodiesel Production, Engine Performance, and Emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gürü, Metin; Keskïn, Ali

    2016-08-01

    Nowadays, to decrease environmental pollution and dependence on fossil-based fuels, research on alternative renewable energy sources has been increasing. One such renewable energy source is biodiesel, which is used as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Biodiesel is renewable, nontoxic, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly. Biodiesel is domestically produced from vegetable oil (edible or nonedible), animal fat, and used cooking oils. In the biodiesel production process, oil or fat undergoes transesterification reaction through use of simple alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, etc. Use of methanol is most feasible because of its low cost, and physical and chemical advantages. Acid catalysis, alkali catalysis, and enzyme catalysis are usually used to improve the reaction rate and yield. Glycerol is a byproduct of the reaction and can be used as an industrial raw material. In this study, biodiesel production methods (direct use, pyrolysis, microemulsion, transesterification, supercritical processes, ultrasound- assisted, and microwave-assisted) and types of catalyst (homogeneous, heterogeneous, and enzyme) have been evaluated and compared. In addition, the effects of biodiesel and its blends on diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions are described and reviewed.

  3. Supercritical fluid extraction of uranium from tissue paper matrix using organic extractants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanekar, A.S.; Bhattacharyya, A.; Pathak, P.N.; Mohapatra, P.K.; Manchanda, V.K.

    2009-01-01

    Direct extraction of dried uranyl nitrate from tissue paper matrix was carried out using supercritical carbon dioxide modified with methanol solutions of extractants such as tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and di-n-hexyl octanamide (DHOA)). The effects of temperature, pressure, extractant and nitric acid concentration on the extraction of uranyl ion were investigated. (author)

  4. Transesterification double step process for biodiesel preparation and its chromatographic characterization: oils and fats in practical organic chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Diogo Müller de; Ongaratto, Diego Paulo; Fontoura, Luiz Antonio Mazzini; Naciuk, Fabrício Fredo; Santos, Vinícius Oliveira Batista dos; Kunz, Jéssica Danieli; Marques, Marcelo Volpatto; Souza, Alexander Ossanes de; Pereira, Claudio Martin Pereira de; Samios, Dimitrios

    2013-01-01

    Methanolic transesterification of oils and fats was carried out in a two steps procedure, under basic and acidic catalysis. Palm, soybean, canola, corn, rice, grape seed, sunflower, peanut, pequi and olive oils, besides tallow and lard were used as feedstock. Specific gravity, relative viscosity, thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography were used to characterize the biodiesel. Biodiesel was obtained in high yield and purity. Results were used to discuss the following key-concepts: 1 – triglycerides, composition and properties; 2 – nucleophilic acyl substitution under basic and acid conditions, 3 – thin layer chromatography, 4 – as chromatography and its quantitative methods. (author)

  5. Transesterification double step process for biodiesel preparation and its chromatographic characterization: oils and fats in practical organic chemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Diogo Mueller de; Ongaratto, Diego Paulo; Fontoura, Luiz Antonio Mazzini; Naciuk, Fabricio Fredo; Santos, Vinicius Oliveira Batista dos; Kunz, Jessica Danieli; Marques, Marcelo Volpatto, E-mail: lmazzini@uol.com.br [Departamento de Engenharia de Processos, Fundacao de Ciencia e Tecnologia, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Curso de Quimica, Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Canoas RS (Brazil); Souza, Alexander Ossanes de; Pereira, Claudio Martin Pereira de [Centro de Ciencias Quimicas, Farmaceuticas e de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, RS (Brazil); Samios, Dimitrios [Departamento de Fisico-Quimica, Instituto de Quimica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil)

    2013-09-01

    Methanolic transesterification of oils and fats was carried out in a two steps procedure, under basic and acidic catalysis. Palm, soybean, canola, corn, rice, grape seed, sunflower, peanut, pequi and olive oils, besides tallow and lard were used as feedstock. Specific gravity, relative viscosity, thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography were used to characterize the biodiesel. Biodiesel was obtained in high yield and purity. Results were used to discuss the following key-concepts: 1 - triglycerides, composition and properties; 2 - nucleophilic acyl substitution under basic and acid conditions, 3 - thin layer chromatography, 4 - as chromatography and its quantitative methods. (author)

  6. Transesterification of Nannochloropsis oculata microalga's oil to biodiesel using calcium methoxide catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teo, Siow Hwa; Islam, Aminul; Yusaf, Talal; Taufiq-Yap, Yun Hin

    2014-01-01

    Biodiesel is an environmental friendly liquid fuel similar to conventional diesel in combustion properties. It has received international attention in recent times, as that biodiesel is renewable, non-toxic and safe to store. In this study, high grade biodiesel was produced from microalgae (Nannochloropsis oculata) derived lipids via transesterification reaction with methanol in the presence of heterogeneous Ca(OCH 3 ) 2 (calcium methoxide) catalyst. The biodiesel was produced with high yield; (92%) at 60 °C compared to the highest yield reported as 22% with the use of a Mg–Zr catalyst. The product exhibited excellent performances. The catalyst was characterized by TG/DTA (thermogravimetric-differential thermal analyses), XRD (X-ray diffraction), BET (Brunauer – Emmett – Teller), FTIR (Fourier transform infrared), SEM-EDX (scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) analysis. The effect of different reaction parameters including reaction time, methanol/oil molar ratio and catalyst dosage on the yield of FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) was studied. Interestingly, the catalyst can be reused five times successively without affecting the biodiesel yield. Biodiesel produced from microalgae oil consists of high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, making it highly suitable as winter grade biodiesel. - Highlights: • Biodiesel synthesis from microalgae derived oil by Ca(OCH 3 ) 2 solid catalyst. • Studied effects of methanol/oil ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time. • Biodiesel yields >90% in 3 h using 12 wt.% catalyst, 30:1 methanol/oil at 60 °C. • Catalyst could be reused up to five times without significant lost of activity

  7. Activity and stability of polyaniline-sulfate-based solid acid catalysts for the transesterification of triglycerides and esterification of fatty acids with methanol

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zieba, A.; Drelinkiewicz, A.; Konyushenko, Elena; Stejskal, Jaroslav

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 383, 1/2 (2010), s. 169-181 ISSN 0926-860X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA400500905 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : biodiesel * transesterification * triacetin Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 3.383, year: 2010

  8. Capabilities and Limitations of an Association Theory for Chemicals in Liquid or Supercritical Solvents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsivintzelis, Ioannis; Kontogeorgis, Georgios

    2012-01-01

    . The capabilities of the model are illustrated in the first two case studies: the phase behavior of mixtures used in the oxidation of 2-octanol in supercritical CO2 and the investigation of systems containing acetone, methanol, water, chloroform, and methyl acetate. In each case, both correlations of vapor...

  9. Kinetic studies and thermodynamics of oil extraction and transesterification of Chlorella sp. for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, A L; Yasin, N H Mat; Derek, C J C; Lim, J K

    2014-01-01

    In this work, a mixture of chloroform and methanol (1:1, v/v) was applied to oil extraction from Chlorella sp. at 30, 40, 50 and 60 degrees C for 150 min extraction times. Kinetic studies revealed that the values of n and the rate constants were found to depend strongly on temperature. The activation energy was Ea = 38.893 kJ/mol, and the activation thermodynamic parameters at 60 degrees C were ΔS≠ = -180.190 J/mol , ΔH≠ = 36.124k J/mol and ΔG≠ = 96.128k J/mol. Both ΔH and ΔS yielded positive values, whereas ΔG was negative at 60 degrees C, indicating that this process is endothermic, irreversible and spontaneous. The acidic transesterification process was also investigated by gas chromatographic analysis of the microalgae fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) at different temperatures and reaction times. The fatty acid profile indicated that the main components were palmitic, linoleic and linolenic acids. The concentration of linolenic acid increased and oleic acid decreased as the temperature increased. Two-hour transesterification is the best reaction time for biodiesel production because it produces the highest percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (74%). These results indicate the potential of Chlorella sp. to produce biodiesel of good quality.

  10. Palm oil trans-esterification with methanol via hetereogeneous catalysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julian Andrés Parra Garrido

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Four different solid catalyst' catalytic activity was studied in refined palm oil methanolysis: barium hydroxide, calcium oxide, magenesium oxide and tin oxide (IV. The last two presented low catalytic activity; they were thus discarded. The catalysts were used in powder form suspended in the reaction medium. HPLC was used for testing catalyic activity by measuring the glycerlo produced at the end of the reaction. Experiments were conducted at different pressures: 75 kPa (the pressure in Bogotá, 760 kPa, 1.800 kPa, 5.900 kPa and 11.400 kPa., 125°C (760 kPa and 160°C (1.800 kPa. Three different percentages of catalyser were assayed at 75 kPa and two experiments were done at very high pressure (10.9 psi around methanol's critical point (5.900 and 11.400 kPa. Both barium hidroxide and calcium oxide presented high catalytic activity. 75% - 80% conversion was obtained with them in 8-10 hours at 63.3°C and 1.5 and 3 hours using calcium oxide and barium hydroxide (respectively at high temperatures and pressures.

  11. One-step synthesis of high-yield biodiesel from waste cooking oils by a novel and highly methanol-tolerant immobilized lipase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiumei; Qin, Xiaoli; Li, Daoming; Yang, Bo; Wang, Yonghua

    2017-07-01

    This study reported a novel immobilized MAS1 lipase from marine Streptomyces sp. strain W007 for synthesizing high-yield biodiesel from waste cooking oils (WCO) with one-step addition of methanol in a solvent-free system. Immobilized MAS1 lipase was selected for the transesterification reactions with one-step addition of methanol due to its much more higher biodiesel yield (89.50%) when compared with the other three commercial immobilized lipases (biodiesel yield (95.45%) was acquired with one-step addition of methanol under the optimized conditions. Moreover, it was observed that immobilized MAS1 lipase retained approximately 70% of its initial activity after being used for four batch cycles. Finally, the obtained biodiesel was further characterized using FT-IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy. These findings indicated that immobilized MAS1 lipase is a promising catalyst for biodiesel production from WCO with one-step addition of methanol under high methanol concentration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Application of green chemistry techniques to prepare electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimizu, Kenichi; Wang, Joanna S; Wai, Chien M

    2010-03-25

    A series of green techniques for synthesizing carbon nanotube-supported platinum nanoparticles and their high electrocatalytic activity toward methanol fuel cell applications are reported. The techniques utilize either the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide or water as a medium for depositing platinum nanoparticles on surfaces of multiwalled or single-walled carbon nanotubes. The catalytic properties of the carbon nanotubes-supported Pt nanoparticle catalysts prepared by four different techniques are compared for anodic oxidation of methanol and cathodic reduction of oxygen using cyclic voltammetry. One technique using galvanic exchange of Pt(2+) in water with zerovalent iron present on the surfaces of as-grown single-walled carbon nanotubes produces a Pt catalyst that shows an unusually high catalytic activity for reduction of oxygen but a negligible activity for oxidation of methanol. This fuel-selective catalyst may have a unique application as a cathode catalyst in methanol fuel cells to alleviate the problems caused by crossover of methanol through the polymer electrolyte membrane.

  13. Bio diesel Production via Transesterification of Palm Oil Using NaOH/ Al2O3 Catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taufiq Yap Yun Hin; Nurul Fitriyah Abdullah; Mahiran Basri; Taufiq Yap Yun Hin; Nurul Fitriyah Abdullah

    2011-01-01

    Due to the increase in price of petroleum and environmental concerns, the search for alternative fuels has gained importance. In this work, bio diesel production by transesterification of palm oil with methanol has been studied in a heterogeneous system using sodium hydroxide loaded on alumina (NaOH/ Al 2 O 3 ). NaOH/ Al 2 O 3 catalyst was prepared by impregnation of alumina with different amount of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide followed by calcination in air for 3 h. The prepared catalysts were then characterized by using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), Brunner-Emmett-Teller surface area measurement (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and temperature-programmed desorption of CO 2 (CO 2 -TPD). Moreover, the dependence of the conversion of palm oil on the reactions variables such as the molar ratio of methanol/oil, the amount of catalysts used, reaction temperatures and reaction times were performed. The conversion of 99 % was achieved under the optimum reaction conditions. The bio diesel obtained was characterized by FT-IR and the pour point was measured. (author)

  14. Imperata cylindrica sp as Novel Silica-Based Heterogeneous Catalysts for Transesterification of Palm Oil Mill Sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngaini, Zainab; Shahrom, Farra Diana; Jamil, Nurfarahen; Wahi, Rafeah; Ahmad, Zainal Abiddin

    2016-06-01

    Biodiesel from palm oil mill sludge (POMS) was prepared in the presence of novel silica-based heterogeneous catalysts derived from Imperata cylindrica sp. Imperatacid and Imperatabase are two types of heterogeneous catalysts derived from Imperata cylindrica sp and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and pore size measurement. Imperatacid has particle size of 43.1-83.9 µm while Imperatabase in the range of 89-193 µm. Imperatacid was conveniently applied in esterification step to afford > 90 wt% oil in 1:3 (oil/methanol) and 10 wt% catalyst, followed by transesterification with 1 wt% Imperatabase and 1:1 (oil/methanol) for 1 h at 65°C to afford 80% biodiesel with higher percentage of methyl palmitate (48.97%) and methyl oleate (34.14%) compare to conventional homogeneous catalyst. Reusability of the catalyst up to three times afforded biodiesel ranging from 78-80% w/w. The biodiesel was demonstrated onto alternative diesel engine (Megatech(®)-Mark III) and showed proportional increased of torque (ɽ) to biodiesel loading.

  15. Influence of the reaction conditions on the enzyme catalyzed transesterification of castor oil: A possible step in biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Thalles A; Errico, Massimiliano; Christensen, Knud V

    2017-11-01

    The identification of the influence of the reaction parameters is of paramount importance when defining a process design. In this work, non-edible castor oil was reacted with methanol to produce a possible component for biodiesel blends, using liquid enzymes as the catalyst. Temperature, alcohol-to-oil molar ratio, enzyme and added water contents were the reaction parameters evaluated in the transesterification reactions. The optimal conditions, giving the optimal final FAME yield and FFA content in the methyl ester-phase was identified. At 35°C, 6.0 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 5wt% of enzyme and 5wt% of water contents, 94% of FAME yield and 6.1% of FFA in the final composition were obtained. The investigation was completed with the analysis of the component profiles, showing that at least 8h are necessary to reach a satisfactory FAME yield together with a minor FFA content. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Antimicrobial Activities of Methanol, Ethanol and Supercritical CO2 Extracts of Philippine Piper betle L. on Clinical Isolates of Gram Positive and Gram Negative Bacteria with Transferable Multiple Drug Resistance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Demetrio L Valle

    Full Text Available Piper betle L. has traditionally been used in alternative medicine in different countries for various therapeutic purposes, including as an anti-infective agent. However, studies reported in the literature are mainly on its activities on drug susceptible bacterial strains. This study determined the antimicrobial activities of its ethanol, methanol, and supercritical CO2 extracts on clinical isolates of multiple drug resistant bacteria which have been identified by the Infectious Disease Society of America as among the currently more challenging strains in clinical management. Assay methods included the standard disc diffusion method and the broth microdilution method for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC of the extracts for the test microorganisms. This study revealed the bactericidal activities of all the P. betle leaf crude extracts on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE, extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, with minimum bactericidal concentrations that ranged from 19μg/ml to 1250 μg/ml. The extracts proved to be more potent against the Gram positive MRSA and VRE than for the Gram negative test bacteria. VRE isolates were more susceptible to all the extracts than the MRSA isolates. Generally, the ethanol extracts proved to be more potent than the methanol extracts and supercritical CO2 extracts as shown by their lower MICs for both the Gram positive and Gram negative MDRs. MTT cytotoxicity assay showed that the highest concentration (100 μg/ml of P. betle ethanol extract tested was not toxic to normal human dermal fibroblasts (HDFn. Data from the study firmly established P. betle as an alternative source of anti-infectives against multiple drug resistant

  17. Antimicrobial Activities of Methanol, Ethanol and Supercritical CO2 Extracts of Philippine Piper betle L. on Clinical Isolates of Gram Positive and Gram Negative Bacteria with Transferable Multiple Drug Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valle, Demetrio L; Cabrera, Esperanza C; Puzon, Juliana Janet M; Rivera, Windell L

    2016-01-01

    Piper betle L. has traditionally been used in alternative medicine in different countries for various therapeutic purposes, including as an anti-infective agent. However, studies reported in the literature are mainly on its activities on drug susceptible bacterial strains. This study determined the antimicrobial activities of its ethanol, methanol, and supercritical CO2 extracts on clinical isolates of multiple drug resistant bacteria which have been identified by the Infectious Disease Society of America as among the currently more challenging strains in clinical management. Assay methods included the standard disc diffusion method and the broth microdilution method for the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of the extracts for the test microorganisms. This study revealed the bactericidal activities of all the P. betle leaf crude extracts on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii, with minimum bactericidal concentrations that ranged from 19μg/ml to 1250 μg/ml. The extracts proved to be more potent against the Gram positive MRSA and VRE than for the Gram negative test bacteria. VRE isolates were more susceptible to all the extracts than the MRSA isolates. Generally, the ethanol extracts proved to be more potent than the methanol extracts and supercritical CO2 extracts as shown by their lower MICs for both the Gram positive and Gram negative MDRs. MTT cytotoxicity assay showed that the highest concentration (100 μg/ml) of P. betle ethanol extract tested was not toxic to normal human dermal fibroblasts (HDFn). Data from the study firmly established P. betle as an alternative source of anti-infectives against multiple drug resistant bacteria.

  18. Structural insights into methanol-stable variants of lipase T6 from Geobacillus stearothermophilus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dror, Adi; Kanteev, Margarita; Kagan, Irit; Gihaz, Shalev; Shahar, Anat; Fishman, Ayelet

    2015-11-01

    Enzymatic production of biodiesel by transesterification of triglycerides and alcohol, catalyzed by lipases, offers an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative to the chemically catalyzed process while using low-grade feedstocks. Methanol is utilized frequently as the alcohol in the reaction due to its reactivity and low cost. However, one of the major drawbacks of the enzymatic system is the presence of high methanol concentrations which leads to methanol-induced unfolding and inactivation of the biocatalyst. Therefore, a methanol-stable lipase is of great interest for the biodiesel industry. In this study, protein engineering was applied to substitute charged surface residues with hydrophobic ones to enhance the stability in methanol of a lipase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus T6. We identified a methanol-stable variant, R374W, and combined it with a variant found previously, H86Y/A269T. The triple mutant, H86Y/A269T/R374W, had a half-life value at 70 % methanol of 324 min which reflects an 87-fold enhanced stability compared to the wild type together with elevated thermostability in buffer and in 50 % methanol. This variant also exhibited an improved biodiesel yield from waste chicken oil compared to commercial Lipolase 100L® and Novozyme® CALB. Crystal structures of the wild type and the methanol-stable variants provided insights regarding structure-stability correlations. The most prominent features were the extensive formation of new hydrogen bonds between surface residues directly or mediated by structural water molecules and the stabilization of Zn and Ca binding sites. Mutation sites were also characterized by lower B-factor values calculated from the X-ray structures indicating improved rigidity.

  19. The Phase Behavior Effect on the Reaction Engineering of Transesterification Reactions and Reactor Design for Continuous Biodiesel Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csernica, Stephen N.

    The demand for renewable forms of energy has increased tremendously over the past two decades. Of all the different forms of renewable energy, biodiesel, a liquid fuel, has emerged as one of the more viable possibilities. This is in large part due to the fact that biodiesel can readily be used in modern day diesel engines with nearly no engine modifications. It is commonly blended with conventional petroleum-derived diesel but it can also be used neat. As a result of the continued growth of the industry, there has been a correspondingly large increase in the scientific and technical research conducted on the subject. Much of the research has been conducted on the feasibility of using different types of feedstocks, which generally vary with respect to geographic locale, as well as different types of catalysts. Much of the work of the present study was involved with the investigation of the binary liquid-liquid nature of the system and its effects on the reaction kinetics. Initially, the development of an analytical method for the analysis of the compounds present in transesterification reaction mixtures using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed. The use of UV(205 nm) as well as refractive index detection (RID) were shown capable to detect the various different types of components associated with transesterification reactions. Reversed-phase chromatography with isocratic elution was primarily used. Using a unique experimental apparatus enabling the simultaneous analysis of both liquid phases throughout the reaction, an experimental method was developed for measuring the reaction rate under both mass transfer control and reaction control. The transesterification reaction rate under each controlling mechanism was subsequently evaluated and compared. It was determined that the reaction rate is directly proportional to the concentration of triglycerides in the methanol phase. Furthermore, the reaction rate accelerates rapidly as the system

  20. Sustainable biodiesel production via transesterification of waste cooking oil by using CaO catalysts prepared from chicken manure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maneerung, Thawatchai; Kawi, Sibudjing; Dai, Yanjun; Wang, Chi-Hwa

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Calcined chicken manure was successfully used as catalyst for biodiesel production. • Ca compound in chicken manure was converted into active CaO by calcination. • Chicken manure-derived catalysts show high activity towards transesterification. • Biodiesel fuels can be produced by using waste cooking oils. - Abstract: The low cost and efficient CaO catalysts have been successfully prepared from chicken manure by a simple calcination, in this present work. Chicken manure contains significant content of calcium compounds that can easily be converted into the active calcium oxide catalyst after calcination at 850 °C under air. The Hammett indicator test showed that the obtained CaO catalyst has the basic strength in a range of 15 < H- < 18.4, revealing that the basicity of the obtained catalyst is mainly ascribed to the strong basic properties of metal–O groups. The obtained CaO catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity for biodiesel production from transesterification of waste cooking oil and methanol. Up to 90% FAME yield was obtained at optimum reaction condition (i.e. 7.5 wt% of catalyst, 15:1 of methanol:oil molar ratio and 65 °C). The experimental kinetic data fitted well with the pseudo-first order model and the activation energy was found to be 78.8 kJ mol"−"1. Moreover, fuel properties of the produced biodiesel were determined according to the European standard and found to be within the specifications. The uses of chicken manure as a catalyst source and waste cooking oil as a raw material for biodiesel production not only offers the environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to recycle those wastes, but also help to lower the biodiesel production cost to make biodiesel competitive with petroleum-based diesel.

  1. Technoeconomic study of supercritical biodiesel production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchetti, J.M.; Errazu, A.F.

    2008-01-01

    Over the last years, biodiesel has gained more market due to its benefits and because it appears as the natural substitute for diesel. However, the highest cost of this process is associated with the raw material employed, making it a less competitive and more expensive fuel. Therefore, research is being done in order to use low price raw material, such as acid oils, frying oils or soapstocks. In this work, a biodiesel production plant was developed using supercritical methanol and acid oils as raw materials. This technology was compared with some other alternatives previously described with the aim of making a comparative study, not only on the technical aspects but also on the economic results. A process simulator was employed to produce the conceptual design and simulate each technology. Using these models, it was possible to analyze different scenarios and to evaluate productivity, raw material consumption, economic competitiveness and environmental impacts of each process. Although the supercritical alternative appears as a good technical possibility to produce biodiesel, today, it is not an economic alternative due to its high operating costs

  2. Comparison of biodiesel production from sewage sludge obtained from the A²/O and MBR processes by in situ transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Juanjuan; Zhu, Fenfen; Wei, Xiang; Zhao, Luyao; Xiong, Yiqun; Wu, Xuemin; Yan, Fawei

    2016-03-01

    The potential of two types of sludge obtained from the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A(2)/O) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes as lipid feedstock for biodiesel production via in situ transesterification was investigated. Experiments were conducted to determine the optimum conditions for biodiesel yield using three-factor and four-level orthogonal and single-factor tests. Several factors, namely, methanol-to-sludge mass ratio, acid concentration, and temperature, were examined. The optimum yield of biodiesel (16.6% with a fatty acid methyl ester purity of 96.7%) from A(2)/O sludge was obtained at a methanol-to-sludge mass ratio of 10:1, a temperature of 60°C, and a H2SO4 concentration of 5% (v/v). Meanwhile, the optimum yield of biodiesel (4.2% with a fatty acid methyl ester purity of 92.7%) from MBR sludge was obtained at a methanol-to-sludge mass ratio of 8:1, a temperature of 50°C, and a H2SO4 concentration of 5% (v/v). In this research, A(2)/O technology with a primary sedimentation tank is more favorable for obtaining energy from wastewater than MBR technology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Phase equilibrium of binary system carbon dioxide - methanol at high pressure using artificial neural network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nasri, F.; Hatami, T.

    2012-01-01

    Interest in supercritical fluids extraction (SFE ) is increasing throughout many scientific and industrial fields. The common solvent for use in SFE is carbon dioxide. However, pure carbon dioxide frequently fails to efficiently extract the essential oil from a sample matrix, and modifier fluids such as methanol should be used to enhance extraction yield. A more efficient use of SFE requires quantitative prediction of phase equilibrium of this binary system, carbon dioxide - methanol. The purpose of the current research is modeling carbon dioxide - methanol system using artificial neural network (ANN). Results of ANN modeling has been compared with experimental data as well as thermodynamic equations of state. The comparison shows that the ANN modeling has a higher accuracy than thermodynamic models. (author)

  4. Transesterification of edible, non-edible and used cooking oils for biodiesel production using calcined layered double hydroxides as reusable base catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sankaranarayanan, Sivashunmugam; Antonyraj, Churchil A; Kannan, S

    2012-04-01

    Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were produced from edible, non-edible and used cooking oils with different fatty acid contents by transesterification with methanol using calcined layered double hydroxides (LDHs) as solid base catalysts. Among the catalysts, calcined CaAl2-LDH (hydrocalumite) showed the highest activity with >90% yield of FAME using low methanol:oil molar ratio (<6:1) at 65 °C in 5 h. The activity of the catalyst was attributed to its high basicity as supported by Hammett studies and CO(2)-TPD measurements. The catalyst was successfully reused in up to four cycles. Some of the properties such as density, viscosity, neutralization number and glycerol content of the obtained biodiesel matched well with the standard DIN values. It is concluded that a scalable heterogeneously catalyzed process for production of biodiesel in high yields from a wide variety of triglyceride oils including used oils is possible using optimized conditions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Lovastatin from the Wheat Bran Obtained after Solid-State Fermentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruchir C. Pansuriya

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present work is to extract lovastatin with minimum impurity by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2. A strain of Aspergillus terreus UV 1617 was used to produce lovastatin by solid-state fermentation (SSF on wheat bran as a solid substrate. Extraction of lovastatin and its hydroxy acid form was initially carried out using organic solvents. Among the different screened solvents, acetonitrile was found to be the most efficient. SC-CO2 was used for extraction of lovastatin from the dry fermented matter. The effect of supercritical extraction parameters such as the amount of an in situ pretreatment solvent, temperature, pressure, flow rate and contact time were investigated. The maximum recovery of lovastatin was obtained with 5 mL of methanol as an in situ pretreatment solvent for 1.5 g of solid matrix, flow rate of the supercritical solvent 2 L/min, temperature 50 °C, and contact time 155 min at a pressure 300 bar. The lovastatin extract obtained after optimizing the conditions of supercritical fluid extraction was found to have 5-fold more HPLC purity than the organic solvent extract.

  6. Catalytic upgrading of sugar fractions from pyrolysis oils in supercritical mono-alcohols over Cu doped porous metal oxide

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yin, Wang; Venderbosch, Hendrikus; Bottari, Giovanni; Krawzcyk, Krzysztof K.; Barta, Katalin; Heeres, Hero Jan

    In this work, we report on the catalytic valorization of sugar fractions, obtained by aqueous phase extraction of fast pyrolysis oils, in supercritical methanol (scMeOH) and ethanol (scEtOH) over a copper doped porous metal oxide (Cu-PMO). The product mixtures obtained are, in principle, suitable

  7. Transesterification of waste cooking oil: Process optimization and conversion rate evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abd Rabu, R.; Janajreh, I.; Honnery, D.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The highest purity of the produced biodiesel determined by gas chromatography was 95%. ► Produced biodiesel samples fell within the requirements of American standard for biodiesel. ► The reaction order is 1st order with a rate constant of 0.01 min -1 in the above point min -1 . - Abstract: Biodiesel is a mono-alkyl ester of vegetable oil, animal fat, and recycled cooking oil. It is gaining importance in the quest of finding sustainable fuel as it is compatible with petrodiesel and its synthesis process is becoming more commercially deployable. It is commonly prepared by the transesterification of triglycerides or the esterification of free fatty acid with methanol by stirring and accelerated by the presence of base or acidic catalyst. In this work biodiesel was produced by transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) following different process settings with the objective to achieve maximum yield and purity. Due to immiscibility and reaction reversibility, high purity WCO biodiesel of 95% was produced at 12:1 alcohol to oil molar ratio at 1% w/w NaOH catalyst and under continuous mixing of 2 h at 60 °C. Chemical kinetics was determined for the optimal process and found to follow 1st order reaction rate with a rate constant ranges from 0.0035 to 0.0106 min −1 . The activation energy was also evaluated by running the experiment at three different temperatures and found to be near 25,496 J/mol. The distillation curve and properties of the resulted fuel was also assessed and were compared plausibly to ASTM biodiesel standards. Furthermore, the emitted soot from a diffusion wick flame was measured via opacity meter and clearly show the advantage of the biodiesel with a nearly an order of magnitude lower.

  8. Continuous transesterification of biodiesel in a helicoidal reactor using recycled oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Avellaneda, Fredy; Salvado, Joan

    2011-01-01

    The main problem with biodiesel is the high cost of oils made from oleaginous crops. For this reason, various raw materials have been analysed with a view to reducing production costs and obtaining a product that can compete with the price of petrodiesel. Recycled oil is one of the most promising alternatives in the production of biodiesel because not only is the cheapest raw material but it also avoids the expense of treating the oil as a residue. Another way to reduce costs is to make the process more economical. Conventional technology uses sodium hydroxide as the basic catalyst and large-scale batch reactors, whose mechanical agitation requires high energy consumption due to residence times of at least 60 min and temperatures of 60 C. In this paper we use a recycled pretreated oil to compare conventional transesterification with continuous transesterification in a tubular reactor. In this reactor the reactants (oil, methanol and sodium hydroxide) flow through a helicoidal tube submerged in a heating bath at 60 C. The reactor has five outlets distributed non-uniformly to enable samples to be taken at different reaction times. This is to reduce the reaction time and avoid the need for mechanical agitation. With the aim of improving the quality of the biodiesel obtained, we varied the helicoidal system by incorporating a static micromixer and supplying energy in the form of ultrasound from the heating bath. This reactor produced biodiesel and glycerine at compositions roughly equal to those obtained in the batch process (89% FAME content at 75 min) but did so continuously (2.5 mL/min) and just 13 min after the reactants were integrated in a single line using a T device. Both the oil and the biodiesel were characterized and analysed in accordance with European standard UNE EN14214 for biodiesel. (author)

  9. Upgrading low-boiling-fraction fast pyrolysis bio-oil using supercritical alcohol: Understanding alcohol participation, chemical composition, and energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Heuntae; Prajitno, Hermawan; Zeb, Hassan; Kim, Jaehoon

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Non-catalytic and non-hydrogen based bio-oil upgrading was conducted using scMeOH. • 16–40 wt% alcohols were consumed during the upgrading. • High bio-oil yield of 78.4 wt% and low TAN of 4.0 mg KOH/g were achieved. • Effect of supercritical alcohols, reaction times, temperature and bio-oil concentration was conducted. • scMeOH upgrading has good energy recovery (ER) and energy efficiency (EE) compared with scEtOH and scIPA. - Abstract: Herein, a supercritical methanol (scMeOH) route for efficient upgrading of the low-boiling fraction of fast pyrolysis bio-oil containing a large amount of low-molecular-weight acids and water was investigated. The effects of various reaction parameters, including the temperature, concentration, and time, were explored. The yield of bio-oil and the energy efficiency of the scMeOH upgrading process were determined based on the amount of methanol that participated in the reaction during upgrading and fractionation of the upgraded heavy-fraction bio-oils (UHBOs) and upgraded light-fraction bio-oils (ULBOs). Upgrading at 400 °C with 9.1 wt% bio-oil for 30 min generated a high bio-oil yield of 78.4 wt% with a low total acid number (TAN) of 4.0 mg-KOH/g-oil and a higher heating value of 29.9 MJ kg −1 . The energy recovery (ER) was 94–131% and the energy efficiency (EE) was in the range of 79–109% depending on the calorific values of the ULBOs. Compared with upgrading in supercritical ethanol and supercritical isopropanol, less alcohol participation, a lower TAN, and higher ER and EE were achieved with scMeOH upgrading. Plausible pathways for bio-oil upgrading in supercritical alcohols based on detailed compositional analysis of the UHBO, ULBO, and gaseous products were discussed.

  10. Kinetics of palm kernel oil and ethanol transesterification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahiekpor, Julius C. [Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (CEESD), P.O. Box FN 793, Kumasi (Ghana); Kuwornoo, David K. [Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Private Mail Bag, Kumasi (Ghana)

    2010-07-01

    Biodiesel, an alternative diesel fuel made from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and animal fats, has been identified by government to play a key role in the socio-economic development of Ghana. The utilization of biodiesel is expected to be about 10% of the total liquid fuel mix of the country by the year 2020. Despite this great potential and the numerous sources from which biodiesel could be developed in Ghana, there are no available data on the kinetics and mechanisms of transesterification of local vegetable oils. The need for local production of biodiesel necessitates that the mechanism and kinetics of the process is well understood, since the properties of the biodiesel depends on the type of oil use for the transesterification process. The objective of this work is to evaluate the appropriate kinetics mechanism and to find out the reaction rate constants for palm kernel oil transesterification with ethanol when KOH was used as a catalyst. In this present work, 16 biodiesel samples were prepared at specified times based on reported optimal conditions and the samples analysed by gas chromatography. The experimental mass fractions were calibrated and fitted to mathematical models of different proposed mechanisms in previous works.The rate data fitted well to second-order kinetics without shunt mechanism. It was also observed that, although transesterification reaction of crude palm kernel oil is a reversible reaction, the reaction rate constants indicated that the forward reactions were the most prominent.

  11. Extraction of Genistein from Sophora flavescens with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Chang-Nam; Kang, Choon-Hyoung [Chonnam National University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-08-15

    This study was directed to finding an optimum extraction condition of genistein from the S. flavescens with supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent. In this effort, effects of the extraction conditions including pressure, temperature and a co-solvent on the extraction efficiency were investigated. The aqueous ethanol and methanol solutions were used as co-solvents while the tested operating pressure and temperature ranges were from 200 bar to 300 bar and from 308.15 K to 323.15 K, respectively. The concentration of genistein was determined by means of HPLC equipped with a UV detector. From the results, it was observed that an increase in pressure led to the higher extraction efficiency. Further, methanol showed better performance as a co-solvent than ethanol. The DPPH radical scavenging activities were measured to compare antioxidant activities of S. flavescens extracts.

  12. Optimization of experimental conditions for composite biodiesel production from transesterification of mixed oils of Jatropha and Pongamia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yogish, H.; Chandrashekara, K.; Pramod Kumar, M.R. [S.J. College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mysore (India)

    2012-11-15

    India is looking at the renewable alternative sources of energy to reduce its dependence on import of crude oil. As India imports 70 % of the crude oil, the country has been greatly affected by increasing cost and uncertainty. Biodiesel fuel derived by the two step acid transesterification of mixed non-edible oils from Jatropha curcas and Pongamia (karanja) can meet the requirements of diesel fuel in the coming years. In the present study, different proportions of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, variation of Reaction time, Sulfuric acid and Reaction Temperature were adopted in order to optimize the experimental conditions for maximum biodiesel yield. The preliminary studies revealed that biodiesel yield varied widely in the range of 75-95 % using the laboratory scale reactor. The average yield of 95 % was obtained. The fuel and chemical properties of biodiesel, namely kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, density, flash point, fire point, calorific value, pH, acid value, iodine value, sulfur content, water content, glycerin content and sulfated ash values were found to be within the limits suggested by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS 15607: 2005). The optimum combination of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, Sulfuric acid, Reaction Time and Reaction Temperature are established. (orig.)

  13. Optimization of experimental conditions for composite biodiesel production from transesterification of mixed oils of Jatropha and Pongamia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yogish, H.; Chandrashekara, K.; Pramod Kumar, M. R.

    2012-11-01

    India is looking at the renewable alternative sources of energy to reduce its dependence on import of crude oil. As India imports 70 % of the crude oil, the country has been greatly affected by increasing cost and uncertainty. Biodiesel fuel derived by the two step acid transesterification of mixed non-edible oils from Jatropha curcas and Pongamia (karanja) can meet the requirements of diesel fuel in the coming years. In the present study, different proportions of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, variation of Reaction time, Sulfuric acid and Reaction Temperature were adopted in order to optimize the experimental conditions for maximum biodiesel yield. The preliminary studies revealed that biodiesel yield varied widely in the range of 75-95 % using the laboratory scale reactor. The average yield of 95 % was obtained. The fuel and chemical properties of biodiesel, namely kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, density, flash point, fire point, calorific value, pH, acid value, iodine value, sulfur content, water content, glycerin content and sulfated ash values were found to be within the limits suggested by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS 15607: 2005). The optimum combination of Methanol, Sodium hydroxide, Sulfuric acid, Reaction Time and Reaction Temperature are established.

  14. Supercritical CO₂assisted extraction and LC-MS identification of picroside I and picroside II from Picrorhiza kurroa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Ajit A; Sachin, Bhusari S; Shinde, Devanand B; Wakte, Pravin S

    2013-02-01

    Picroside I and picroside II have been studied intensively because of their pharmacological actions and clinical applications. Numerous methods have been reported for extracting picroside I and picroside II from Picrorrhiza. kurroa rhizomes. This is the first report of picroside I and picroside II extraction using the supercritical carbon dioxide assisted extraction technique. To develop supercritical carbon dioxide assisted extraction and LC-MS identification of picroside I and picroside II from the Picrorrhiza kurroa Royle rhizomes. Surface response methodology based on 3³ fractional factorial design was used to extract picroside I and picroside II from P. kurroa rhizomes. The effects of various process factors, namely temperature (40-80°C), pressure (25-35 MPa) and co-solvent (methanol) concentration (0-10% v/v) on extraction yield of the two compounds were evaluated. The picroside I and picroside II contents were determined using validated LC-MS methodology. The maximum yield of picroside I (32.502 ± 1.131 mg/g) and picroside II (9.717 ± 0.382 mg/g) was obtained at the 10% v/v co-solvent concentration, 40°C temperature and 30 MPa pressure. The conventional Soxhlet assisted methanol extract of P. kurroa powder resulted in 36.743 ± 1.75 and 11.251 ± 0.54 mg/g yield of picroside I and picroside II, respectively. Variation of concentration and extraction time showed a significant effect on the picroside I and picroside II yield. Supercritical carbon dioxide assisted extraction using methanol as a co-solvent is an efficient and environmentally sustainable method for extracting picroside I and picroside II from P. kurroa rhizomes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Two step esterification-transesterification process of wet greasy sewage sludge for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urrutia, C; Sangaletti-Gerhard, N; Cea, M; Suazo, A; Aliberti, A; Navia, R

    2016-01-01

    Sewage sludge generated in municipal wastewater treatment plants was used as a feedstock for biodiesel production via esterification/transesterification in a two-step process. In the first esterification step, greasy and secondary sludge were tested using acid and enzymatic catalysts. The results indicate that both catalysts performed the esterification of free fatty acids (FFA) simultaneously with the transesterification of triacylglycerols (TAG). Acid catalyst demonstrated better performance in FFA esterification compared to TAG transesterification, while enzymatic catalyst showed the ability to first hydrolyze TAG in FFA, which were esterified to methyl esters. In addition, FAME concentration using greasy sludge were higher (63.9% and 58.7%), compared with those of secondary sludge (11% and 16%), using acid and enzymatic catalysts, respectively. Therefore, only greasy sludge was used in the second step of alkaline transesterification. The alkaline transesterification of the previously esterified greasy sludge reached a maximum FAME concentration of 65.4% when using acid catalyst. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Amphiphilic phase-transforming catalysts for transesterification of triglycerides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawaratna, Gayan Ivantha

    Heterogeneous catalytic reactions that involve immiscible liquid-phase reactants are challenging to conduct due to limitations associated with mass transport. Nevertheless, there are numerous reactions such as esterification, transesterification, etherification, and hydrolysis where two immiscible liquid reactants (such as polar and non-polar liquids) need to be brought into contact with a catalyst. With the intention of alleviating mass transport issues associated with such systems but affording the ability to separate the catalyst once the reaction is complete, the overall goal of this study is geared toward developing a catalyst that has emulsification properties as well as the ability to phase-transfer (from liquid-phase to solid-phase) while the reaction is ongoing and evaluating the effectiveness of such a catalytic process in a practical reaction. To elucidate this concept, the transesterification reaction was selected. Metal-alkoxides that possess acidic and basic properties (to catalyze the reaction), amphiphilic properties (to stabilize the alcohol/oil emulsion) and that can undergo condensation polymerization when heated (to separate as a solid subsequent to the completion of the reaction) were used to test the concept. Studies included elucidating the effect of metal sites and alkoxide sites and their concentration effects on transesterification reaction, effect of various metal alkoxide groups on the phase stability of the reactant system, and kinetic effects of the reaction system. The studies revealed that several transition-metal alkoxides, especially, titanium and yttrium based, responded positively to this reaction system. These alkoxides were able to be added to the reaction medium in liquid phase and were able to stabilize the alcohol/oil system. The alkoxides were selective to the transesterification reaction giving a range of ester yields (depending on the catalyst used). It was also observed that transition-metal alkoxides were able to be

  17. A flow-through column electrolytic cell for supercritical fluid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Kazuhiro; Ueki, Tatsuya; Higuchi, Naoyuki; Takahashi, Kouji; Kotani, Akira; Hakamata, Hideki

    2017-10-01

    A novel flow-through column electrolytic cell was proposed as a detector to obtain current signals for supercritical fluid chromatography. The electrochemical cell consisted of two electrodes and its holder, and a working and a counter electrode were fabricated from 192 carbon strings, which were composed of 400 carbon fibers of 10 μm in diameter filled into a heat-shrinkable tube. These electrodes were placed in the center of a holder made from polyether ether ketone blocks and they were separated by polytetrafluoroethylene membrane filters. To evaluate the sensitivity of this cell, a standard solution of ferrocene was injected into the supercritical fluid chromatography system connected to the electrolytic cell. The ferrocene was eluted through a silica gel column using a mixture of a mobile phase of supercritical CO 2 and a modifier of methanol containing ammonium acetate. The current peak area of ferrocene correlated to the ferrocene concentration in the range of 10-400 μmol/L (r = 0.999). Moreover, the limit of detection on the column estimated from a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was 9.8  × 10 -13  mol. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Effect of one step KOH activation and CaO modified carbon in transesterification reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yacob, Abd Rahim; Zaki, Muhammad Azam Muhammad

    2017-11-01

    In this work, one step activation was introduced using potassium hydroxide (KOH) and calcium oxide (CaO) modified palm kernel shells. Various concentration of calcium oxide was used as catalyst while maintaining the same concentration of potassium hydroxide to activate and impregnate the palm kernel shell before calcined at 500°C for 5 hours. All the prepared samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). FTIR analysis of raw palm kernel shell showed the presence of various functional groups. However, after activation, most of the functional groups were eliminated. The basic strength of the prepared samples were determined using back titration method. The samples were then used as base heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification reaction of rice bran oil with methanol. Analysis of the products were performed using Gas Chromatography Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) to calculate the percentage conversion of the biodiesel products. This study shows, as the percentage of one step activation potassium and calcium oxide doped carbon increases thus, the basic strength also increases followed by the increase in biodiesel production. Optimization study shows that the optimum biodiesel production was at 8 wt% catalyst loading, 9:1 methanol: oil molar ratio at 65°C and 6 hours which gives a conversion up to 95%.

  19. Optimization of microwave-assisted extraction and supercritical fluid extraction of carbamate pesticides in soil by experimental design methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Lei; Lee, Hian Kee

    2003-10-03

    Orthogonal array design (OAD) was applied for the first time to optimize microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) conditions for the analysis of four carbamates (propoxur, propham, methiocarb, chlorpropham) from soil. The theory and methodology of a new OA16 (4(4)) matrix derived from a OA16 (2(15)) matrix were developed during the MAE optimization. An analysis of variance technique was employed as the data analysis strategy in this study. Determinations of analytes were completed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection. Four carbamates were successfully extracted from soil with recoveries ranging from 85 to 105% with good reproducibility (approximately 4.9% RSD) under the optimum MAE conditions: 30 ml methanol, 80 degrees C extraction temperature, and 6-min microwave heating. An OA8 (2(7)) matrix was employed for the SFE optimization. The average recoveries and RSD of the analytes from spiked soil by SFE were 92 and 5.5%, respectively except for propham (66.3+/-7.9%), under the following conditions: heating for 30 min at 60 degrees C under supercritical CO2 at 300 kg/cm2 modified with 10% (v/v) methanol. The composition of the supercritical fluid was demonstrated to be a crucial factor in the extraction. The addition of a small volume (10%) of methanol to CO2 greatly enhanced the recoveries of carbamates. A comparison of MAE with SFE was also conducted. The results indicated that >85% average recoveries were obtained by both optimized extraction techniques, and slightly higher recoveries of three carbamates (propoxur, propham and methiocarb) were achieved using MAE. SFE showed slightly higher recovery for chlorpropham (93 vs. 87% for MAE). The effects of time-aged soil on the extraction of analytes were examined and the results obtained by both methods were also compared.

  20. Optimization of One-Step In Situ Transesterification Method for Accurate Quantification of EPA in Nannochloropsis gaditana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuting Tang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Microalgae are a valuable source of lipid feedstocks for biodiesel and valuable omega-3 fatty acids. Nannochloropsis gaditana has emerged as a promising producer of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA due to its fast growth rate and high EPA content. In the present study, the fatty acid profile of Nannochloropsis gaditana was found to be naturally high in EPA and devoid of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, thereby providing an opportunity to maximize the efficacy of EPA production. Using an optimized one-step in situ transesterification method (methanol:biomass = 90 mL/g; HCl 5% by vol.; 70 °C; 1.5 h, the maximum fatty acid methyl ester (FAME yield of Nannochloropsis gaditana cultivated under rich condition was quantified as 10.04% ± 0.08% by weight with EPA-yields as high as 4.02% ± 0.17% based on dry biomass. The total FAME and EPA yields were 1.58- and 1.23-fold higher separately than that obtained using conventional two-step method (solvent system: methanol and chloroform. This one-step in situ method provides a fast and simple method to measure fatty acid methyl ester (FAME yields and could serve as a promising method to generate eicosapentaenoic acid methyl ester from microalgae.

  1. Development and evaluation of a novel low power, high frequency piezoelectric-based ultrasonic reactor for intensifying the transesterification reaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mortaza Aghbashlo

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a novel low power, high frequency piezoelectric-based ultrasonic reactor was developed and evaluated for intensifying the transesterification process. The reactor was equipped with an automatic temperature control system, a heating element, a precise temperature sensor, and a piezoelectric-based ultrasonic module. The conversion efficiency and specific energy consumption of the reactor were examined under different operational conditions, i.e., reactor temperature (40‒60 °C, ultrasonication time (6‒10 min, and alcohol/oil molar ratio (4:1‒8:1. Transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO was performed in the presence of a base-catalyst (potassium hydroxide using methanol. According to the obtained results, alcohol/oil molar ratio of 6:1, ultrasonication time of 10 min, and reactor temperature of 60 °C were found as the best operational conditions. Under these conditions, the reactor converted WCO to biodiesel with a conversion efficiency of 97.12%, meeting the ASTM standard satisfactorily, while the lowest specific energy consumption of 378 kJ/kg was also recorded. It should be noted that the highest conversion efficiency of 99.3 %, achieved at reactor temperature of 60 °C, ultrasonication time of 10 min, and alcohol/oil molar ratio of 8:1, was not favorable as the associated specific energy consumption was higher at 395 kJ/kg. Overall, the low power, high frequency piezoelectric-based ultrasonic module could be regarded as an efficient and reliable technology for intensifying the transesterification process in terms of energy consumption, conversion efficiency, and processing time, in comparison with high power, low frequency ultrasonic system reported previously. Finally, this technology could also be considered for designing, developing, and retrofitting chemical reactors being employed for non-biofuel applications as well.

  2. Application of response surface methodology for the optimization of supercritical fluid extraction of essential oil from pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ara, Katayoun Mahdavi; Raofie, Farhad

    2016-07-01

    Essential oils and volatile components of pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) peel of the Malas variety from Meybod, Iran, were extracted using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and hydro-distillation methods. The experimental parameters of SFE that is pressure, temperature, extraction time, and modifier (methanol) volume were optimized using a central composite design after a (2 4-1 ) fractional factorial design. Detailed chemical composition of the essential oils and volatile components obtained by hydro-distillation and optimum condition of the supercritical CO 2 extraction were analyzed by GC-MS, and seventy-three and forty-six compounds were identified according to their retention indices and mass spectra, respectively. The optimum SFE conditions were 350 atm pressure, 55 °C temperature, 30 min extraction time, and 150 µL methanol. Results showed that oleic acid, palmitic acid and (-)-Borneol were major compounds in both extracts. The optimum extraction yield was 1.18 % (w/w) for SFE and 0.21 % (v/w) for hydro-distillation.

  3. Study of KOH/Al2O3 as heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production via in situ transesterification from microalgae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Guixia; Hu, Wenrong; Pei, Haiyan; Jiang, Liqun; Ji, Yan; Mu, Ruimin

    2015-01-01

    Heterogeneous KOH/Al2O3 catalysts, synthesized by the wet impregnation method with different KOH loadings (20-40 wt%) and calcination temperatures from 400°C to 800°C, were used to produce biodiesel from Chlorella vulgaris biomass by in situ transesterification. The highest yield of biodiesel of 89.53±1.58% was achieved at calcination temperature of 700°C for 2 h and 35 wt% loading of KOH, and at the optimal reaction condition of 10 wt% of catalyst content, 8 mL/g of methanol to biomass ratio and at 60°C for 5 h. The characteristics of the catalysts were analysed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller.

  4. Utilization of a cost effective Lapindo mud catalyst derived from eruption waste for transesterification of waste oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talib, N.B.; Triwahyono, S.; Jalil, A.A.; Mamat, C.R.; Salamun, N.; Fatah, N.A.A.; Sidik, S.M.; Teh, L.P.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Lapindo mud (LM) was used as catalyst in waste cooking oil (WCO) transesterification. • K_2O and CaO were identified as the active species for WCO transesterification. • FTIR and ESR analyses prove activated LM have higher basicity and surface defects. • Under the optimum conditions, WCO transesterification reached 96.6% FAME yield. • Conversion of palm oil mill effluent (POME) in optimum conditions gave 91.69% FAME. - Abstract: The most remarkable property of heterogeneous-catalyzed transesterification is its recyclability which surpass the issue by homogenous catalyst. Lapindo mud (LM), an eruption waste from Indonesia, was treated into an active catalyst for transesterification. LM is reasonably tolerant to FFA, as no visible soap layer was observed during transesterification of high acid value WCO (20.723 mgKOH/g) and POME (120.48 mgKOH/g) with FAME yield of 96.6% and 91.69%, respectively. The reaction conditions obtained for both reaction are mild and comparable to currently reported conditions except LM effectively accelerated the transesterification process of WCO. Reusability test showed that LM exhibited a stable performance with less than 10% declined in FAME after the seventh run with 95% catalyst recovery. Kinetic analysis showed that both WCO and POME transesterification fitted well with Langmuir–Hishelwood first order reaction. The activation energy for WCO and POME transesterification were 55.7 and 59.75 kJ/mol. This findings shows the possibility of LM as a catalyst in general heterogeneous reaction and particularly for transesterification to produce FAME.

  5. STUDY ON THE CONCENTRATION EFFECT OF Nb2O5-ZAA CATALYST TOWARDS TOTAL CONVERSION OF BIODIESEL IN TRANSESTERIFICATION OF WASTED COOKING OIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astuti Tri Padmaningsih

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Study on the concentration effect of Nb2O5-ZAA catalyst towards total conversion of biodiesel has been conducted. The natural zeolite (ZA was activated by dipping in NH4Cl solution and was calcined using N2 atmosphere at 500 °C for 5h to produce the ZAA sample. The Nb2O5-ZAA catalyst was made by mixing the activated natural zeolite (ZAA, Nb2O5 3 % (w/w and oxalic acid 10 % (w/w solution, until the paste was formed, followed by drying and calcining the catalyst for 3 h at 500 °C under N2 atmosphere. Catalyst characterizations were conducted by measuring acidity with NH3 gas using gravimetric method and porosimetric analysis using N2 gas adsorption based on the BET equation by surface area analyzer instrument. The Nb2O5-ZAA catalyst was then used as an acid catalyst in free fatty acid esterification reaction of wasted cooking oil in methanol medium with variation of catalyst concentration: 1.25%; 2.5%; 3.75% and 5% towards the weight of oil+methanol. The reaction was continued by transesterification of triglyceride in the used cooking oil using NaOH catalyst in methanol medium. For comparison, the esterification reaction using H2SO4 catalyst 1.25% towards the weight of oil+methanol has been conducted as well. Methyl ester (biodiesel product was analyzed using Gas Chromatography (GC and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS. The characters of biodiesel were analyzed using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM method. The results showed that modification of ZAA by impregning Nb2O5 3% (w/w increased the total catalyst acidity from 5.00 mmol/g to 5.65 mmol/g. The Nb2O5-ZAA catalyst has specific surface area of 60.61 m2/g, total pore volume of 37.62x10-3 cc/g and average pore radius of 12.41 Å. The Nb2O5-ZAA catalyst with concentration of 1.25%-5% produced higher total conversion of biodiesel than that of H2SO4 catalyst 1.25%. The Nb2O5-ZAA catalyst with concentration of 3.75% produced the highest total conversion of biodiesel, i

  6. Biodiesel production by direct transesterification of microalgal biomass with co-solvent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan; Li, Ya; Zhang, Xu; Tan, Tianwei

    2015-11-01

    In this study, a direct transesterification process using 75% ethanol and co-solvent was studied to reduce the energy consumption of lipid extraction process and improve the conversion yield of the microalgae biodiesel. The addition of a certain amount of co-solvent (n-hexane is most preferable) was required for the direct transesterification of microalgae biomass. With the optimal reaction condition of n-hexane to 75% ethanol volume ratio 1:2, mixed solvent dosage 6.0mL, reaction temperature 90°C, reaction time 2.0h and catalyst volume 0.6mL, the direct transesterification process of microalgal biomass resulted in a high conversion yield up to 90.02±0.55wt.%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Transesterification of linoleic and oleic sunflower oils to biodiesel using CaO as a solid base catalyst

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Predojević Zlatica

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this work is to characterize biodiesel (i.e. methyl esters, MEs produced from linoleic and oleic sunflower oils (LSO and OSO, respectively by alkali transesterification with methanol and CaO as a heterogeneous catalyst under different reaction parameters. The parameters investigated were the methanol/oil molar ratio (4.5:1, 6:1, 7.5:1, 9:1 and 12:1 and the mass ratio of CaO to oil (2% and 3%. The physical and chemical properties of the feedstocks and MEs, like density at 15oC, kinematic viscosity at 40oC, acid value, iodine value, saponification value, cetane index, fatty acid (methyl ester composition, were determined in order to investigate the effects of LSO and OSO properties and reaction parameters on the product characteristics, yields and purity. The properties of feedstock had decisive effect on the physical and chemical properties of MEs as majority of them did not differ significantly under studied reaction conditions. The MEs produced generally met the criteria required for commercial biodiesel; in fact, the only exception was in the case of iodine value of ME produced from LSO. The product yields only slightly changed with the applied conditions; the highest yield (99.22% was obtained for ME-LSO produced at 6 mol% methanol to oil ratio, while the lowest one (93.20% was for ME-OSO produced under the lowest methanol/oil molar ratio (4.5:1. The applied catalyst amounts had similar influence on the oil conversion to biodiesel. The yields of ME-LSOs were in general somewhat higher than those obtained for ME-OSOs under the same conditions, which was attributed to the influence of the respective feedstocks' acid value and viscosity.

  8. Challenges of selecting materials for the process of biomass gasification in supercritical water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boukis, N.; Habicht, W.; Hauer, E.; Dinjus, E. [Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany). Inst. fuer Technische Chemie

    2010-07-01

    A new process for the gasification of wet biomass is the reaction in supercritical water. The product is a combustible gas, rich in hydrogen with a high calorific value. The reaction is performed under high temperatures - up to 700 C - and pressures up to 30 MPa. The combination of these physical conditions and the corrosive environment is very demanding for the construction materials of the reactor. Only few alloys exhibit the required mechanical properties, especially the mechanical strength at temperatures higher than 600 C. Ni-Base alloys like alloy 625 can be applied up to a temperature of 700 C and are common materials for application under supercritical water conditions. During gasification experiments with corn silage and other biomasses, corrosion of the reactor material alloy 625 appears. The gasification of an aqueous methanol solution in supercritical water at temperatures up to 600 C and 25 - 30 MPa pressure results in an product gas rich in hydrogen, carbon dioxide and some methane. Alloy 625 shows very low corrosion rates in this environment. It is obvious that the heteroatoms and salts present in biomass cause corrosion of the reactor material. (orig.)

  9. Synthesis of [11C]-labelled methyl esters: transesterification of enol esters versus BF3 etherate catalysed esterification - a comparative study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ackermann, U.; Falzon, C.; Issa, W.; Tochon-Danguy, H.J.; Sachinidis, J.I.; Blanc, P.; White, J.; Scott, A.M.

    2005-01-01

    An important issue in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is the development of labelling techniques to incorporate positron emitting radionuclides into biologically active compounds. When labelling with 11C, the short 20 minutes half-life of the radionuclide significantly limits the number of synthetic protocols available to the radiochemist. C-l synthons such as [HCJ-methyl iodide (1) or methyl triflate (2) are readily available and are frequently used as alkylating agents for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals. However, the use of these alkylating agents often makes it necessary to introduce protecting groups in order to prevent labelling at unwanted sites on the molecule. Since the removal of protecting groups is a time-consuming process, a more direct synthesis strategy is desirable. This has prompted us to investigate the esterification of carboxylic acids using [1 lC]-mcthanol and BF3 etherate as Lewis acid catalyst. Our results have demonstrated that the reaction conditions necessary to promote the esterification can cleave functional groups such as ethers. We have therefore shifted our attention towards the irreversible transesterification of enol esters using [HCl-methanol and a tin catalyst as an alternative strategy to [HC]-methyl ester formation. We have prepared a series of 5 aromatic ethoxy vinyl esters bearing various functional groups. The transesterification (radiolabelling) was carried out in DMSO at 150 Degrees C for 7 minutes in the presence of [HQMeOH and 1.3-dichlo-rotetrabutyldistannoxane as catalyst. We have found that the transesterification of enol esters is a mild and efficient labelling method for the formation of [HCl-methyl esters. The reaction proceeds smoothly and leaves functional groups intact. It requires only one synthesis step compared to two steps for the conventional method, and gives a radiochemical yields of 25%

  10. A Review of Enzymatic Transesterification of Microalgal Oil-Based Biodiesel Using Supercritical Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taher, Hanifa; Al-Zuhair, Sulaiman; Al-Marzouqi, Ali H.; Haik, Yousef; Farid, Mohammed M.

    2011-01-01

    Biodiesel is considered a promising replacement to petroleum-derived diesel. Using oils extracted from agricultural crops competes with their use as food and cannot realistically satisfy the global demand of diesel-fuel requirements. On the other hand, microalgae, which have a much higher oil yield per hectare, compared to oil crops, appear to be a source that has the potential to completely replace fossil diesel. Microalgae oil extraction is a major step in the overall biodiesel production process. Recently, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) has been proposed to replace conventional solvent extraction techniques because it is nontoxic, nonhazardous, chemically stable, and inexpensive. It uses environmentally acceptable solvent, which can easily be separated from the products. In addition, the use of SC-CO2 as a reaction media has also been proposed to eliminate the inhibition limitations that encounter biodiesel production reaction using immobilized enzyme as a catalyst. Furthermore, using SC-CO2 allows easy separation of the product. In this paper, conventional biodiesel production with first generation feedstock, using chemical catalysts and solvent-extraction, is compared to new technologies with an emphasis on using microalgae, immobilized lipase, and SC-CO2 as an extraction solvent and reaction media. PMID:21915372

  11. Characterization and transesterification of Iranian bitter almond oil for biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atapour, Mehdi; Kariminia, Hamid-Reza

    2011-01-01

    In the present work the production of biodiesel using bitter almond oil (BAO) in a potassium hydroxide catalyzed transesterification reaction was investigated. The BAO was obtained from resources available in Iran and its physical and chemical properties including iodine value, acid value, density, kinematic viscosity, fatty acid composition and mean molecular weight were specified. The low acid value of BAO (0.24 mg KOH/g) indicated that the pretreatment of raw oil with acid was not required. The fatty acid content analysis confirmed that the contribution of unsaturated fatty acids in the BAO is high (84.7 wt.%). Effect of different parameters including methanol to oil molar ratio (3-11 mol/mol), potassium hydroxide concentration (0.1-1.7% w/w) and reaction temperature (30-70 o C) on the production of biodiesel were investigated. The results indicated that these parameters were important factors affecting the tranesterification reaction. The fuel properties of biodiesel including iodine value, acid value, density, kinematic viscosity, saponification value, cetane number, flash point, cloud point, pour point and distillation characteristics were measured. The properties were compared with those of petroleum diesel, EN 14214 and ASTM 6751 biodiesel standards and an acceptable agreement was observed.

  12. Optimization of transesterification reaction conditions for the production of biodiesel from oil blend of castor bean and soybean; Otimizacao das condicoes reacionais de transesterizacao para producao de biodiesel a partir de mistura de oleos de mamona e soja

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lobato, Ana Katerine de Carvalho Lima; Lima, Milena Gouveia Oliveira de; Pontes, Luiz Antonio M.; Teixeira, Leonardo S.G. [Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, BA (Brazil); Almeida, Daniel Freire; Costa, Tales Santana Martins; Menezes; Mateus Della Cella; Santos, Iran Talis Viana; Almeida, Selmo Q. [Universidade Salvador (UNIFACS), BA (Brazil)

    2012-07-01

    Biodiesel is an alternative fuel to diesel oil, and industrially obtained by the transesterification of triglycerides of fatty acids from vegetable oils and/or animal fats. Currently, the main raw material used to produce biodiesel in Brazil is soybean oil. The inclusion of other raw materials from different cultures in this sector is important and aims to reduce dependence on a single oilseed, assign specific characteristics to the product and encourage the development of family farming. The use of blends of soybean oil and castor for biodiesel may prove an important strategy to minimize the negative effects and maximize the positives of each oilseed. In this work, we carried out an experimental study using full factorial design 2{sup 4}, to increase the conversion of esters, by conventional transesterification, using as feedstock a blend of oils containing 20% castor and 80% soybean. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of mixing ratio of oil: methanol, KOH concentration, temperature and reaction time in biodiesel production. It was found that the variation of these parameters affected the conversion of esters and quality of biodiesel produced. Conversions above 95% were obtained, and the best conversion was 99.05% at 25 deg C in a reaction time of 20 minutes using 2% KOH as a catalyst and a molar ratio methanol/oil 12:1. In order to reduce the costs of the process with respect to amount of methanol used without affecting the conversion of esters, we identified a second set of process conditions, which used the same conditions of temperature, reaction time and catalyst concentration and a different molar ratio methanol/oil (6:1) which gave a conversion of esters of 98.59%. (author)

  13. Ultrasound assisted direct transesterification of algae for biodiesel production : Analysis of emission characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Namasivayam Manickam

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently, the algae-for-fuel concept has gained renewed interest with energy prices fluctuating widely. Due to some restrictions over the oil extraction from algae, direct transesterification may be considered as a good alternative. In this study, to improve the performance of direct transesterification, ultrasound induction was carried out. A sonicator probe was used to induce the direct transesterification of Cladophora fracta, a freshwater macro alga, which contains 14% lipid on dry biomass basis. Due to ultrasonication about 25% increased biodiesel yields were obtained and the biodiesel thus prepared was analyzed for emission characteristics. The analysis results showed that Cladophora biodiesel emits 18 mg/L of CO whereas petroleum diesel emits 50 mg/L. Similarly, the emission of NOx and particulate matter also were reduced to a considerable level. The Cladophora is a suitable source of biodiesel by ultrasound assisted direct transesterification in industrial level in the future.

  14. Synthesis of methyl esters from relevant palm products in near-critical methanol with modified-zirconia catalysts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laosiripojana, N; Kiatkittipong, W; Sutthisripok, W; Assabumrungrat, S

    2010-11-01

    The transesterification and esterification of palm products i.e. crude palm oil (CPO), refined palm oil (RPO) and palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) under near-critical methanol in the presence of synthesized SO(4)-ZrO(2), WO(3)-ZrO(2) and TiO(2)-ZrO(2) (with various sulfur- and tungsten loadings, Ti/Zr ratios, and calcination temperatures) were studied. Among them, the reaction of RPO with 20%WO(3)-ZrO(2) (calcined at 800 degrees C) enhanced the highest fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield with greatest stability after several reaction cycles; furthermore, it required shorter time, lower temperature and less amount of methanol compared to the reactions without catalyst. These benefits were related to the high acid-site density and tetragonal phase formation of synthesized WO(3)-ZrO(2). For further improvement, the addition of toluene as co-solvent considerably reduced the requirement of methanol to maximize FAME yield, while the addition of molecular sieve along with catalyst significantly increased FAME yield from PFAD and CPO due to the inhibition of hydrolysis reaction. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Synthesis of L-Ascorbyl Flurbiprofenate by Lipase-Catalyzed Esterification and Transesterification Reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jia-ying Xin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of L-ascorbyl flurbiprofenate was achieved by esterification and transesterification in nonaqueous organic medium with Novozym 435 lipase as biocatalyst. The conversion was greatly influenced by the kinds of organic solvents, speed of agitation, catalyst loading amount, reaction time, and molar ratio of acyl donor to L-ascorbic acid. A series of solvents were investigated, and tert-butanol was found to be the most suitable from the standpoint of the substrate solubility and the conversion for both the esterification and transesterification. When flurbiprofen was used as acyl donor, 61.0% of L-ascorbic acid was converted against 46.4% in the presence of flurbiprofen methyl ester. The optimal conversion of L-ascorbic acid was obtained when the initial molar ratio of acyl donor to ascorbic acid was 5 : 1. kinetics parameters were solved by Lineweaver-Burk equation under nonsubstrate inhibition condition. Since transesterification has lower conversion, from the standpoint of productivity and the amount of steps required, esterification is a better method compared to transesterification.

  16. Surfactant-assisted direct biodiesel production from wet Nannochloropsis occulata by in situ transesterification/reactive extraction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamoru A. Salam

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This article reports an in situ transesterification/reactive extraction of Nannochloropsis occulata for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME production using H2SO4, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS plus H2SO4 and zirconium dodecyl sulphate (ZDS. A maximum 67 % FAME yield was produced by ZDS. Effect of inclusion of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS in H2SO4 for FAME enhancement and water tolerance was also studied by hydrating the algae with 10 % - 30 % distilled water (w/w dry algae. Treatment with SDS in H2SO4 increases the FAME production rate and water tolerance of the process. Inclusion of SDS in H2SO4 produced a maximum 98.3 % FAME yield at 20 % moisture in the algae. The FAME concentration began to diminish only at 30 % moisture in the algae. Furthermore, the presence of a small amount of water in the biomass or methanol increased the lipid extraction efficiency, improving the FAME yield, rather than inhibiting the reaction.

  17. Transesterification of palm oil to biodiesel using Br(φ)nsted acidic ionic liquid as high-efficient and eco-friendly catalyst

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yaoyao Feng; Ting Qiu; Jinbei Yang; Ling Li; Xiaoda Wang; Hongxing Wang

    2017-01-01

    The transesterification of palm oil and methanol catalyzed by Br(φ)nsted acidic ionic liquids was investigated.Four eco-friendly Br(φ)nsted acidic ionic liquids were prepared and their structures were characterized by NMR,FT-IR and TG-DTG.The results demonstrated that [CyN1,1PrSO3H][p-TSA] was more efficient than the other ionic liquids and chosen as catalyst for further research.The influences of various reaction parameters on the conversion of palm oil to biodiesel were performed,and the orthogonal test was investigated to seek the optimum reaction conditions,which were illustrated as follows:methanol to oil mole ratio of 24∶1,catalyst dosage of 3.0 wt% of oil,reaction temperature of 120 ℃,reaction time of 150 min,and the biodiesel yield achieved 98.4%.In addition,kinetic study was established for the conversion process,with activation energy and preexponential factor of 122.93 kJ·mol-1 and 1.83 × 1015,respectively.Meanwhile,seven-time recycling runs of ionic liquid were completed with ignorable loss of its catalyst activity.The refined biodiesel met the biodiesel standard EN 14214.

  18. The Current Status of Biodiesel Production Technology: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rizal Alamsyah

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel is addressed to the name of fuel which consist of mono-alkyl ester that made from renewable and biodegradable resources, such as oils from plants (vegetable oils, waste or used cooking oil, and animal fats. Such oils or fats are chemically reacted with alcohols or methanol In producing chernical compounds called fatty acid methyl ester (FAME and these reactions are called transesterification and esterification. Glycerol, used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry is produced from biodiesel production as a by-product. Researches on biodiesel as an alternative petroleum diesel have been done for more than 20 years. Transesterification reaction can be acid-catalyzed, alkali-catatyzed, or enzyme-catalyzed. Commercially biodiesel is processed by transesterification with alkali catalyst. This process, however, requires refining of products and recovery of catalysts, Such biodiesel production accelerates researches on biodiesel to obtain simpler methods, better quality. and minimum production cost. Besides the catalytic production for biodiesel, there is a method for biodiesel production namely non-catalytic production. Non-catalytic transesterification method was developed since catalytic tranestertfification still has two main problems assoclated With long reaction time and complicated purification. The first problem occurres because of the two phase nature of vegetable oil/methanol mixture, and the last problem is due to purification of catalyst and glycerol. The application of catalytic tranestertfication method leads to condition of high biodiesel production cost and high energy consumption. This paper provides information of biodiesel production progress namely catalytic tranestertfification (acid, alkali, and enzymatic tranesterfification, and non-catalytic tranesterification (at sub-critical­-supercritical temperature under pressurized conditions. It was found that every method of biodiesel production still has advantages and

  19. Analysis of new psychoactive substances in human urine by ultra-high performance supercritical fluid and liquid chromatography: Validation and comparison.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borovcová, Lucie; Pauk, Volodymyr; Lemr, Karel

    2018-05-01

    New psychoactive substances represent serious social and health problem as tens of new compounds are detected in Europe annually. They often show structural proximity or even isomerism, which complicates their analysis. Two methods based on ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography and ultra high performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection were validated and compared. A simple dilute-filter-and-shoot protocol utilizing propan-2-ol or methanol for supercritical fluid or liquid chromatography, respectively, was proposed to detect and quantify 15 cathinones and phenethylamines in human urine. Both methods offered fast separation (chromatography. Limits of detection in urine ranged from 0.01 to 2.3 ng/mL, except for cathinone (5 ng/mL) in supercritical fluid chromatography. Nevertheless, this technique distinguished all analytes including four pairs of isomers, while liquid chromatography was unable to resolve fluoromethcathinone regioisomers. Concerning matrix effects and recoveries, supercritical fluid chromatography produced more uniform results for different compounds and at different concentration levels. This work demonstrates the performance and reliability of supercritical fluid chromatography and corroborates its applicability as an alternative tool for analysis of new psychoactive substances in biological matrixes. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Continuous production of fatty acid ethyl esters from soybean oil at supercritical conditions - doi: 10.4025/actascitechnol.v34i2.11255

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila da Silva

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available This work reports the production of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE from the transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical ethanol in a continuous catalyst-free process using different reactor configurations. Experiments were performed in a tubular reactor in one-step reaction and experimentally simulating two reactors, one operated in series and the other a recycle reactor. The reaction products were analyzed for their content of residual triglycerides, glycerol, monoglycerides, diglycerides, ethyl esters and decomposition. Results show that the configurations studied with intermediate separation of glycerol afford higher conversions of vegetable oil to their fatty acid ethyl esters derivatives when compared to the one-step reaction, with relatively low decomposition of fatty acids (< 5.0 wt%.

  1. Mechanistic analysis of cavitation assisted transesterification on biodiesel characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajjadi, Baharak; Abdul Aziz, A R; Ibrahim, Shaliza

    2015-01-01

    The influence of sonoluminescence transesterification on biodiesel physicochemical properties was investigated and the results were compared to those of traditional mechanical stirring. This study was conducted to identify the mechanistic features of ultrasonication by coupling statistical analysis of the experiments into the simulation of cavitation bubble. Different combinations of operational variables were employed for alkali-catalysis transesterification of palm oil. The experimental results showed that transesterification with ultrasound irradiation could change the biodiesel density by about 0.3kg/m(3); the viscosity by 0.12mm(2)/s; the pour point by about 1-2°C and the flash point by 5°C compared to the traditional method. Furthermore, 93.84% of yield with alcohol to oil molar ratio of 6:1 could be achieved through ultrasound assisted transesterification within only 20min. However, only 89.09% of reaction yield was obtained by traditional macro mixing/heating under the same condition. Based on the simulated oscillation velocity value, the cavitation phenomenon significantly contributed to generation of fine micro emulsion and was able to overcome mass transfer restriction. It was found that the sonoluminescence bubbles reached the temperature of 758-713K, pressure of 235.5-159.55bar, oscillation velocity of 3.5-6.5cm/s, and equilibrium radius of 17.9-13.7 times greater than its initial size under the ambient temperature of 50-64°C at the moment of collapse. This showed that the sonoluminescence bubbles were in the condition in which the decomposition phenomena were activated and the reaction rate was accelerated together with a change in the biodiesel properties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Transesterification of soybean oil catalyzed by Sr-doped cinder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nasreen, Sadia; Liu, Hui; Khan, Romana; Zhu, Xiao-chan; Skala, Dejan

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Sr-doped cinder catalyst was prepared and used for biodiesel synthesis. • A 99% of triglycerides conversion was achieved under optimal reaction conditions. • SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 and Sr 5 Al 8 O 1 are determined as dominant compounds which are responsible for high catalytic activity. • Catalyst exhibits high activity and can be easily recovered and regenerated. • The Sr-doped cinder catalyst is used in 14 repeated runs. - Abstract: The Strontium doped cinder was prepared using the wet impregnation method and analyzed as catalyst for biodiesel synthesis. Different procedure for cinder impregnation were investigated (temperature and duration of catalyst calcinations, the concentration of SrCl 2 solution) and optimal condition was established: impregnation 20 g of cinder 2–5 mm particles with 0.2 M SrCl 2 solution followed by calcinations at 1000 °C for 4 h. The Sr-cinder activity was tested at 90–200 °C using 1–5% mass of catalyst with different molar ratio of methanol to soybean oil (from 9 to 36). The maximum triglycerides (TG) conversion of 99.0% with the Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) yield of 97.1% was obtained by using 4% catalyst at 180 °C, for 1 h, and methanol/oil molar ratio 24:1. Influence of free fatty acid (FFA) and water in soybean oil on catalyst activity was analyzed, too. The catalyst could be used for 14 times with TG conversion and FAME yield above 90% and 80% respectively. The Sr-doped cinder catalysts before and after transesterification were characterized using BET surface area, basic strength, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ICP-AAS. Results showed that the formation of SrAl 2 Si 2 O 8 and Sr 5 Al 8 O 17 complexes should be the main reason for the catalytic activity of prepared catalyst. Slow decrease of catalyst activity during its repeated use is result of Sr–Al-glycerolate formation in reaction between Sr–Al complexes and glycerol

  3. Preparation of Biodiesel of Undi seed with In-situ Transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjaykumar DALVI

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The biodiesel fraction from oil content of Undi (Calophyllum innophyllum L. is found 60-70%. The extraction of oil is a primary step in any biodiesel production system. To escape this step in-situ transesterification method is used in which the Undi seed crush is directly converted into biodiesel with in-situ transesterification which is fatty acid methyl and ethyl ester composition. The single step reaction is eco-friendly as hexane like solvents not have been used for oil extraction. These components of biodiesel were analysed by GC-MS technique.

  4. Materials processing using supercritical fluids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlović Aleksandar M.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most interesting areas of supercritical fluids applications is the processing of novel materials. These new materials are designed to meet specific requirements and to make possible new applications in Pharmaceuticals design, heterogeneous catalysis, micro- and nano-particles with unique structures, special insulating materials, super capacitors and other special technical materials. Two distinct possibilities to apply supercritical fluids in processing of materials: synthesis of materials in supercritical fluid environment and/or further processing of already obtained materials with the help of supercritical fluids. By adjusting synthesis parameters the properties of supercritical fluids can be significantly altered which further results in the materials with different structures. Unique materials can be also obtained by conducting synthesis in quite specific environments like reversed micelles. This paper is mainly devoted to processing of previously synthesized materials which are further processed using supercritical fluids. Several new methods have been developed to produce micro- and nano-particles with the use of supercritical fluids. The following methods: rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS supercritical anti-solvent (SAS, materials synthesis under supercritical conditions and encapsulation and coating using supercritical fluids were recently developed.

  5. Solvation of o-hydroxybenzoic acid in pure and modified supercritical carbon dioxide, according to numerical modeling data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antipova, M. L.; Gurina, D. L.; Odintsova, E. G.; Petrenko, V. E.

    2015-08-01

    The dissolution of an elementary fragment of crystal structure (an o-hydroxybenzoic acid ( o-HBA) dimer) in both pure and modified supercritical (SC) carbon dioxide by adding methanol (molar fraction, 0.035) at T = 318 K, ρ = 0.7 g/cm3 is simulated. Features of the solvation mechanism in each solvent are revealed. The solvation of o-HBA in pure SC CO2 is shown to occur via electron donor-acceptor interactions. o-HBA forms a solvate complex in modified SC CO2 through hydrogen bonds between the carboxyl group and methanol. The hydroxyl group of o-HBA participates in the formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond, and not in interactions with the solvent. It is concluded that the o-HBA-methanol complex is a stable molecular structure, and its lifetime is one order of magnitude higher than those of other hydrogen bonds in fluids.

  6. Biodiesel production using waste frying oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charpe, Trupti W.; Rathod, Virendra K.

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Waste sunflower frying oil is successfully converted to biodiesel using lipase as catalyst. → Various process parameters that affects the conversion of transesterification reaction such as temperature, enzyme concentration, methanol: oil ratio and solvent are optimized. → Inhibitory effect of methanol on lipase is reduced by adding methanol in three stages. → Polar solvents like n-hexane and n-heptane increases the conversion of tranesterification reaction. - Abstract: Waste sunflower frying oil is used in biodiesel production by transesterification using an enzyme as a catalyst in a batch reactor. Various microbial lipases have been used in transesterification reaction to select an optimum lipase. The effects of various parameters such as temperature, methanol:oil ratio, enzyme concentration and solvent on the conversion of methyl ester have been studied. The Pseudomonas fluorescens enzyme yielded the highest conversion. Using the P. fluorescens enzyme, the optimum conditions included a temperature of 45 deg. C, an enzyme concentration of 5% and a methanol:oil molar ratio 3:1. To avoid an inhibitory effect, the addition of methanol was performed in three stages. The conversion obtained after 24 h of reaction increased from 55.8% to 63.84% because of the stage-wise addition of methanol. The addition of a non-polar solvent result in a higher conversion compared to polar solvents. Transesterification of waste sunflower frying oil under the optimum conditions and single-stage methanol addition was compared to the refined sunflower oil.

  7. Efficient solvothermal wet in situ transesterification of Nannochloropsis gaditana for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bora; Chang, Yong Keun; Lee, Jae W

    2017-05-01

    In situ transesterification of wet microalgae is a promising, simplified alternative biodiesel production process that replaces multiple operations of cell drying, extraction, and transesterification reaction. This study addresses enhanced biodiesel production from Nannochloropsis gaditana at elevated temperatures. Compared with the previously reported in situ transesterification process of conducting the reaction at a temperature ranging from 95 to 125 °C, the present work employs higher temperatures of at least 150 °C. This relatively harsh condition allows much less acid catalyst with or without co-solvent to be used during this single extraction-conversion process. Without any co-solvent, 0.58% (v/v) of H 2 SO 4 in the reaction medium can achieve 90 wt% of the total lipid conversion to biodiesel at 170 °C when the moisture content of wet algal paste is 80 wt%. Here, the effects of temperature, acid catalyst, and co-solvent on the FAEE yield and specification were scrutinized, and the reaction kinetic was investigated to understand the solvothermal in situ transesterification reaction at the high temperature. Having a biphasic system (water/chloroform) during the reaction also helped to meet biodiesel quality standard EN 14214, as Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ cations and phosphorus were detected only below 5 ppm. With highlights on the economic feasibility, wet in situ transesterification at the high temperature can contribute to sustainable production of biodiesel from microalgae by reducing the chemical input and relieve the burden of extensive post purification process, therefore a step towards green process.

  8. Sub/supercritical carbon dioxide induced phase switching for the reaction and separation in ILs/methanol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiayu Xin

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Separation of products from ionic liquid (IL solvents is one of the main challenges that hinder their utilizations. In this study, the production of γ-valerolactone (GVL by selective hydrogenation of α-angelica lactone (AL and separation of the products from the IL solvent were carried out by using subcritical CO2 as a “switch” at room temperature. After the mixture was separated into two phases by subcritical CO2, AL and nano Pd/C catalyst were only found in the lower IL-rich phase, GVL was produced with quantitative yield and enriched in the upper methanol-rich phase. Pure GVL can be obtained by depressurizing to release CO2 and evaporation to remove methanol of the upper phase, the lower phase containing IL, catalyst and methanol can be recycled for the next reaction. The strategy may provide a new approach to produce and separate products from IL solvents at mild conditions. Keywords: Separation, Ionic liquids, Selective hydrogenation, Mild condition, Subcritical CO2

  9. Formation of salbutamol sulphate microparticles using solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical carbon dioxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdolhossein Rouholamini Najafabadi

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Salbutamol sulphate (SS was precipitated by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2 using a homemade system at two different pressures. This process is characterized by spraying a methanolic solution of the drug into the supercritical fluid (SCF, extraction of the solvent by SC-CO2 and formation of drug particles. The morphology and size distribution of precipitated SS particles were characterized using scanning electron microscope and laser diffraction particle size analyzer respectively. FTIR spectra were used before and after processing to asses crystal modifications. Depending on the processing conditions, needle-like and flake-like particles with different size distributions were observed. The average size of the flake like particles was less than needle-like particles and the span parameter showed a narrower size distribution of the processed in comparison with the unprocessed materials. Analysis by FTIR showed that there was no significant effect on the structure of the drug under these processing conditions.

  10. Synthesis of Octyl Dihydrocaffeate and Its Transesterification with Tricaprylin Catalyzed by Candida antarctica Lipase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feddern, Vivian; Yang, Zhiyong; Xu, Xuebing

    2011-01-01

    This work aimed at producing a phenolic ester from dihydrocaffeic acid (DHCA), besides carrying out transesterification reactions of this ester with tricaprylin. The esterification reaction was performed in two ratios (1:1 and 1:3 DHCA:octanol), and the transesterification was done in four ratios...

  11. Low cost guinea fowl bone derived recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for microwave assisted transesterification of Annona squamosa L. seed oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Veena; Sharma, Yogesh Chandra

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Discarded guinea fowl bone used to derive catalyst for biodiesel production. • High conversion of 95.82 ± 0.2% achieved in 20 min by microwave assisted transesterification of Annona Squamosa L. seed oil. • Catalyst was stable and can be reused up to five times by activation with >80% conversion. • Complete process is cheap, eco-friendly and fulfils ASTM standard limits. - Abstract: Guinea fowl bone derived heterogeneous catalyst was utilized for biodiesel production for the first time on microwave heating system from Annona squamosa (custard apple seed) oil. Synthesized catalyst was characterized by TGA, XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDS, BET surface area and basicity. Optimization for various reaction conditions on FAME conversion was explored. Maximum conversion of 95.82 ± 0.2% FAME was attained at 1:18 M ratio of oil: methanol, 4 wt% of catalyst at 800 W microwave power and 65 °C reaction temperatures for 20 min. Custard apple seed oil was studied by GCMS, whereas synthesized FAME was analysed by "1H FTNMR spectroscopy. Catalyst was reused up to five times with maximum conversion of >80%. Physicochemical properties of synthesized FAME were studied as per ASTM standards. Results displayed that catalyst derived from guinea fowl bone showed better reusability and has enormous potential to be used for biodiesel production under microwave irradiated transesterification of Annona squamosa L. (custard apple seed) oil within a short reaction time.

  12. Activity and basic properties of KOH/mordenite for transesterification of palm oil

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Pisitpong; Intarapong; Sotsanan; Iangthanarat; Pitchaya; Phanthong; Apanee; Luengnaruemitchai; Samai; Jai-In

    2013-01-01

    The catalytic performance of KOH/mordenite has been studied for transesterification of palm oil using a batch reactor and a packed-bed reactor at 60 C and atmospheric pressure.The KOH/mordenite processed transesterification in the batch reactor gave the highest methyl ester yield of96.7%under optimum conditions,while a methyl ester content over 94.5%was obtained in the packed-bed reactor.This comparison indicates that transesterification in a batch-type reactor gives a higher methyl ester yield than that of a continuous-flow reactor.Dealumination was found in the calcined catalysts and had a significant effect on the physical structure and chemical composition of the catalysts.Leaching of the potassium species was negligible,whereas depositing and washing of the reacted mixture with acetone on the catalyst surface were observed by FTIR.

  13. Comparison of supercritical fluid and Soxhlet extractions for the quantification of hydrocarbons from Euphorbia macroclada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozcan, Adnan; Ozcan, Asiye Safa

    2004-10-08

    This study compares conventional Soxhlet extraction and analytical scale supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) for their yields in extracting of hydrocarbons from arid-land plant Euphorbia macroclada. The plant material was firstly sequentially extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide, modified with 10% methanol (v/v) in the optimum conditions that is a pressure of 400atm and a temperature of 50 degrees C and then it was sonicated in methylene chloride for an additional 4h. E. macroclada was secondly extracted by using a Soxhlet apparatus at 30 degrees C for 8h in methylene chloride. The validated SFE was then compared to the extraction yield of E. macroclada with a Soxhlet extraction by using the Student's t-test at the 95% confidence level. All of extracts were fractionated with silica-gel in a glass column to get better hydrocarbon yields. Thus, the highest hydrocarbons yield from E. macroclada was achieved with SFE (5.8%) when it compared with Soxhlet extractions (1.1%). Gas chromatography (GC) analysis was performed to determine the quantitative hydrocarbons from plant material. The greatest quantitative hydrocarbon recovery from GC was obtained by supercritical carbon dioxide extract (0.6mgg(-1)).

  14. Non-catalytic production of fatty acid ethyl esters from soybean oil with supercritical ethanol in a two-step process using a microtube reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Camila da; Lima, Ana Paula de; Castilhos, Fernanda de; Cardozo Filho, Lucio; Oliveira, J. Vladimir

    2011-01-01

    This work reports the production of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from the transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical ethanol in a continuous catalyst-free process using different reactor configurations. Experiments were performed in a microtube reactor with experimental simulation of two reactors operated in series and a reactor with recycle, both configurations at a constant temperature of 573 K, pressure of 20 MPa and oil to ethanol mass ratio of 1:1. Results show that the configurations studied with intermediate separation of glycerol afford higher conversions of vegetable oil to its fatty acid ethyl ester derivatives when compared to the one-step reaction, with relatively low decomposition of fatty acids (<3.0 wt%).

  15. Synthesis pf dimethyl carbonate in supercritical carbon dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ballivet-Tkatchenko, D.; Plasseraud, L. [Universite de Bourgogne-UFR Sciences et Techniques, Dijon (France). Lab. de Synthese et Electrosynthese Organometalliques]. E-mail: ballivet@u-bourgogne.fr; Ligabue, R.A. [Pontificia Univ. Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Dept. de Quimica Pura

    2006-01-15

    The reactivity of carbon dioxide with methanol to form dimethyl carbonate was studied in the presence of the n-butylmethoxytin compounds n-Bu{sub 3}SnOCH{sub 3}, n-Bu{sub 2}Sn(OCH{sub 3}){sub 2}, and [n-Bu{sub 2}(CH{sub 3}O)Sn]{sub 2}O. The reaction occurred under solventless conditions at 423 K and was produced by an increase in CO{sub 2} pressure. This beneficial effect is primarily attributed to phase behavior. The mass transfer under liquid-vapor biphasic conditions was not limiting when the system reached the supercritical state for a CO{sub 2} pressure higher than 16 MPa. Under these conditions, CO{sub 2} acted as a reactant and a solvent. (author)

  16. Simultaneous analysis for water- and fat-soluble vitamins by a novel single chromatography technique unifying supercritical fluid chromatography and liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taguchi, Kaori; Fukusaki, Eiichiro; Bamba, Takeshi

    2014-10-03

    Chromatography techniques usually use a single state in the mobile phase, such as liquid, gas, or supercritical fluid. Chromatographers manage one of these techniques for their purpose but are sometimes required to use multiple methods, or even worse, multiple techniques when the target compounds have a wide range of chemical properties. To overcome this challenge, we developed a single method covering a diverse compound range by means of a "unified" chromatography which completely bridges supercritical fluid chromatography and liquid chromatography. In our method, the phase state was continuously changed in the following order; supercritical, subcritical and liquid. Moreover, the gradient of the mobile phase starting at almost 100% CO2 was replaced with 100% methanol at the end completely. As a result, this approach achieved further extension of the polarity range of the mobile phase in a single run, and successfully enabled the simultaneous analysis of fat- and water-soluble vitamins with a wide logP range of -2.11 to 10.12. Furthermore, the 17 vitamins were exceptionally separated in 4min. Our results indicated that the use of dense CO2 and the replacement of CO2 by methanol are practical approaches in unified chromatography covering diverse compounds. Additionally, this is a first report to apply the novel approach to unified chromatography, and can open another door for diverse compound analysis in a single chromatographic technique with single injection, single column and single system. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Biodiesel production from transesterification of palm oil with methanol over CaO supported on bimodal meso-macroporous silica catalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witoon, Thongthai; Bumrungsalee, Sittisut; Vathavanichkul, Peerawut; Palitsakun, Supaphorn; Saisriyoot, Maythee; Faungnawakij, Kajornsak

    2014-03-01

    Calcium oxide-loaded porous materials have shown promise as catalysts in transesterification. However, the slow diffusion of bulky triglycerides through the pores limited the activity of calcium oxide (CaO). In this work, bimodal meso-macroporous silica was used as a support to enhance the accessibility of the CaO dispersed inside the pores. Unimodal porous silica having the identical mesopore diameter was employed for the purpose of comparison. Effects of CaO content and catalyst pellet size on the yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were investigated. The basic strength was found to increase with increasing the CaO content. The CaO-loaded bimodal porous silica catalyst with the pellet size of 325μm achieved a high %FAME of 94.15 in the first cycle, and retained an excellent %FAME of 88.87 after five consecutive cycles. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Biodiesel production by transesterification using immobilized lipase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narwal, Sunil Kumar; Gupta, Reena

    2013-04-01

    Biodiesel can be produced by transesterification of vegetable or waste oil catalysed by lipases. Biodiesel is an alternative energy source to conventional fuel. It combines environmental friendliness with biodegradability, low toxicity and renewability. Biodiesel transesterification reactions can be broadly classified into two categories: chemical and enzymatic. The production of biodiesel using the enzymatic route eliminates the reactions catalysed under acid or alkali conditions by yielding product of very high purity. The modification of lipases can improve their stability, activity and tolerance to alcohol. The cost of lipases and the relatively slower reaction rate remain the major obstacles for enzymatic production of biodiesel. However, this problem can be solved by immobilizing the enzyme on a suitable matrix or support, which increases the chances of re-usability. The main factors affecting biodiesel production are composition of fatty acids, catalyst, solvents, molar ratio of alcohol and oil, temperature, water content, type of alcohol and reactor configuration. Optimization of these parameters is necessary to reduce the cost of biodiesel production.

  19. State of the art and prospective of lipase-catalyzed transesterification reaction for biodiesel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amini, Zeynab; Ilham, Zul; Ong, Hwai Chyuan; Mazaheri, Hoora; Chen, Wei-Hsin

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Enzymatic transesterification process is less energy intensive and robust. • Nano-materials are promising immobilization supports for lipase. • Packed-bed reactors are appropriate for scale-up use. • Potential recombinant, whole cell and recombinant whole cell lipases were enlisted. • Genetic engineering is a promising prospect in biodiesel area. - Abstract: The world demand for fuel as energy sources have arisen the need for generating alternatives such as biofuel. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel used particularly in diesel engines. Currently, biodiesel is mainly produced through transesterification reactions catalyzed by chemical catalysts, which produces higher fatty acid alkyl esters in shorter reaction time. Although extensive investigations on enzymatic transesterification by downstream processing were carried out, enzymatic transesterification has yet to be used in scale-up since commercial lipases are chiefly limited to the cost as well as long reaction time. While numerous lipases were studied and proven to have the high catalytic capacity, still enzymatic reaction requires more investigation. To fill this gap, finding optimal conditions for the reaction such as alcohol and oil choice, water content, reaction time and temperature through proper reaction modelling and simulations as well as the appropriate design and use of reactors for large scale production are crucial issues that need to be accurately addressed. Furthermore, lipase concentration, alternative lipase resources through whole cell technology and genetic engineering, recent immobilizing materials including nanoparticles, and the capacity of enzyme to be reused are important criteria to be neatly investigated. The present work reviews the current biodiesel feedstock, catalysis, general and novel immobilizing materials, bioreactors for enzymatic transesterification, potential lipase resources, intensification technics, and process modelling for enzymatic

  20. Production of biodiesel from non-edible Jatropha curcas oil via transesterification using Bi2O3–La2O3 catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabiah Nizah, M.F.; Taufiq-Yap, Y.H.; Rashid, Umer; Teo, Siow Hwa; Shajaratun Nur, Z.A.; Islam, Aminul

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Effects of methanol/oil molar ratio, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and reaction time were optimized. • High FAME conversion of 93% was achieved. • Bi 2 O 3 –La 2 O 3 catalysts were characterized using XRD, BET, TPD-CO 2 and TPD-NH 3 . • Effects of acidity and basicity of the catalyst have been correlated with the FAME conversion. • Bi 2 O 3 –La 2 O 3 catalyst can easy to recover and maintain 87% conversion after three times of successive reuse. - Abstract: The simultaneous esterification and transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) was carried out in the presence of Bi 2 O 3 (1–7 wt.%) modified La 2 O 3 catalyst at atmospheric pressure. The catalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, desorption of CO 2 (TPD-CO 2 ) and NH 3 (TPD-NH 3 ). Under the optimal reaction condition of methanol/oil molar ratio of 15:1, 2 wt.% of catalyst amount and a reaction temperature of 150 °C for 4 h, the highest conversion of biodiesel obtained was 93%. This catalyst maintained 87% of FAME conversion after three times of successive reuse

  1. Measurements of physical properties during transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel for prediction of reaction progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moradi, G.R.; Dehghani, S.; Ghanei, R.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Reaction progress in transesterification of soybean oil predicted using physical properties. ► Transesterification performed at 70 °C with Me/oil ratio 12:1 and 5 wt.% of BaO as catalyst. ► Viscosity and refractive index decreases nonlinearly during the progress of transesterification. ► Pour point increases linearly and cloud point increases nonlinearly during progress of reaction. ► Refractive index and pour point recommended for prediction transesterification progress. - Abstract: Biodiesel is a pure, non-toxic, biodegradable, clean-burning fuel and renewable alternative for fossil diesel fuel. In this work, a new method was introduced to determine reaction progress in transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel by the use of physical property variation during reaction. Quantitative analysis stage for determination fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) which is expensive and time-consuming can be replaced by this method. To develop the method, in the first stage, transesterification of soybean oil at optimum conditions (70 °C with MeOH to oil molar ratio of 12:1 and 5 wt.% of BaO as catalyst) was carried out to determine how conversion and physical properties change with time. Then appropriate functions were fitted on the extracted data and were evaluated by comparison with GC results. Refractive index was selected as good physical property to predict reaction progress.

  2. Biodiesel production through in situ transesterification of sunflower seeds by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis; Producao de biodiesel atraves de transesterificacao in situ de sementes de girassol via catalise homogenea e heterogenea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fama, Paola Ervatti; San Gil, Rosane Aguiar da Silva; Lachter, Elizabeth Roditi, E-mail: lachter@iq.ufrj.b [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IQ/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica

    2010-07-01

    The objective of this work is to show the results of the in situ transesterification of sunflower seed oil with methanol on basic homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis for the production of biodiesel. In homogeneous catalysis, the activity of K{sub O}H and K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} were evaluated using the same oil:methanol ratio of 1:90. KOH showed to be more active than K2CO{sub 3}, leading to total conversion in biodiesel after 1h reaction time. In the heterogeneous catalysis the activity of K{sub 2}CO{sub 3}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was comparable to the activity of K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} bulk: 53.0 and 66.6% resp. The properties of samples of biodiesel produced by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis were evaluated and are in accordance with the recommended fuel properties. (author)

  3. Metaloxide--ZrO2 catalysts for the esterification and transesterification of free fatty acids and triglycerides to obtain bio-diesel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Manhoe; Salley, Steven O.; Ng, K. Y. Simon

    2016-09-06

    Mixed metal oxide catalysts (ZnO, CeO, La2O3, NiO, Al203, SiO2, TiO2, Nd2O3, Yb2O3, or any combination of these) supported on zirconia (ZrO2) or hydrous zirconia are provided. These mixed metal oxide catalysts can be prepared via coprecipitation, impregnation, or sol-gel methods from metal salt precursors with/without a Zirconium salt precursor. Metal oxides/ZrO2 catalyzes both esterification and transesterification of oil containing free fatty acids in one batch or in single stage. In particular, these mixed metal oxides supported or added on zirconium oxide exhibit good activity and selectivity for esterification and transesterification. The low acid strength of this catalyst can avoid undesirable side reaction such as alcohol dehydration or cracking of fatty acids. Metal oxides/ZrO2 catalysts are not sensitive to any water generated from esterification. Thus, esterification does not require a water free condition or the presence of excess methanol to occur when using the mixed metal oxide catalyst. The FAME yield obtained with metal oxides/ZrO2 is higher than that obtained with homogeneous sulfuric acid catalyst. Metal oxides/ZrO2 catalasts can be prepared as strong pellets and in various shapes for use directly in a flow reactor. Furthermore, the pellet has a strong resistance toward dissolution to aqueous or oil phases.

  4. Ionic liquids as transesterification catalysts: applications for the synthesis of linear and cyclic organic carbonates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio Selva

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The use of ionic liquids (ILs as organocatalysts is reviewed for transesterification reactions, specifically for the conversion of nontoxic compounds such as dialkyl carbonates to both linear mono-transesterification products or alkylene carbonates. An introductory survey compares pros and cons of classic catalysts based on both acidic and basic systems, to ionic liquids. Then, innovative green syntheses of task-specific ILs and their representative applications are introduced to detail the efficiency and highly selective outcome of ILs-catalyzed transesterification reactions. A mechanistic hypothesis is discussed by the concept of cooperative catalysis based on the dual (electrophilic/nucleophilic activation of reactants.

  5. Glymes as benign co-solvents for CaO-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Shaokun; Zhao, Hua; Song, Zhiyan; Olubajo, Olarongbe

    2013-07-01

    The base (such as CaO)-catalyzed heterogeneous preparation of biodiesel encounters a number of obstacles including the need for CaO pretreatment and the reactions being incomplete (typically 90-95% yields). In this study, a number of glymes were investigated as benign solvents for the CaO-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil into biodiesel with a high substrate loading (typically soybean oil >50% v/v). The triglyceride-dissolving capability of glymes led to a much faster reaction rate (>98% conversions in 4h) than in methanol alone (typically 24h) and minimized the saponification reaction when catalyzed by anhydrous CaO or commercial lime without pre-activation. The use of glyme (e.g. P2) as co-solvent also activates commercial lime to become an effective catalyst without calcination pretreatment. The SEM images suggest a dissolution-agglomeration process of CaO surface in the presence of P2, which could remove the CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2 layer coated on the surface of lime. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparative Effects of Biomass Pre-Treatments for Direct and Indirect Transesterification to Enhance Microalgal Lipid Recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghasemi Naghdi, Forough; Thomas-Hall, Skye R.; Durairatnam, Reuben; Pratt, Steven; Schenk, Peer M.

    2014-01-01

    Microalgal lipid recovery for biodiesel production is currently considered suboptimal, but pre-treatment of algal biomass, the use of solvent mixtures and the positioning of transesterification can lead to increased yields. Here, the effect of various reportedly successful pre-treatments and solvent mixtures were directly compared to each other and combined with direct and indirect transesterification methods using the oleaginous microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. Microwave and thermal pre-treatments were applied and the total lipid and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) recoveries were investigated. The application of pre-treatments increased FAME recovery through indirect transesterification when a Soxhlet system was used but they had no significant effect for direct transesterification. Gravimetric analyses of total lipids revealed that lipid recovery was highest when utilizing the chloroform-based Bligh and Dyer extraction method; however, FAME yield was the highest when applying a Soxhlet system utilizing a solvent mixture of hexane–ethanol (3:1). Total lipid recovery did not necessarily correlate with the recovery of FAMEs. The highest FAME recovery was achieved from thermal or microwave pre-treated biomass followed by indirect transesterification through Soxhlet extraction. FAME recovery could be more than doubled (increase of up to 171%) under these conditions. We conclude that a simple thermal pre-treatment (80°C for 10 min) in combination with solvent mixture extraction through indirect transesterification may present a cost-effective and scalable option for large-scale lipid extraction from microalgae.

  7. Comparative effects of biomass pre-treatments for direct and indirect transesterification to enhance microalgal lipid recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Forough eGhasemi Naghdi

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Microalgal lipid recovery for biodiesel production is currently considered suboptimal, but pre-treatment of algal biomass, the use of solvent mixtures and the positioning of transesterification can lead to increased yields. Here, the effect of various reportedly successful pre-treatments and solvent mixtures were directly compared to each other and combined with direct and indirect transesterification methods using the oleaginous microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. Microwave and thermal pre-treatments were applied and the total lipid and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME recoveries were investigated. The application of pre-treatments increased FAME recovery through indirect transesterification when a Soxhlet system was used but they had no significant effect for direct transesterification. Gravimetric analyses of total lipids revealed that lipid recovery was highest when utilizing the chloroform-based Bligh and Dyer extraction method; however FAME yield was the highest when applying a Soxhlet system utilizing a solvent mixture of hexane-ethanol (3:1. Total lipid recovery did not necessarily correlate with the recovery of FAMEs. The highest FAME recovery was achieved from thermal or microwave pre-treated biomass followed by indirect transesterification through Soxhlet extraction. FAME recovery could be more than doubled (increase of up to 171% under these conditions. We conclude that a simple thermal pre-treatment (80°C for 10 min in combination with solvent mixture extraction through indirect transesterification may present a cost-effective and scalable option for large-scale lipid extraction from microalgae.

  8. Comparative Effects of Biomass Pre-Treatments for Direct and Indirect Transesterification to Enhance Microalgal Lipid Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghasemi Naghdi, Forough; Thomas-Hall, Skye R.; Durairatnam, Reuben [Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia); Pratt, Steven [School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia); Schenk, Peer M., E-mail: p.schenk@uq.edu.au [Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD (Australia)

    2014-12-04

    Microalgal lipid recovery for biodiesel production is currently considered suboptimal, but pre-treatment of algal biomass, the use of solvent mixtures and the positioning of transesterification can lead to increased yields. Here, the effect of various reportedly successful pre-treatments and solvent mixtures were directly compared to each other and combined with direct and indirect transesterification methods using the oleaginous microalga Tetraselmis sp. M8. Microwave and thermal pre-treatments were applied and the total lipid and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) recoveries were investigated. The application of pre-treatments increased FAME recovery through indirect transesterification when a Soxhlet system was used but they had no significant effect for direct transesterification. Gravimetric analyses of total lipids revealed that lipid recovery was highest when utilizing the chloroform-based Bligh and Dyer extraction method; however, FAME yield was the highest when applying a Soxhlet system utilizing a solvent mixture of hexane–ethanol (3:1). Total lipid recovery did not necessarily correlate with the recovery of FAMEs. The highest FAME recovery was achieved from thermal or microwave pre-treated biomass followed by indirect transesterification through Soxhlet extraction. FAME recovery could be more than doubled (increase of up to 171%) under these conditions. We conclude that a simple thermal pre-treatment (80°C for 10 min) in combination with solvent mixture extraction through indirect transesterification may present a cost-effective and scalable option for large-scale lipid extraction from microalgae.

  9. KF-loaded mesoporous Mg-Fe bi-metal oxides: high performance transesterification catalysts for biodiesel production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Guiju; Hua, Zile; Gao, Zhe; Zhu, Yan; Zhu, Yan; Chen, Yu; Shu, Zhu; Zhang, Lingxia; Shi, Jianlin

    2013-09-21

    Using newly developed mesoporous Mg-Fe bi-metal oxides as supports, a novel kind of high performance transesterification catalysts for biodiesel production has been synthesized. More importantly, the impregnation solvent was for the first time found to substantially affect the structures and catalytic performances of the resultant transesterification catalysts.

  10. Solid catalyzed isoparaffin alkylation at supercritical fluid and near-supercritical fluid conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginosar, Daniel M.; Fox, Robert V.; Kong, Peter C.

    2000-01-01

    This invention relates to an improved method for the alkylation reaction of isoparaffins with olefins over solid catalysts including contacting a mixture of an isoparaffin, an olefin and a phase-modifying material with a solid acid catalyst member under alkylation conversion conditions at either supercritical fluid, or near-supercritical fluid conditions, at a temperature and a pressure relative to the critical temperature(T.sub.c) and the critical pressure(P.sub.c) of the reaction mixture. The phase-modifying phase-modifying material is employed to promote the reaction's achievement of either a supercritical fluid state or a near-supercritical state while simultaneously allowing for decreased reaction temperature and longer catalyst life.

  11. Evaluation of an amide-based stationary phase for supercritical fluid chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges-Muñoz, Amaris C.; Colón, Luis A.

    2017-01-01

    A relatively new stationary phase containing a polar group embedded in a hydrophobic backbone (i.e., ACE® C18-amide) was evaluated for use in supercritical fluid chromatography. The amide-based column was compared with columns packed with bare silica, C18 silica, and a terminal-amide silica phase. The system was held at supercritical pressure and temperature with a mobile phase composition of CO2 and methanol as cosolvent. The linear solvation energy relationship model was used to evaluate the behavior of these stationary phases, relating the retention factor of selected probes to specific chromatographic interactions. A five-component test mixture, consisting of a group of drug-like molecules was separated isocratically. The results show that the C18-amide stationary phase provided a combination of interactions contributing to the retention of the probe compounds. The hydrophobic interactions are favorable; however, the electron donating ability of the embedded amide group shows a large positive interaction. Under the chromatographic conditions used, the C18-amide column was able to provide baseline resolution of all the drug-like probe compounds in a text mixture, while the other columns tested did not. PMID:27396487

  12. Biodiesel production with special emphasis on lipase-catalyzed transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisen, Prakash S; Sanodiya, Bhagwan S; Thakur, Gulab S; Baghel, Rakesh K; Prasad, G B K S

    2010-08-01

    The production of biodiesel by transesterification employing acid or base catalyst has been industrially accepted for its high conversion and reaction rates. Downstream processing costs and environmental problems associated with biodiesel production and byproducts recovery have led to the search for alternative production methods. Recently, enzymatic transesterification involving lipases has attracted attention for biodiesel production as it produces high purity product and enables easy separation from the byproduct, glycerol. The use of immobilized lipases and immobilized whole cells may lower the overall cost, while presenting less downstream processing problems, to biodiesel production. The present review gives an overview on biodiesel production technology and analyzes the factors/methods of enzymatic approach reported in the literature and also suggests suitable method on the basis of evidence for industrial production of biodiesel.

  13. Highly efficient extraction and lipase-catalyzed transesterification of triglycerides from Chlorella sp. KR-1 for production of biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ok Kyung; Kim, Young Hyun; Na, Jeong-Geol; Oh, You-Kwan; Lee, Eun Yeol

    2013-11-01

    We developed a method for the highly efficient lipid extraction and lipase-catalyzed transesterification of triglyceride from Chlorella sp. KR-1 using dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Almost all of the total lipids, approximately 38.9% (w/w) of microalgae dry weight, were extracted from the dried microalgae biomass using a DMC and methanol mixture (7:3 (v/v)). The extracted triglycerides were transesterified into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) using Novozyme 435 as the biocatalyst in DMC. Herein, DMC was used as the reaction medium and acyl acceptor. The reaction conditions were optimized and the FAMEs yield was 293.82 mg FAMEs/g biomass in 6 h of reaction time at 60 °C in the presence of 0.2% (v/v) water. Novozyme 435 was reused more than ten times while maintaining relative FAMEs conversion that was greater than 90% of the initial FAMEs conversion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Transesterification of palm oil to biodiesel by using waste obtuse horn shell-derived CaO catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seik Lih; Wong, Yong Chen; Tan, Yen Ping; Yew, Sook Yan

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Cost effective CaO catalyst derived from waste obtuse horn shells. • The optimum biodiesel yield, 86.75% can be achieved under mild reaction conditions. • The catalyst can be reused up to 3 times with biodiesel yield more than 70%. • Deactivation of catalyst was due to leaching of CaO and pores-filling. - Abstract: The calcium oxide catalysts derived from waste obtuse horn shells were utilized in the transesterification of palm oil into biodiesel. This environment-friendly catalyst is thermally activated at 800 °C for 3 h. The resulting CaO catalyst was characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature-programmed desorption of CO 2 (TPD-CO 2 ), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD patterns of calcined catalyst showed intense peaks of calcium oxide, consistent with XRF results that revealed calcium is the major element present in the obtuse horn shells. High calcination temperature (800 °C) tended to promote agglomeration of fine crystals, resulted in a smaller surface area (0.07 m 2 /g) as examined by BET. Catalytic activities in the transesterification process had been investigated using one-variable-at-a-time technique. The optimum palm oil conversion was 86.75% under reaction conditions of 6 h, 5 wt.% of catalyst amount and methanol to oil ratio of 12:1. Reusability of this waste shell derived catalyst was examined and results showed that the prepared catalysts are able to be reused up to 3 times with conversion of more than 70% after the third cycles. Although the reusability may not be excellent at the moment, it is still in the exploratory study. More efforts were done to improve its properties and stability

  15. Solvent-free enzymatic synthesis of feruloylated structured lipids by the transesterification of ethyl ferulate with castor oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Shangde; Zhu, Sha; Bi, Yanlan

    2014-09-01

    A novel enzymatic route of feruloylated structured lipids synthesis by the transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF) with castor oil, in solvent-free system, was investigated. The transesterification reactions were catalysed by Novozym 435, Lipozyme RMIM, and Lipozyme TLIM, among which Novozym 435 showed the best catalysis performance. Effects of feruloyl donors, reaction variables, and ethanol removal on the transesterification were also studied. High EF conversion (∼100%) was obtained under the following conditions: enzyme load 20% (w/w, relative to the weight of substrates), reaction temperature 90 °C, substrate molar ratio 1:1 (EF/castor oil), 72 h, vacuum pressure 10 mmHg, and 200 rpm. Under these conditions, the transesterification product consisted of 62.6% lipophilic feruloylated structured lipids and 37.3% hydrophilic feruloylated lipids. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Production and application of biodiesel from waste cooking oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuly, S. S.; Saha, M.; Mustafi, N. N.; Sarker, M. R. I.

    2017-06-01

    Biodiesel has been identified as an alternative and promising fuel source to reduce the dependency on conventional fossil fuel in particular diesel. In this work, waste cooking oil (WCO) of restaurants is considered to produce biodiesel. A well-established transesterification reaction by sodium hydroxide (NaOH) catalytic and supercritical methanol (CH3OH) methods are applied to obtain biodiesel. In the catalytic transesterification process, biodiesel and glycerine are simultaneously produced. The impact of temperature, methanol/WCO molar ratio and sodium hydroxide concentration on the biodiesel formation were analysed and presented. It was found that the optimum 95% of biodiesel was obtained when methanol/WCO molar ratio was 1:6 under 873 K temperature with the presence of 0.2% NaOH as a catalyst. The waste cooking oil blend proportions were 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% and named as bio-diesel blends B-10, B-15, B-20, and B-25, respectively. Quality of biodiesel was examined according to ASTM 6751: biodiesel standards and testing methods. Important fuel properties of biodiesel, such as heating value, cetane index, viscosity, and others were also investigated. A four-stroke single cylinder naturally aspirated DI diesel engine was operated using in both pure form and as a diesel blend to evaluate the combustion and emission characteristics of biodiesel. Engine performance is examined by measuring brake specific fuel consumption and fuel conversion efficiency. The emission of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and others were measured. It was measured that the amount of CO2 increases and CO decreases both for pure diesel and biodiesel blends with increasing engine load. However, for same load, a higher emission of CO2 from biodiesel blends was recorded than pure diesel.

  17. Theoretical aspects of methyl acetate and methanol activation on MgO(100) and (501) catalyst surfaces with application in FAME production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Man, Isabela-Costinela, E-mail: isabela.man@g.unibuc.ro [University of Bucharest, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis, 4-12 Regina Elisabeta Av., S3, 030018 Bucharest (Romania); Romanian Academy, ‘C.D. Nenitzescu’ Center of Organic Chemistry, 202B Spl. Independentei, 060023 Bucharest (Romania); Soriga, Stefan Gabriel [University Politehnica of Bucharest, Centre for Technology Transfer in the Process Industries, 1, Gh. Polizu Street, Building A, Room A056, RO-011061 Bucharest (Romania); Parvulescu, Vasile [University of Bucharest, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis, 4-12 Regina Elisabeta Av., S3, 030018 Bucharest (Romania)

    2017-01-15

    Highlights: • Energetics of C−O and C−H bond dissociation and formation of MeOAc on MgO(100) indicate that the bond formations are favorable. • Energetics of C−O and C−H bond dissociation and formation of MeOAc on MgO(501) indicate that the C−O bond dissociation and C−H bond formations are favorable. • The coadsorbed MeOH facilitate O−H bond dissociation of MeOH compared to isolated molecule. • Provide further understanding of reactivity of MgO surfaces with application in transesterification and interesterification reactions. - Abstract: Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to study the activation of methyl acetate and methanol on MgO(100) and MgO(501) surfaces and integrated in the context of transesterification, interesterification and glycerolysis reactions used in biodiesel industry. First results indicate the importance of including of dispersion forces in the calculations. On MgO(100) the reverse reactions steps of C−O and C−H dissociations and on MgO(501) the same reverse reaction step of C−H dissociations of methyl acetate are energetically favorable, while the dissociation of C−O bond into methoxide and acetate fragments on the edge of MgO(501) was found to be exothermic with a low activation energy. For methanol, the dissociation of O−H bond on MgO(100) surface in the presence of the second coadsorbed methanol molecule becomes more energetically favoured compared to the isolated molecule, due to the fact that the methoxide fragment is stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. This is reflected by the decrease of the activation energy of the forward reaction step and the increase of the activation energy of the backward reaction step, increasing the probability to have dissociated molecules among the undissociated ones. These results represent a step forward for better understanding from atomistic point of view the paths of these reactions on these surfaces for the corresponding catalytic

  18. Preparation of 5-fluorouracil nanoparticles by supercritical antisolvents for pulmonary delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pardis Kalantarian

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Pardis Kalantarian1,2, Abdolhosein Rouholamini Najafabadi1, Ismaeil Haririan2, Alireza Vatanara1, Yadollah Yamini3, Majid Darabi1, Kambiz Gilani11Aerosol Research Laboratory and 2Pharmaceutical Laboratory, School of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 3Department of Chemistry, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, IranAbstract: This study concerns the supercritical antisolvent process which allows single-step production of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU nanoparticles. This process enhances the physical characteristics of 5-FU in order to deliver it directly to the respiratory tract. Several mixtures of methanol with dichloromethane, acetone, or ethanol were used for particle preparation, and their effects on the physical characteristics of the final products were studied. The conditions of the experiment included pressures of 100 and 150 bar, temperature of 40°C, and a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The particles were characterized physicochemically before and after the process for their morphology and crystallinity. In spite of differences in size, the particles were not very different regarding their morphology. The resulting particles were of a regular shape, partly spherical, and appeared to have a smooth surface, whereas the mechanically milled particles showed less uniformity, had surface irregularities and a high particle size distribution, and seemed aggregated. Particles of 5-FU precipitated from methanol-dichloromethane 50:50 had a mean particle size of 248 nm. In order to evaluate the aerodynamic behavior of the nanoparticles, six 5-FU dry powder formulations containing mixtures of coarse and fine lactose of different percentages were prepared. Deposition of 5-FU was measured using a twin-stage liquid impinger and analyzed using a validated high pressure liquid chromatography method. Addition of fine lactose improved the aerodynamic performance of the drug, as determined by the fine particle fraction.Keywords: supercritical antisolvent, 5

  19. Intensification of transesterification via sonication numerical simulation and sensitivity study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janajreh, Isam; ElSamad, Tala; Noorul Hussain, Mohammed

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • 3D numerical simulation of transesterification is accomplished. • A non-isothermal, reactive Navier–stokes was carried out. • Conventional and sonicated process was compared as far as reaction kinetics and yield. • Higher kinetic rates are achieved at lower molar ratios in sonicated process. • It validates feasibility of numerical simulation for transesterification assessment. - Abstract: Transesterification is known as slow reaction that can take over several hours to complete. The process involves two immiscible reactants to produce the biodiesel and the byproduct glycerol. Biodiesel commercialization has always been hindered by the long process times of the transesterification reaction. Catalyzing the process and increasing the agitation rate is the mode of intensifying the process additional to the increase of the molar ratio, temperature, circulation that all penalize the overall process metrics. Finding shorter path by reducing the reaction into a few minutes and ensures high quality biodiesel, in economically viable way is coming along with sonication. This drastic reduction moves the technology from the slow batch process into the high throughput continuous process. In a practical sense this means a huge optimization for the biodiesel production process which opens pathways for faster, voluminous and cheaper production. The mechanism of sonication assisted reaction is explained by the creation of microbubbles which increases the interfacial surface reaction areas and the presence of high localized temperature and turbulence as these microbubbles implode. As a result the reaction kinetics of sonicated transesterification as inferred by several authors is much faster. The aim of this work is to implement the inferred rates in a high fidelity numerical reactive flow simulation model while considering the reactor geometry. It is based on Navier–Stokes equations coupled with energy equation for non-isothermal flow and the transport

  20. Preparative isolation and purification of hainanmurpanin, meranzin, and phebalosin from leaves of Murraya exotica L. using supercritical fluid extraction combined with consecutive high-speed countercurrent chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Rongwei; Shen, Jie; Liu, Xiaojing; Zou, Yong; Xu, Xinjun

    2018-05-01

    The objective of this study was to develop a consecutive preparation method for the isolation and purification of hainanmurpanin, meranzin, and phebalosin from leaves of Murraya exotica L. The process involved supercritical fluid extraction with CO 2 , solvent extraction, and two-step high-speed countercurrent chromatography. Pressure, temperature, and the volume of entrainer were optimized as 27 MPa, 52°C, and 60 mL by response surface methodology in supercritical fluid extraction with CO 2 , and the yield of the crude extracts was 7.91 g from 100 g of leaves. Subsequently, 80% methanol/water was used to extract and condense the three compounds from the crude extracts, and 4.23 g of methanol/water extracts was obtained. Then, a two-step high-speed countercurrent chromatography procedure was developed for the isolation of the three target compounds from methanol/water extracts, including conventional high-speed countercurrent chromatography for further enrichment and consecutive high-speed countercurrent chromatography for purification. The yield of concentrates from high-speed countercurrent chromatography was 2.50 g from 4.23 g of methanol/water extracts. Finally, the consecutive high-speed countercurrent chromatography produced 103.2 mg of hainanmurpanin, 244.7 mg of meranzin, and 255.4 mg of phebalosin with purities up to 97.66, 99.36, and 98.64%, respectively, from 900 mg of high-speed countercurrent chromatography concentrates in one run of three consecutive sample loadings without exchanging a solvent system. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Synthesis of zinc oxide by microwave hydrothermal method for application to transesterification of soybean oil (biodiesel)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quirino, Max Rocha; Oliveira, Mateus José C.; Keyson, Davy; Lucena, Guilherme Leocárdio; Oliveira, João Bosco L.; Gama, Lucianna

    2017-01-01

    ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by microwave hydrothermal treatment using two different mineralization agents (NaOH and NH 4 OH), and were evaluated as catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The XRD patterns indicated the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase in both samples. SEM analysis showed completely different morphologies based on the mineralization agent employed. The ZnO nanostructures synthesized with NaOH (ZONa5 and ZONa5P) presented plate-like agglomerates, resulting in a quasi-spherical morphology, whereas the materials synthesized with NH 4 OH (ZONH5 and ZONH5P) presented a flower-like morphology. The ZONa5P sample showed an activity of 77.82% for the catalytic conversion of soybean oil into biodiesel by transesterification using methanol. - Highlights: • ZnO was synthesized by MH method in only 5 min. • The powders morphology is completely influenced by mineralization agent. • ZONa5P showed activity of 77.82% for the conversion of soybean oil into biodiesel.

  2. Kinetics Study of Balanites Aegyptiaca Oil Transesterification for the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User-PC

    determine the rate of transesterification of Balanites oil by measuring the rate of formation of methyl oleate using ... Organosulphonic acid and Zinc acetate on silica are some of the .... Flame Photometry and Atomic Absorption methods. Thus ...

  3. Extraction with supercritical gases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schneider, G M; Wilke, G; Stahl, E

    1980-01-01

    The contents of this book derives from a symposium on the 5th and 6th of June 1978 in the ''Haus der Technik'' in Essen. Contributions were made to separation with supercritical gases, fluid extraction of hops, spices and tobacco, physicochemical principles of extraction, phase equilibria and critical curves of binary ammonia-hydrocarbon mixtures, a quick method for the microanalytical evaluation of the dissolving power of supercritical gases, chromatography with supercritical fluids, the separation of nonvolatile substances by means of compressed gases in countercurrent processes, large-scale industrial plant for extraction with supercritical gases, development and design of plant for high-pressure extraction of natural products.

  4. Supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with in-source atmospheric pressure ionization hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry for compound speciation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Yunju; Choi, Man-Ho; Kim, Byungjoo; Kim, Sunghwan

    2016-04-29

    An experimental setup for the speciation of compounds by hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) with atmospheric pressure ionization while performing chromatographic separation is presented. The proposed experimental setup combines the high performance supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) system that can be readily used as an inlet for mass spectrometry (MS) and atmospheric pressure photo ionization (APPI) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) HDX. This combination overcomes the limitation of an approach using conventional liquid chromatography (LC) by minimizing the amount of deuterium solvents used for separation. In the SFC separation, supercritical CO2 was used as a major component of the mobile phase, and methanol was used as a minor co-solvent. By using deuterated methanol (CH3OD), AP HDX was achieved during SFC separation. To prove the concept, thirty one nitrogen- and/or oxygen-containing standard compounds were analyzed by SFC-AP HDX MS. The compounds were successfully speciated from the obtained SFC-MS spectra. The exchange ions were observed with as low as 1% of CH3OD in the mobile phase, and separation could be performed within approximately 20min using approximately 0.24 mL of CH3OD. The results showed that SFC separation and APPI/APCI HDX could be successfully performed using the suggested method. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Application of metal triflate catalysts for the trans-esterification of Jatropha curcas L. oil with methanol and higher alcohols

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daniel, Louis; Rasrendra, Carolus B.; Kloekhorst, Arjan; Broekhuis, Antonius A.; Manurung, Robert; Heeres, Hero J.

    This paper describes an experimental study on the application of metal triflate salts for the (trans-) esterification of fatty esters (triolein, methyl oleate, methyl linoleate), fatty acid (oleic acid), as well as Jatropha curcas L. oil with methanol and higher alcohols (ethanol, n-propanol,

  6. Biodiesel production by two-stage transesterification with ethanol by washing with neutral water and water saturated with carbon dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendow, G; Veizaga, N S; Sánchez, B S; Querini, C A

    2012-08-01

    Industrial production of ethyl esters is impeded by difficulties in purifying the product due to high amounts of soap formed during transesterification. A simple biodiesel wash process was developed that allows successful purification of samples containing high amounts of soap. The key step was a first washing with neutral water, which removed the soaps without increasing the acidity or affecting the process yield. Afterward, the biodiesel was washed with water saturated with CO(2), a mild acid that neutralized the remaining soaps and extracted impurities. The acidity, free-glycerine, methanol and soaps concentrations were reduced to very low levels with high efficiency, and using non-corrosive acids. Independently of the initial acidity, it was possible to obtain biodiesel within EN14214 specifications. The process included the recovery of soaps by hydrolysis and esterification, making it possible to obtain the theoretical maximum amount of biodiesel. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Dimethyl carbonate synthesis via transesterification of propylene carbonate with methanol by ceria-zinc catalysts: Role of catalyst support and reaction parameters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumar, Praveen; Srivastava, Vimal Chandra; Mishra, Indra Mani [Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Uttarakhand (India)

    2015-09-15

    Ceria and zinc oxide catalyst were impregnated onto various oxide supports, namely Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, TiO{sub 2} and SiO{sub 2}, individually by deposition-coprecipitation method. The synthesized catalysts (CZA, CZS and CZT having supports Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, TiO{sub 2} and SiO{sub 2}, respectively) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), NH{sub 3}- and CO{sub 2}-temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and N2 adsorption. These catalysts were used for synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from methanol and propylene carbonate in a batch reactor. CZS was found to have larger average grain size as compared to CZA and CZT. Composite oxides (catalysts) were found to contain individual phases of ZnO, CeO{sub 2} and some spinel forms of Zn, Ce along with their supports. CZS having highest basicity and surface area showed better catalytic activity as compared to CZA and CZT. Effect of reaction temperature and methanol/PC molar ratio on DMC yield was studied and a reaction mechanism has been discussed. Maximum DMC yield of 77% was observed with CZS catalyst at 170 .deg. C with methanol/PC molar ratio of 10.

  8. [Study on condition for extraction of arctiin from fruits of Arctium lappa using supercritical fluid extraction].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Wen-hong; Liu, Ben

    2006-08-01

    To study the feasibility of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) for arctiin from the fruits of Arctium lappa. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC, optimum extraction conditions were studied by orthogonal tests. The optimal extraction conditions were: pressure 40 MPa, temperature 70 degrees C, using methanol as modifier carrier at the rate of 0.55 mL x min(-1), static extraction time 5 min, dynamic extraction 30 min, flow rate of CO2 2 L x min(-1). SFE has the superiority of adjustable polarity, and has the ability of extracting arctiin.

  9. Supercritical CO2 Extracts and Volatile Oil of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L. Comparison with Conventional Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Coelho

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Interest in new products from aromatic plants as medical and nutritional compounds is increasing. The aim of this work was to apply different extraction methods, including the use of supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, and to test the antioxidant activity of basil (Ocimum basilicum L. extracts. In vitro efficacy assessments were performed using enzymatic assays. Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation and volatile oil obtained from supercritical fluid extraction were analyzed by gas chromatography to quantify components. The total phenolic content in the extracts ranged from 35.5 ± 2.9 to 85.3 ± 8.6 mg of gallic acid equivalents and the total flavonoid content ranged from 35.5 ± 2.9 to 93.3 ± 3.9 micromole catechin equivalents per gram of dry weight of extract. All the extracts showed an antioxidant activity with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH, 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS, and the reducing power test. Extracts obtained from methanol had a higher antioxidant capacity per the DPPH test results (IC50 = 3.05 ± 0.36 mg/mL and the reducing power test assay 306.8 ± 21.8 μmol of trolox equivalents per gram of extract (TE/g compared with ethanolic or supercritical fluid extracts. However, using the ABTS assay, the extract obtained by supercritical fluid extraction had a higher antioxidant capacity with an IC50 of 1.74 ± 0.05 mg/mL. Finally, the examined extracts showed practically no acetylcholinesterase (AChE inhibitory capacity and a slight inhibitory activity against tyrosinase.

  10. Characterization and parametric study of mesoporous calcium titanate catalyst for transesterification of waste cooking oil into biodiesel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yahya, Noor Yahida; Ngadi, Norzita; Jusoh, Mazura; Halim, Noor Amirah Abdul

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: •Simple synthesis of mesoporous calcium titanate by sol-gel-hydrothermal method. •Improvement of characteristics and catalytic activity from commercial CaO. • Production of biodiesel at relatively mild reaction conditions. - Abstract: Mesoporous calcium titanate (MCT) catalyst was synthesized via a sol-gel-hydrothermal method and investigated as a catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil (WCO). Calcium was supported on titanate in order to increase their surface area, stability and consequently, improve its performance in the transesterification of WCO to biodiesel. Synthesized catalyst was characterized with powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), N_2 physisorption, Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and carbon dioxide temperature-programmed desorption (CO_2-TPD). The catalyst possessed high surface area, basicity and stability than calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst. The highest biodiesel yield achieved was 80.0% in 3:1 of methanol to WCO molar ratio, 0.2 wt.% of MCT catalyst for 1 h at 65 °C. Reusability study suggested that this catalyst can be recycled for five successive runs.

  11. SYNTHESIS OF BIODIESEL FROM KAPUK SEED OIL (Ceiba Pentandra L AT VARIATION STIRRING DURATION IN TRANSESTERIFICATION PROCESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Endang Dwi Siswani

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of biodiesel targeted as SNI 04-7182-2006 standard has been done from kapuk randu seed, following two steps i.e. sokhlet extraction process of kapuk seed oil from kapuk seed using n-heksane as a solvent, and the production of biodiesel from kapuk seed oil by transesterification process using methanol and KOH as catalyst. Transesterificatin process was performed at temperature 50 oC with the variation of stirring duration as followed  50, 75, 100 and 125 minutes. The kapuk randu extraction resulted  % kapuk randu seed oil, while the transestherification process resulted around 55 - 65%. The biodiesel product characteristics provided the density value of all biodiesel at stirring durations variation are suitable with SNI standard (850 – 890 kg/m3, the viscosity value of all biodiesel are  higher than the range SNI value (2,3 – 6,0 cSt. While the flash point values are lesser than SNI standard (10160 - 11000 cal/g.   Keywords: kapuk randu seed, transestherification, biodiesel

  12. Enantioseparation of novel chiral sulfoxides on chlorinated polysaccharide stationary phases in supercritical fluid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Caroline; Konjaria, Mari-Luiza; Shashviashvili, Natia; Lemasson, Elise; Bonnet, Pascal; Kakava, Rusudan; Volonterio, Alessandro; Chankvetadze, Bezhan

    2017-05-26

    Asymmetric sulfoxides is a particular case of chirality that may be found in natural as well as synthetic products. Twenty-four original molecules containing a sulfur atom as a centre of chirality were analyzed in supercritical fluid chromatography on seven polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases (CSP) with carbon dioxide - methanol mobile phases. While all the tested CSP provided enantioseparation for a large part of the racemates, chlorinated cellulosic phases proved to be both highly retentive and highly enantioselective towards these species. Favourable structural features were determined by careful comparison of the enantioseparation of the probe molecules. Molecular modelling studies indicate that U-shaped (folded) conformations were most favorable to achieve high enantioresolution on these CSP, while linear (extended) conformations were not so clearly discriminated. For a subset of these species adopting different conformations, a broad range of mobile phase compositions, ranging from 20 to 100% methanol in carbon dioxide, were investigated. While retention decreased continuously in this range, enantioseparation varied in a non-monotonous fashion. Abrupt changes in the tendency curves of retention and selectivity were observed when methanol proportion reaches about 60%, suggesting that a change in the conformation of the analytes and/or chiral selector is occurring at this point. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. KARAKTERISTIK BIODIESEL HASIL TRANSESTERIFIKASI MINYAK JELANTAH MENGGUNAKAN TEKNIK KAVITASI HIDRODINAMIK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satriana Satriana

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This study undertakes the transesterification process of used cooking oils that have undergone a process of esterification. The transesterification process carried out by reacting methanol and esterified used cooking oil using KOH as catalyst. Stirring technique used is based on hydrodynamic cavitation. This research aims to study the characteristics of biodiesel that made from transesterified used cooking oil with different concentrations of methanol. The concentration of methanol used consists of 5 (five level are: 99.9%, 95%, 90%, 80%, and 70%. The transesterification process using hydrodynamic cavitation technique with a 99.9% concentration of methanol result in biodiesel with characteristics consistent by Indonesian National Standard (SNI. In this condition, biodiesel produced 92.93% of the yield which has characteristics of acid number 0.80 mg KOH / g, total glycerol 0.045%, alkyl ester 99.45%, iodine number 14.92 g I2/100 g,  viscosity 2,35 mm2 / s , density 0.87745 g/cm3  and pH value 4.885. Based on research, the concentration of methanol lower than 99.9% not yet can produce biodiesel from used cooking oil that have characteristics according to Indonesian National Standard (SNI.

  14. Supercritical Water Reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bouchter, J.C.; Dufour, P.; Guidez, J.; Latge, C.; Renault, C.; Rimpault, G.

    2014-01-01

    The supercritical water reactor (SCWR) is one of the 6 concepts selected for the 4. generation of nuclear reactors. SCWR is a new concept, it is an attempt to optimize boiling water reactors by using the main advantages of supercritical water: only liquid phase and a high calorific capacity. The SCWR requires very high temperatures (over 375 C degrees) and very high pressures (over 22.1 MPa) to operate which allows a high conversion yield (44% instead of 33% for a PWR). Low volumes of coolant are necessary which makes the neutron spectrum shift towards higher energies and it is then possible to consider fast reactors operating with supercritical water. The main drawbacks of supercritical water is the necessity to use very high pressures which has important constraints on the reactor design, its physical properties (density, calorific capacity) that vary strongly with temperatures and pressures and its very high corrosiveness. The feasibility of the concept is not yet assured in terms of adequate materials that resist to corrosion, reactor stability, reactor safety, and reactor behaviour in accidental situations. (A.C.)

  15. Optimization of transesterification of rubber seed oil using heterogeneous catalyst calcium oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inggrid, Maria; Kristanto, Aldi; Santoso, Herry

    2015-12-01

    Biodiesel is an alternative fuel manufactured with the help of alkali hydroxide catalyst through transesterification reaction of vegetable oil. This study aims to examine methods and the most suitable conditions for transesterification reaction producing biodiesel from crude rubber seed oil by varying process parameters such as the molar ratio of alcohol, CaO amount as the alkaline catalyst, and reaction time. The rubber seed oil has a high level of free fatty acid content, which means the use of homogenous alkaline catalyst gives some technological problems such as soap formation which leaded in difficulty in the separation and purification of the product. Calcium oxide (CaO) is one of the most favorable heterogeneous base catalysts because it's reusable, noncorrosive, and low cost. Pre-treatment was performed by acid esterification with H2SO4 as the catalyst to decrease the content of free fatty acid in the rubber seed oil, in this pretreatment process the 12% FFA of crude oil could be reduced to below 3% FFA. The product after esterification process was then transesterified by alkaline transesterification by varying process parameters to convert triglyceride into biodiesel. The study found that maximum curvature for biodiesel yield occurred at 9:1 molar ratio of alcohol, 5%w catalyst loading, and 3 hours reaction time. Design expert software is used to determine the optimum point from experimental data. The result showed that the optimum yield of methyl ester from transesterification was 73.5 % by mass with 0.69 degree of desirability. The yielded methyl ester was tested for its density, viscosity, acid number, and solubility to meet SNI requirement standards.

  16. Selection of inactivation medium for fungal spores in clinical wastes by supercritical carbon dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noman, Efaq; Norulaini Nik Ab Rahman, Nik; Al-Gheethi, Adel; Nagao, Hideyuki; Talip, Balkis A; Ab Kadir, Omar

    2018-05-21

    The present study aimed to select the best medium for inactivation of Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus spp. in section Nigri, A. niger, A. terreus var. terreus, A. tubingensis, Penicillium waksmanii, P. simplicissimum, and Aspergillus sp. strain no. 145 spores in clinical wastes by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2 ). There were three types of solutions used including normal saline, seawater, distilled water, and physiological saline with 1% of methanol; each solution was tested at 5, 10, and 20 mL of the water contents. The experiments were conducted at the optimum operating parameters of supercritical carbon dioxide (30 MPa, 75 °C, 90 min). The results showed that the inactivation rate was more effective in distilled water with the presence of 1% methanol (6 log reductions). Meanwhile, the seawater decreases inactivation rate more than normal saline (4.5 vs. 5.1 log reduction). On the other hand, the experiments performed with different volumes of distilled water (5, 10, and 20 mL) indicated that A. niger spores were completely inactivated with 10 mL of distilled water. The inactivation rate of fungal spores decreased from 6 to 4.5 log as the amount of distilled water increased from 10 to 20 mL. The analysis for the spore morphology of A. fumigatus and Aspergillus spp. in section Nigri using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has revealed the role of temperature and pressure in the SC-CO 2 in the destruction of the cell walls of the spores. It can be concluded that the distilled water represent the best medium for inactivation of fungal spores in the clinical solid wastes by SC-CO 2 .

  17. Development of methanol evaporation plate to reduce methanol crossover in a direct methanol fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ruiming

    This research focuses on methanol crossover reduction in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) through separating the methanol vapor from its liquid phase and feeding the vapor passively at low temperature range. Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) were fabricated by using commercial available membrane with different thickness at different anode catalyst loading levels, and tested under the operating conditions below 100°C in cell temperature and cathode exit open to ambient pressure. Liquid methanol transport from the anode through the membrane into cathode ("methanol crossover") is identified as one of the major efficiency losses in a DMFC. It is known that the methanol crossover rate in the vapor phase is much lower than in liquid phase. Vapor feed can be achieved by heating the liquid methanol to elevated temperatures (>100°C), but other issues limit the performance of the cell when operating above 100°C. High temperature membranes and much more active cathode catalyst structures are required, and a complex temperature control system must be employed. However, methanol vapor feed can also occur at a lower temperature range (evaporation through a porous body. The methanol crossover with this vapor feed mode is lower compared with the direct liquid methanol feed. A new method of using a methanol evaporation plate (MEP) to separate the vapor from its liquid phase to reduce the liquid methanol crossover at low temperature range is developed. A MEP plays the roles of liquid/vapor methanol phase separation and evaporation in a DMFC. The goal of this study is to develop a MEP with the proper properties to achieve high methanol phase separation efficiency and fast methanol evaporation rate over a wide range of temperature, i.e., from room temperature up to near boiling temperature (100°C). MEP materials were selected and characterized. MEPs made from three different types were tested extensively with different MEA and porous back layer configurations. The benefits of

  18. Combinatorial life cycle assessment to inform process design of industrial production of algal biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brentner, Laura B; Eckelman, Matthew J; Zimmerman, Julie B

    2011-08-15

    The use of algae as a feedstock for biodiesel production is a rapidly growing industry, in the United States and globally. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is presented that compares various methods, either proposed or under development, for algal biodiesel to inform the most promising pathways for sustainable full-scale production. For this analysis, the system is divided into five distinct process steps: (1) microalgae cultivation, (2) harvesting and/or dewatering, (3) lipid extraction, (4) conversion (transesterification) into biodiesel, and (5) byproduct management. A number of technology options are considered for each process step and various technology combinations are assessed for their life cycle environmental impacts. The optimal option for each process step is selected yielding a best case scenario, comprised of a flat panel enclosed photobioreactor and direct transesterification of algal cells with supercritical methanol. For a functional unit of 10 GJ biodiesel, the best case production system yields a cumulative energy demand savings of more than 65 GJ, reduces water consumption by 585 m(3) and decreases greenhouse gas emissions by 86% compared to a base case scenario typical of early industrial practices, highlighting the importance of technological innovation in algae processing and providing guidance on promising production pathways.

  19. Supercritical fluids processing: emerging opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovaly, K.A.

    1985-01-01

    This publication on the emerging opportunities of supercritical fluids processing reveals the latest research findings and development trends in this field. These findings and development trends are highlighted, and the results of applications of technology to the business of supercritical fluids are reported. Applications of supercritical fluids to chemical intermediates, environmental applications, chemical reactions, food and biochemistry processing, and fuels processing are discussed in some detail

  20. Technical difficulties and solutions of direct transesterification process of microbial oil for biodiesel synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousuf, Abu; Khan, Maksudur Rahman; Islam, M Amirul; Wahid, Zularisam Ab; Pirozzi, Domenico

    2017-01-01

    Microbial oils are considered as alternative to vegetable oils or animal fats as biodiesel feedstock. Microalgae and oleaginous yeast are the main candidates of microbial oil producers' community. However, biodiesel synthesis from these sources is associated with high cost and process complexity. The traditional transesterification method includes several steps such as biomass drying, cell disruption, oil extraction and solvent recovery. Therefore, direct transesterification or in situ transesterification, which combines all the steps in a single reactor, has been suggested to make the process cost effective. Nevertheless, the process is not applicable for large-scale biodiesel production having some difficulties such as high water content of biomass that makes the reaction rate slower and hurdles of cell disruption makes the efficiency of oil extraction lower. Additionally, it requires high heating energy in the solvent extraction and recovery stage. To resolve these difficulties, this review suggests the application of antimicrobial peptides and high electric fields to foster the microbial cell wall disruption.

  1. Biochar as porous media for thermally-induced non-catalytic transesterification to synthesize fatty acid ethyl esters from coconut oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Jong-Min; Lee, Jechan; Choi, Dongho; Oh, Jeong-Ik; Lee, Sang-Ryong; Kim, Jae-Kon; Kwon, Eilhann E.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Biodiesel production using renewable resources. • Thermally-induced non-catalytic transesterification. • Synthesis of fatty acid ethyl esters without conventional catalysts. • Using biochar as porous medium in the non-catalytic transesterification. - Abstract: This study put great emphasis on evaluating biochar as porous media for the thermally-induced non-catalytic transesterification reaction to synthesize fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from coconut oil. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of coconut oil experimentally justified that the bond dissociation of fatty acid from the backbone of triglycerides (TGs) could be achieved, which finding could be applied to the non-catalytic transesterification reaction. To use biochar as porous medium, the surficial morphology of maize residue biochar (MRB) was characterized, revealing that biochar possessed the wider pore size distribution ranging from meso- to macro-pores than SiO 2 . The highest yield of FAEE from non-catalytic transesterification of coconut oil in the presence of MRB was 87% at 380 °C. To further enhance the FAEE yield, further studies associated with the production of FAEE with biochar made from different biomasses and various pyrolytic conditions should be performed.

  2. Synthesis of zinc oxide by microwave hydrothermal method for application to transesterification of soybean oil (biodiesel)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quirino, Max Rocha [LABQUIM/Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus III, 58200-000, Bananeiras, PB (Brazil); Oliveira, Mateus José C. [DEMA/Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Campus I, 58429-900, Campina Grande, PB (Brazil); Keyson, Davy [DME/Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus – I, 58051-900, João Pessoa, PB (Brazil); Lucena, Guilherme Leocárdio, E-mail: guilhermelucena@cchsa.ufpb.br [LABQUIM/Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus III, 58200-000, Bananeiras, PB (Brazil); Oliveira, João Bosco L. [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Campus I, 59078-970, Natal, RN (Brazil); Gama, Lucianna [DEMA/Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Campus I, 58429-900, Campina Grande, PB (Brazil)

    2017-01-01

    ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by microwave hydrothermal treatment using two different mineralization agents (NaOH and NH{sub 4}OH), and were evaluated as catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The XRD patterns indicated the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase in both samples. SEM analysis showed completely different morphologies based on the mineralization agent employed. The ZnO nanostructures synthesized with NaOH (ZONa5 and ZONa5P) presented plate-like agglomerates, resulting in a quasi-spherical morphology, whereas the materials synthesized with NH{sub 4}OH (ZONH5 and ZONH5P) presented a flower-like morphology. The ZONa5P sample showed an activity of 77.82% for the catalytic conversion of soybean oil into biodiesel by transesterification using methanol. - Highlights: • ZnO was synthesized by MH method in only 5 min. • The powders morphology is completely influenced by mineralization agent. • ZONa5P showed activity of 77.82% for the conversion of soybean oil into biodiesel.

  3. Electrochemistry in supercritical fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branch, Jack A.; Bartlett, Philip N.

    2015-01-01

    A wide range of supercritical fluids (SCFs) have been studied as solvents for electrochemistry with carbon dioxide and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) being the most extensively studied. Recent advances have shown that it is possible to get well-resolved voltammetry in SCFs by suitable choice of the conditions and the electrolyte. In this review, we discuss the voltammetry obtained in these systems, studies of the double-layer capacitance, work on the electrodeposition of metals into high aspect ratio nanopores and the use of metallocenes as redox probes and standards in both supercritical carbon dioxide–acetonitrile and supercritical HFCs. PMID:26574527

  4. On the tandem Morita-Baylis-Hillman/transesterification processes. Mechanistic insights for the role of protic solvents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpanez, Arthur G.; Coelho, Fernando; Amarante, Giovanni W.

    2018-02-01

    Despite the remarkable rate acceleration under protic solvents such as alcohols and water, the use of acrylates as activated alkenes places a problem due to the possibility of ester hydrolysis or transesterification. Therefore, the tandem transesterification/Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reactions were investigated by ESI(+)-MS/(MS) and 1H NMR techniques. For the first time, the MBH back-reaction was fully examined by ESI(+)-MS/(MS) using labelling reagents revealed the complex equilibrium involving the Michael-type addition step of DABCO to acrylate. C- and O-protonation were observed at this stage, showing the transesterification process occurs previous to the aldol step, which is the rate-determining step of the mechanism. At this stage, a short-lived tetrahedral intermediate might be involved and should be considered in these processes.

  5. Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from polluted soils with binary and ternary supercritical phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollender, J.; Shneine, J.; Dott, W.; Heinzel, M.; Hagemann, H.W.; Gotz, G.K.E.

    1997-01-01

    The paper describes how supercritical fluid extractions (SFE) using carbon dioxide and modifiers (n-hexane, cyclohexane, toluene, methyl tert-butyl ether, methoxybenzene, dichloromethane, propanone, pyridine, methanol) as well as modifier mixtures (methanol-containing diethylamide, 2-aminoethan-1-ol, acetic acid) were performed to extract polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from real environmental samples polluted to a minor extent by mineral oil products and highly contaminated by brown coal tar. Comparing the results with those from Soxhlet extraction utilizing dichloromethane and SFE using pure carbon dioxide show that acidic or basic co-solvents give the highest PAH yields. Extraction efficiency decreases with reduced polarity of the modifier used and increases at higher concentrations of co-solvent. To explain the SFE results, several mechanisms of disruption of matrix-PAH interactions are considered: the competition between the modifier molecules and the active sites of soil's organic and inorganic matter to interact with non-covalent bondings to the analytes; and the splitting of electron donor-acceptor complexes between humic substances and PAHs induced by Lewis acids or Lewis bases

  6. Penggunaan Katalis NaOH dalam Proses Transesterifikasi Minyak Kemiri menjadi Biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farid Mulana

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Research on biodiesel production from hazelnut oil by transesterification process using NaOH catalyst was one of the efforts for renewable energy research. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of NaOH catalyst and the ratio of hazelnut oil to methanol on the production of biodiesel via transesterification process. The transesterification process was carried out in a stirred reactor equipped by a condenser with speed of 200 rpm, temperature of 60°C and the operating time of 90 minutes. The results indicated that biodiesel could be produced from hazelnut oil through transesterification process with the highest yield of 81.7% that was obtained on the use of 2% wt. of NaOH catalyst and the mole ratio of oil to methanol of 1:9. Viscosity, density, and acid number of biodiesel obtained in this study met the Indonesia National Standard for biodiesel as SNI 04-7182-2006, therefore hazelnut oil produced biodiesel could potentially be an alternative diesel fuel. Keywords: hazelnut oil, biodiesel, transesterification, NaOH catalyst

  7. Comparison of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography for the separation of synthetic cathinones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnes, Stephanie; O'Brien, Stacey; Szewczak, Angelica; Tremeau-Cayel, Lauriane; Rowe, Walter F; McCord, Bruce; Lurie, Ira S

    2017-09-01

    A comparison of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography for the separation of synthetic cathinones has been conducted. Nine different mixtures of bath salts were analyzed in this study. The three different chromatographic techniques were examined using a general set of controlled synthetic cathinones as well as a variety of other synthetic cathinones that exist as positional isomers. Overall 35 different synthetic cathinones were analyzed. A variety of column types and chromatographic modes were examined for developing each separation. For the ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography separations, analyses were performed using a series of Torus and Trefoil columns with either ammonium formate or ammonium hydroxide as additives, and methanol, ethanol or isopropanol organic solvents as modifiers. Ultra high performance liquid chromatographic separations were performed in both reversed phase and hydrophilic interaction chromatographic modes using SPP C18 and SPP HILIC columns. Gas chromatography separations were performed using an Elite-5MS capillary column. The orthogonality of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography, ultra high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography was examined using principal component analysis. For the best overall separation of synthetic cathinones, the use of ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography in combination with gas chromatography is recommended. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Process for obtaining methanol. Verfahren zur Gewinnung von Methanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Link, H; Watson, A

    1983-12-08

    Synthetic gas is generated and converted to methanol in a reactor. After the separation of the crude methanol, there is a multi-stage methanol distillation. Condensate occurring during distillation is at least partly fed back before the methanol synthesis.

  9. Biodiesel Production from Dry Microalga Biomass by Microwave-Assisted In-Situ Transesterification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qadariyah Lailatul

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Microalga is one of the potential feedstocks in the manufacture of biodiesel because it contains high oil content. In this study, Chlorella sp. was selected because its high oil content about 28-32% of oil (based on its dry weight and its presence is abundant among other green algae. In situ transesterification was carried out in round neck flask under microwave irradiation. Microwave irradiation can facilitate the in situ transesterification by extracted the lipid of microalga and simultaneous convert to FAME. The purposes of this study are to investigate the effect of acid catalyst concentration, microwave power, reaction time and the addition of co-solvent (n-hexane on the yield of biodiesel, to get optimum operating conditions and to know the fatty acid compounds of biodiesel from Chlorella sp. The results of oil extraction and biodiesel were analyzed by GC-MS analysis. Based on the experiment, the yield of microalga oil was 11.37%. The optimum yield of biodiesel by in-situ transesterification was 75.68%. It was obtained at the microwave power of 450 watts, the reaction time of 60 minutes, an acid catalyst concentration of 0,2M of H2SO4, and the co-solvent addition of 10 ml.

  10. Production of Biodiesel from Acid Oil via a Two-Step Enzymatic Transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Nakyung; Lee, Jeom-Sig; Kwak, Jieun; Lee, Junsoo; Kim, In-Hwan

    2016-11-01

    A two-step enzymatic transesterification process in a solvent-free system has been developed as a novel approach to the production of biodiesel using acid oil from rice bran oil soapstock. The acid oil consisted of 53.7 wt% fatty acids, 2.4 wt% monoacylglycerols, 9.1 wt% diacylglycerols, 28.8 wt% triacylglycerols, and 6.0 wt% others. Three immobilized lipases were evaluated as potential biocatalysts, including Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica, Lipozyme RM IM from Rhizomucor miehei, and Lipozyme TL IM from Thermomyces lanuginosus. The effects of molar ratio of acid oil to ethanol, temperature, and enzyme loading were investigated to determine the optimum conditions for the transesterification with the three immobilized lipases. The optimum conditions of the three immobilized lipases were a molar ratio of 1:5 (acid oil to ethanol), the temperature range of 30-40°C, and the enzyme loading range of 5-10%. The two-step transesterification was then conducted under the optimum conditions of each lipase. The stepwise use of Novozym 435 and Lipozyme TL IM or Lipozyme RM IM and Lipozyme TL IM resulted in similar or higher levels of yield to the individual lipases. The maximum yields obtained in both stepwise uses were ca. 92%.

  11. Biodiesel production from various oils under supercritical fluid conditions by Candida antartica lipase B using a stepwise reaction method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jong Ho; Kwon, Cheong Hoon; Kang, Jeong Won; Park, Chulhwan; Tae, Bumseok; Kim, Seung Wook

    2009-05-01

    In this study, we evaluate the effects of various reaction factors, including pressure, temperature, agitation speed, enzyme concentration, and water content to increase biodiesel production. In addition, biodiesel was produced from various oils to establish the optimal enzymatic process of biodiesel production. Optimal conditions were determined to be as follows: pressure 130 bar, temperature 45 degrees C, agitation speed 200 rpm, enzyme concentration 20%, and water contents 10%. Among the various oils used for production, olive oil showed the highest yield (65.18%) upon transesterification. However, when biodiesel was produced using a batch system, biodiesel conversion yield was not increased over 65%; therefore, a stepwise reaction was conducted to increase biodiesel production. When a reaction medium with an initial concentration of methanol of 60 mmol was used and adjusted to maintain this concentration of methanol every 1.5 h during biodiesel production, the conversion yield of biodiesel was 98.92% at 6 h. Finally, reusability was evaluated using immobilized lipase to determine if this method was applicable for industrial biodiesel production. When biodiesel was produced repeatedly, the conversion rate was maintained at over 85% after eight reuses.

  12. A comparative study between chemical and enzymatic transesterification of high free fatty acid contained rubber seed oil for biodiesel production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jilse Sebastian

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The choice of a paramount method for biodiesel production has significance as the demand of alternative fuels like biodiesel is growing rapidly. In the present study, experimental results from chemical-catalysed as well as enzyme-catalysed methods were compared using common influencing parameters such as oil/alcohol molar ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction duration. Requirement of certain solvents to enhance the reaction rate was explained in the enzyme-catalysed transesterification reaction. Biodiesel conversion of more than 90% was attained for chemical-catalysed transesterification, whereas the conversion rate was 85% for enzyme-catalysed method. This gives the indication of further refinement in the enzyme-catalysed transesterification process. The influencing parameters and absolute results of the analysis give the impression of superiority of enzymatic transesterification method for biodiesel production from high free fatty acid-contained rubber seed oil.

  13. Kinetic comparison of two basic heterogenous catalysts obtained from sustainable resources for transesterification of waste cooking oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.R. Moradi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Alkaline earth metal oxides are appropriate catalysts for biodiesel production and among them, CaO and MgO are known for possessing the best efficiency. In this study, catalysts synthesized from economical and sustainable resources were used for biodiesel production. More specifically, waste mussel shells and demineralized (DM water treatment precipitates as calcium and magnesium carbonate sources, were converted into calcium and magnesium oxides at temperatures above 900 oC. Methanol and waste cooking oil were reacted in a 250 mL two-necked flask at 24:1 and 22.5:1 ratios in presence of 12 and 9.08 wt% of mussel shell-based and DM water treatment precipitates-based catalysts, respectively. The effects of temperature (328, 333, 338, 343 and 348 K and time (1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 h at a stirrer speed of 350 rpm on the conversion of the oil into biodiesel were investigated. The results obtained indicated a pseudo-first order kinetics for the transesterification reaction using both catalysts. The activation energies in the presence of the DM water treatment precipitates and mussel shell catalysts were measured at 77.09 and 79.83 kJ.mol-1, respectively. Accordingly, the DM water treatment precipitates catalyst resulted in a faster reaction due to its lower activation energy value. Moreover, the catalysts were reused five times and the results obtained showed that the methanol-driven extraction of CaO contained in the DM water treatment precipitates catalyst was lower than the waste mussel shell catalyst proving the higher stability of the new heterogeneous catalyst i.e. the calcinated DM water treatment precipitates.

  14. Transesterification of palm oil on K{sub y}Mg{sub 1} {sub -} {sub x}Zn{sub 1} {sub +} {sub x}O{sub 3} catalyst: Effect of Mg-Zn interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olutoye, M.A.; Hameed, B.H. [School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang (Malaysia)

    2010-06-15

    The Mg-Zn interaction effect of K{sub y}Mg{sub 1} {sub -} {sub x}Zn{sub 1} {sub +} {sub x}O{sub 3} heterogeneous type catalyst and its performance on transesterification of palm oil have been studied using the response surface methodology and the factorial design of experiments. The catalyst was synthesized using the co-precipitation method and the activity was assessed by transesterification of palm oil into fatty acid methyl esters. The ratio of the Mg/Zn metal interaction, temperature and time of calcination were found to have positive influence on the conversion of palm oil to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) with the effect of metal to metal ratio and temperature of calcination being more significant. The catalytic activity was found to decrease at higher calcination temperature and the catalyst type K{sub 2}Mg{sub 0.34}Zn{sub 1.66}O{sub 3} with Mg/Zn ratio of 4.81 gave FAME content of 73% at a catalyst loading of 1.404 wt.% of oil with molar ratio of methanol to oil being 6:1 at temperature of 150 C in 6 h. A regression model was obtained to predict conversions to methyl esters as a function of metal interaction ratio, temperature of calcination and time. The observed activity of the synthesized catalyst was due to its synergetic structure and composition. (author)

  15. Formaldehyde, methanol and hydrocarbon emissions from methanol-fueled cars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, R.L.; Lipari, F.; Potter, R.A.

    1990-01-01

    Exhaust and evaporative emissions tests were conducted on several methanol- and gasoline-fueled vehicles. Separate samples for chromatographic analysis of formaldehyde, methanol, and individual hydrocarbons were collected in each of the three phases of the driving cycle and in each of the two portions of the evaporative emissions test. One vehicle, equipped with an experimental variable-fuel engine, was tested using methanol/gasoline fuel mixtures of 100, 85, 50, 15, and 0 percent methanol. Combustion-generated hydrocarbons were lowest using methanol fuel, and increased several-fold as the gasoline fraction was increased. Gasoline components in the exhaust increased from zero as the gasoline fraction of the fuel was increased. On the other hand, formaldehyde emissions were several times higher using methanol fuel than they were using gasoline. A dedicated methanol car and the variable-fuel car gave similar emissions patterns when they both were tested using methanol fuel. The organic-carbon composition of the exhaust was 85-90 percent methanol, 5-7 percent formaldehyde, and 3-9 percent hydrocarbons. Several cars that were tested using gasoline emitted similar distributions of hydrocarbons, even through the vehicles represented a broad range of current and developmental engine families and emissions control systems

  16. Preparation of Carbon-Platinum-Ceria and Carbon-Platinum-Cerium catalysts and its application in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell: Hydrogen, Methanol, and Ethanol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzman Blas, Rolando Pedro

    This thesis is focused on fuel cells using hydrogen, methanol and ethanol as fuel. Also, in the method of preparation of catalytic material for the anode: Supercritical Fluid Deposition (SFD) and impregnation method using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a chelating agent. The first part of the thesis describes the general knowledge about Hydrogen Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HPEMFC),Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) and Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell (DEFC), as well as the properties of Cerium and CeO2 (Ceria). The second part of the thesis describes the preparation of catalytic material by Supercritical Fluid Deposition (SFD). SFD was utilized to deposit Pt and ceria simultaneously onto gas diffusion layers. The Pt-ceria catalyst deposited by SFD exhibited higher methanol oxidation activity compared to the platinum catalyst alone. The linear sweep traces of the cathode made for the methanol cross over study indicate that Pt-Ceria/C as the anode catalyst, due to its better activity for methanol, improves the fuel utilization, minimizing the methanol permeation from anode to cathode compartment. The third and fourth parts of the thesis describe the preparation of material catalytic material Carbon-Platinum-Cerium by a simple and cheap impregnation method using EDTA as a chelating agent to form a complex with cerium (III). This preparation method allows the mass production of the material catalysts without additional significant cost. Fuel cell polarization and power curves experiments showed that the Carbon-Platinum-Cerium anode materials exhibited better catalytic activity than the only Vulcan-Pt catalysts for DMFC, DEFC and HPEMFC. In the case of Vulcan-20%Pt-5%w Cerium, this material exhibits better catalytic activity than the Vulcan-20%Pt in DMFC. In the case of Vulcan-40% Pt-doped Cerium, this material exhibits better catalytic activity than the Vulcan-40% Pt in DMFC, DEFC and HPEMFC. Finally, I propose a theory that explains the reason why the

  17. Palm oil transesterified by metanolysis as diesel engine biofuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agudelo Santamaria, John R; Pena, Diego Leon; Mejia, Ricardo

    2001-01-01

    This paper reviews a general background of biodiesel and its potentialities and possibilities as automotive fuel. The paper also compares the colombian production capacity in the world context, and shows its advantages and disadvantages as diesel engine biofuel. The paper discusses some relevant processing techniques of crude palm oil, the methanol transesterification technique being found to be the most suitable one. Finally it shows the results of some important physicochemical characterization of a crude palm oil transesterificated with methanol at the Universidad de Antioquia

  18. High efficiency esterification and transesterification of alternative feedstock for biodiesel production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boffito, D.C.; Mansi, S.; Pirola, C.; Vitali, S.; Bianchi, C.L. [Milano Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Chimica Fisica ed Elettrochimica; Leveque, J.M. [Savoie Univ., Le Bourget du Lac (France). LCME/CISM; Carvoli, G. [Khemistar S.r.l.-P, Novara (Italy); Rispoli, A.; Barnabe, D.; Bucchi, R. [Agri2000 Soc. Coop., Castel Maggiore (Italy)

    2012-07-01

    Free Fatty Acids (FFA) esterification and transesterification reactions were studied in presence of traditional and sonochemical assisted techniques, such as microwave (MW) and ultrasound (US). Several non edible oils, both of vegetable origin or waste oil were used. Acid ion exchange resins Amebrlyst {sup registered} 15 (A15) and 46 (A46) and Purolite {sup registered} D5081 were used as catalysts for the FFA esterification. All the oils were successfully deacified over the resins, in particular A46 and D5081 showed a very good performance also after several recycles of use. Sonochemical methods were able to increase the conversion of the reactions. MW resulted to shorten the time to reach the plateau of conversion in FFA esterification, while US-assisted transesterification required lower reagents amount and much shorter times than the traditional one. (orig.)

  19. Advanced Thermal Storage for Central Receivers with Supercritical Coolants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelly, Bruce D.

    2010-06-15

    The principal objective of the study is to determine if supercritical heat transport fluids in a central receiver power plant, in combination with ceramic thermocline storage systems, offer a reduction in levelized energy cost over a baseline nitrate salt concept. The baseline concept uses a nitrate salt receiver, two-tank (hot and cold) nitrate salt thermal storage, and a subcritical Rankine cycle. A total of 6 plant designs were analyzed, as follows: Plant Designation Receiver Fluid Thermal Storage Rankine Cycle Subcritical nitrate salt Nitrate salt Two tank nitrate salt Subcritical Supercritical nitrate salt Nitrate salt Two tank nitrate salt Supercritical Low temperature H2O Supercritical H2O Two tank nitrate salt Supercritical High temperature H2O Supercritical H2O Packed bed thermocline Supercritical Low temperature CO2 Supercritical CO2 Two tank nitrate salt Supercritical High temperature CO2 Supercritical CO2 Packed bed thermocline Supercritical Several conclusions have been drawn from the results of the study, as follows: 1) The use of supercritical H2O as the heat transport fluid in a packed bed thermocline is likely not a practical approach. The specific heat of the fluid is a strong function of the temperatures at values near 400 °C, and the temperature profile in the bed during a charging cycle is markedly different than the profile during a discharging cycle. 2) The use of supercritical CO2 as the heat transport fluid in a packed bed thermocline is judged to be technically feasible. Nonetheless, the high operating pressures for the supercritical fluid require the use of pressure vessels to contain the storage inventory. The unit cost of the two-tank nitrate salt system is approximately $24/kWht, while the unit cost of the high pressure thermocline system is nominally 10 times as high. 3) For the supercritical fluids, the outer crown temperatures of the receiver tubes are in the range of 700 to 800 °C. At temperatures of 700 °C and above

  20. Technology with Supercritical Fluid. Part 2. Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marongiu, B.; De Giorgi, M. R.; Porcedda, S.; Cadoni, E.

    1998-01-01

    The present article is based on a bibliographical analysis of the main applications of the supercritical fluid in various fields, as: extraction from solid matrices, division of liquid charges, chromatography HPLC with supercritical eluent, chemical and biochemical reactions in supercritical solvents etc [it

  1. Supercritical transitiometry of polymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randzio, S L; Grolier, J P

    1998-06-01

    Employing supercritical fluids (SCFs) during polymers processing allows the unusual properties of SCFs to be exploited for making polymer products that cannot be obtained by other means. A new supercritical transitiometer has been constructed to permit study of the interactions of SCFs with polymers during processing under well-defined conditions of temperature and pressure. The supercritical transitiometer allows pressure to be exerted by either a supercritical fluid or a neutral medium and enables simultaneous determination of four basic parameters of a transition, i.e., p, T, Δ(tr)H and Δ(tr)V. This permits determination of the SCF effect on modification of the polymer structure at a given pressure and temperature and defines conditions to allow reproducible preparation of new polymer structures. Study of a semicrystalline polyethylene by this method has defined conditions for preparation of new microfoamed phases with good mechanical properties. The low densities and microporous structures of the new materials may make them useful for applications in medicine, pharmacy, or the food industry, for example.

  2. Supercritical fluid technologies for ceramic-processing applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matson, D.W.; Smith, R.D.

    1989-01-01

    This paper reports on the applications of supercritical fluid technologies for ceramic processing. The physical and chemical properties of these densified gases are summarized and related to their use as solvents and processing media. Several areas are identified in which specific ceramic processes benefit from the unique properties of supercritical fluids. The rapid expansion of supercritical fluid solutions provides a technique for producing fine uniform powders and thin films of widely varying materials. Supercritical drying technologies allow the formation of highly porous aerogel products with potentially wide application. Hydrothermal processes leading to the formation of large single crystals and microcrystalline powders can also be extended into the supercritical regime of water. Additional applications and potential applications are identified in the areas of extraction of binders and other additives from ceramic compacts, densification of porous ceramics, the formation of powders in supercritical micro-emulsions, and in preceramic polymer processing

  3. Pressure drop and friction factor correlations of supercritical flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Xiande; Xu Yu; Su Xianghui; Shi Rongrong

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Survey and evaluation of friction factor models for supercritical flow. ► Survey of experimental study of supercritical flow. ► New correlation of friction factor for supercritical flow. - Abstract: The determination of the in-tube friction pressure drop under supercritical conditions is important to the design, analysis and simulation of transcritical cycles of air conditioning and heat pump systems, nuclear reactor cooling systems and some other systems. A number of correlations for supercritical friction factors have been proposed. Their accuracy and applicability should be examined. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of experimental investigations into the pressure drop of supercritical flow in the past decade and a comparative study of supercritical friction factor correlations. Our analysis shows that none of the existing correlations is completely satisfactory, that there are contradictions between the existing experimental results and thus more elaborate experiments are needed, and that the tube roughness should be considered. A new friction factor correlation for supercritical tube flow is proposed based on 390 experimental data from the available literature, including 263 data of supercritical R410A cooling, 45 data of supercritical R404A cooling, 64 data of supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) cooling and 18 data of supercritical R22 heating. Compared with the best existing model, the new correlation increases the accuracy by more than 10%.

  4. Optimization of biodiesel production from soybean oil in a microreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahimi, Masoud; Aghel, Babak; Alitabar, Mohammad; Sepahvand, Arash; Ghasempour, Hamid Reza

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Continuous transesterification of soybean oil is studied in a microreactor. • Box–Behnken method and response surface methodology used for optimization. • Fatty Acid Methyl Ester transesterification of 89% obtained at optimum condition. • The microchannel pressure drop was related to energy dissipation rate and FAME %. • Higher FAME % values were obtained at higher energy dissipation rate. - Abstract: Transesterification of soybean oil with methanol in the presence of potassium hydroxide, as a catalyst, in a microreactor has been investigated. The transesterification reaction was performed at specific condition in circular tubes with hydraulic diameter of (0.8 mm). In order to further improve the biodiesel production, the experimental design was performed using Box–Behnken method. The results were analyzed using response surface methodology. The influence of reaction variables including; molar ratio of methanol to oil (6:1–12:1), temperature (55–65 °C) and catalyst concentration (0.6–1.8 wt.%) and residence time (20–180 s) under various flow rates of reactants (1–11 ml min −1 ) on Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) transesterification reaction was studied. The optimum condition was found at molar ratio of methanol to oil (9:1), catalyst concentration (1.2 wt.%) and temperature (60 °C) with a FAME % of about 89%. Considering optimum parameters, by changing the reactant residence time the FAME % was reached to 98% at 180 s

  5. Supercritical fluids in ionic liquids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kroon, M.C.; Peters, C.J.; Plechkova, N.V.; Seddon, K.R.

    2014-01-01

    Ionic liquids and supercritical fluids are both alternative environmentally benign solvents, but their properties are very different. Ionic liquids are non-volatile but often considered highly polar compounds, whereas supercritical fluids are non-polar but highly volatile compounds. The combination

  6. PULSE RADIOLYSIS IN SUPERCRITICAL RARE GAS FLUIDS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    HOLROYD, R.

    2007-01-01

    Recently, supercritical fluids have become quite popular in chemical and semiconductor industries for applications in chemical synthesis, extraction, separation processes, and surface cleaning. These applications are based on: the high dissolving power due to density build-up around solute molecules, and the ability to tune the conditions of a supercritical fluid, such as density and temperature, that are most suitable for a particular reaction. The rare gases also possess these properties and have the added advantage of being supercritical at room temperature. Information about the density buildup around both charged and neutral species can be obtained from fundamental studies of volume changes in the reactions of charged species in supercritical fluids. Volume changes are much larger in supercritical fluids than in ordinary solvents because of their higher compressibility. Hopefully basic studies, such as discussed here, of the behavior of charged species in supercritical gases will provide information useful for the utilization of these solvents in industrial applications

  7. A review on the performance of glycerol carbonate production via catalytic transesterification: Effects of influencing parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teng, Wai Keng; Ngoh, Gek Cheng; Yusoff, Rozita; Aroua, Mohamed Kheireddine

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Utilization of glycerol to synthesize glycerol carbonate through various routes. • Different types of carbonates and catalysts used for glycerol carbonate production via transesterification are elucidated. • Important factors influencing glycerol carbonate production performances are detailed. • Future research needs of glycerol carbonate production are proposed. - Abstract: Driven by high energy demand and environmental concerns, biodiesel as a substitute for fossil fuels is recognized to be promising renewable and clean energy. The increase in the biodiesel plant dramatically leads to the oversupply of its by-product glycerol in the biodiesel industries. Developing new industrial uses for glycerol is essential to increase the net energy and sustainability of biodiesel. Moreover, glycerol has great potential to be converted into marketable and valuable chemicals. The conversion of glycerol to glycerol carbonate (GC) has been extensively studied and transesterification of glycerol to GC has been proven to be the most promising route. Aimed to reveal the underlying mechanism of this successful conversion path, this paper reviews the chemo- and biocatalytic transesterification of glycerol with different carbonates sources. Also, a detail elucidation of the influence of the catalysts and operating conditions on the GC yield is included to provide an insight into the process. In addition, the future direction of glycerol carbonate production via catalytic transesterification is provided in this review

  8. Supercritical fluid chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigdergauz, M. S.; Lobachev, A. L.; Lobacheva, I. V.; Platonov, I. A.

    1992-03-01

    The characteristic features of supercritical fluid chromatography (SCFC) are examined and there is a brief historical note concerning the development of the method. Information concerning the use of supercritical fluid chromatography in the analysis of objects of different nature is presented in the form of a table. The roles of the mobile and stationary phases in the separation process and the characteristic features of the apparatus and of the use of the method in physicochemical research are discussed. The bibliography includes 364 references.

  9. Influence of the milling process on the structure and morphology of ZnAl_2O_4 and catalytic performance in the methyl transesterification reaction of soybean oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feitosa, A.C.; Dantas, B.B.; Santana, A.; Costa, A.C.M.F.; Costa, D.B.

    2012-01-01

    This work aimed to evaluate the effect of milling time over the structure and morphology of ZnAl_2O_4, synthesized by combustion reaction, and study the effect of milled samples over the methyl transesterification reaction of soy bean oil. ZnAl_2O_4 was synthesizing, by means combustion reaction, using a electrical resistance plate. The powder was milled over 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes and the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron micrograph, particle size distribution and N_2 adsorption isotherms. Milling process promoted changes over the agglomerate size and textural characteristics of the samples. Catalytic tests were conducted at 160 deg C, with 1% of catalyst, with molar ratio oil:methanol of 1:6 and reaction time of 1 hour. According the results, the sample milled over 30 minutes showed the highest conversion. (author)

  10. Correlation of supercritical-fluid extraction recoveries with supercritical-fluid chromatographic retention data: A fundamental study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lou, X.W.; Janssen, J.G.M.; Cramers, C.A.M.G.

    1995-01-01

    The possibility of using supercritical-fluid chromatographic retention data for examining the effects of operational parameters, such as pressure and flow rate, on the extraction characteristics in supercritical-fluid extraction (SFE) was investigated. A model was derived for calculating the

  11. Operation variables in transesterification of vegetable oil: an enzymatic catalysis review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Felipe Rojas González

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a literature review regarding how operating conditions influence vegetable oil enzymatic transesterification yield. The following parameters were studied: temperature and time reaction, alcohol: oil molar ratio, alcohol type, biocatalyst type and concentration, solvent, mixed intensity, reagent purity and free fatty acid and moisture concentration. Yields greater than 90% can be achieved in the enzymatic catalyst of vegetable oil using 35-50°C temperatures, long time reactions (7- 90h and a 3:1alcohol: vegetable oil molar ratio; however, such values would intrinsically depend on the type of lipase and oil u- sed. It was also found that free fatty acid and moisture concentration were parameters which did not require rigorous control due to high enzyme specificity. Lipases immobilised from Pseudomona cepacia bacteria and Rhizopus orizae fungi were most used in vegetable oil enzymatic transesterification.

  12. An Analysis of Methanol and Hydrogen Production via High-Temperature Electrolysis Using the Sodium Cooled Advanced Fast Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shannon M. Bragg-Sitton; Richard D. Boardman; Robert S. Cherry; Wesley R. Deason; Michael G. McKellar

    2014-03-01

    Integration of an advanced, sodium-cooled fast spectrum reactor into nuclear hybrid energy system (NHES) architectures is the focus of the present study. A techno-economic evaluation of several conceptual system designs was performed for the integration of a sodium-cooled Advanced Fast Reactor (AFR) with the electric grid in conjunction with wind-generated electricity. Cases in which excess thermal and electrical energy would be reapportioned within an integrated energy system to a chemical plant are presented. The process applications evaluated include hydrogen production via high temperature steam electrolysis and methanol production via steam methane reforming to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen which feed a methanol synthesis reactor. Three power cycles were considered for integration with the AFR, including subcritical and supercritical Rankine cycles and a modified supercritical carbon dioxide modified Brayton cycle. The thermal efficiencies of all of the modeled power conversions units were greater than 40%. A thermal efficiency of 42% was adopted in economic studies because two of the cycles either performed at that level or could potentially do so (subcritical Rankine and S-CO2 Brayton). Each of the evaluated hybrid architectures would be technically feasible but would demonstrate a different internal rate of return (IRR) as a function of multiple parameters; all evaluated configurations showed a positive IRR. As expected, integration of an AFR with a chemical plant increases the IRR when “must-take” wind-generated electricity is added to the energy system. Additional dynamic system analyses are recommended to draw detailed conclusions on the feasibility and economic benefits associated with AFR-hybrid energy system operation.

  13. Cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase for the enantioseparation of drugs in supercritical fluid chromatography: comparison with HPLC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalíková, Květa; Martínková, Monika; Schmid, Martin G; Tesařová, Eva

    2018-03-01

    A cellulose tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase was studied as a tool for the enantioselective separation of 21 selected analytes with different pharmaceutical and physicochemical properties. The enantioseparations were performed using supercritical fluid chromatography. The effect of the mobile phase composition was studied. Four different additives (diethylamine, triethylamine, isopropylamine, and trifluoroacetic acid) and isopropylamine combined with trifluoroacetic acid were tested and their influence on enantioseparation was compared. The influence of two different mobile phase co-solvents (methanol and propan-2-ol) combined with all the additives was also evaluated. The best mobile phase compositions for the separation of the majority of enantiomers were CO 2 /methanol/isopropylamine 80:20:0.1 v/v/v or CO 2 /propan-2-ol/isopropylamine/trifluoroacetic acid 80:20:0.05:0.05 v/v/v/v. The best results were obtained from the group of basic β-blockers. A high-performance liquid chromatography separation system composed of the same stationary phase and mobile phase of similar properties prepared as a mixture of hexane/propan-2-ol/additive 80:20:0.1 v/v/v was considered for comparison. Supercritical fluid chromatography was found to yield better results, i.e. better enantioresolution for shorter analysis times than high-performance liquid chromatography. However, examples of enantiomers better resolved under the optimized conditions in high-performance liquid chromatography were also found. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Ethylic or methylic route to soybean biodiesel? Tracking environmental answers through life cycle assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alejos Altamirano, Carlos Alberto; Yokoyama, Lídia; Medeiros, José Luiz de; Queiroz Fernandes Araújo, Ofélia de

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Life cycle of biodiesel using alternative transesterification routes is analyzed. • Bioethanol can potentially decrease CO_2 emissions of methanol biodiesel. • Contrarily, equivalent CO_2 emissions are retained and renewability is reduced. • Water footprint increases from 37.12 (methanol) to 44.88 m"3/GJ biodiesel (ethanol). • Energy efficiency is reduced from 79.37% (methanol) to 75.19 (ethanol %). - Abstract: Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced by transesterification of triacylglicerides (TAG) contained in vegetable oils and animal fats, to yield alkyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerin. Methanol is the main transesterification agent employed resulting in FAME (fatty acid methyl esters), which is primarily obtained from natural gas reforming (fossil source). Substitution of methanol by ethanol produces FAEE (fatty acid ethyl esters) and has the potential to render biodiesel a fully renewable fuel. Although renewability is a significant driving force for the proposed alcohol replacement, environmental performance of the alternative transesterification is questioned. The answer is herein sought through a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the two production chains. The study tracks CO_2 emissions, energy efficiency, water and resources consumption, and environmental impacts (Acidification Potential – AP, Global Warming Potential – GWP, Eutrophication Potential – EP, and Human Toxicity Potential – TP). The boundaries of the biodiesel production chains extend from the extraction of raw-materials to its final use as transportation fuel in buses, applied to the Brazilian scenario. Results show that substitution of the methylic route with the ethylic route does not attribute significant environmental benefits. Furthermore, the ethylic route presents competitive advantages only in the category of GWP, and exhibits inferior performance in the remaining evaluated impact categories. Finally, a greater consumption of water and energy

  15. Methanol Oxidation on Pt3Sn(111) for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: Methanol Decomposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xiaoqing; Deng, Zhigang; Guo, Chen; Wang, Weili; Wei, Shuxian; Ng, Siu-Pang; Chen, Xiangfeng; Ding, Ning; Guo, Wenyue; Wu, Chi-Man Lawrence

    2016-05-18

    PtSn alloy, which is a potential material for use in direct methanol fuel cells, can efficiently promote methanol oxidation and alleviate the CO poisoning problem. Herein, methanol decomposition on Pt3Sn(111) was systematically investigated using periodic density functional theory and microkinetic modeling. The geometries and energies of all of the involved species were analyzed, and the decomposition network was mapped out to elaborate the reaction mechanisms. Our results indicated that methanol and formaldehyde were weakly adsorbed, and the other derivatives (CHxOHy, x = 1-3, y = 0-1) were strongly adsorbed and preferred decomposition rather than desorption on Pt3Sn(111). The competitive methanol decomposition started with the initial O-H bond scission followed by successive C-H bond scissions, (i.e., CH3OH → CH3O → CH2O → CHO → CO). The Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi relations and energy barrier decomposition analyses identified the C-H and O-H bond scissions as being more competitive than the C-O bond scission. Microkinetic modeling confirmed that the vast majority of the intermediates and products from methanol decomposition would escape from the Pt3Sn(111) surface at a relatively low temperature, and the coverage of the CO residue decreased with an increase in the temperature and decrease in partial methanol pressure.

  16. Evaluating the effectiveness of various biochars as porous media for biodiesel synthesis via pseudo-catalytic transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jechan; Jung, Jong-Min; Oh, Jeong-Ik; Ok, Yong Sik; Lee, Sang-Ryong; Kwon, Eilhann E

    2017-05-01

    This study focuses on investigating the optimized chemical composition of biochar used as porous material for biodiesel synthesis via pseudo-catalytic transesterification. To this end, six biochars from different sources were prepared and biodiesel yield obtained from pseudo-catalytic transesterification of waste cooking oil using six biochars were measured. Biodiesel yield and optimal reaction temperature for pseudo-catalytic transesterification were strongly dependent on the raw material of biochar. For example, biochar generated from maize residue exhibited the best performance, which yield was reached ∼90% at 300°C; however, the maximum biodiesel yield with pine cone biochar was 43% at 380°C. The maximum achievable yield of biodiesel was sensitive to the lignin content of biomass source of biochar but not sensitive to the cellulose and hemicellulose content. This study provides an insight for screening the most effective biochar as pseudo-catalytic porous material, thereby helping develop more sustainable and economically viable biodiesel synthesis process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Ampelopsis grossedentata Stems: Process Optimization and Antioxidant Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Da Sun

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2 extraction of bioactive compounds including flavonoids and phenolics from Ampelopsis grossedentata stems was carried out. Extraction parameters such as pressure, temperature, dynamic time and modifier, were optimized using an orthogonal array design of L9 (34, and antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH free radical scavenging assay and ferrous ion chelating (FIC assay. The best conditions obtained for SC-CO2 extraction of flavonoids was 250 bar, 40 °C, 50 min, and with a modifier of methanol/ethanol (1:3, v/v, and that for phenolics extraction was 250 bar, 40 °C, 50 min, and with a modifier of methanol/ethanol (1:1, v/v. Meantime, flavonoids and phenolics were found to be mainly responsible for the DPPH scavenging activity of the extracts, but not for the chelating activity on ferrous ion according to Pearson correlation analysis. Furthermore, several unreported flavonoids such as apigenin, vitexin, luteolin, etc., have been detected in the extracts from A. grossedentata stems.

  18. Watching Nanoparticles Form: An In Situ (Small-/Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering/Total Scattering) Study of the Growth of Yttria-Stabilised Zirconia in Supercritical Fluids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tyrsted, Christoffer; Pauw, Brian; Jensen, Kirsten Marie Ørnsbjerg

    2012-01-01

    Understanding nanoparticle formation reactions requires multitechnique in situ characterisation, since no single characterisation technique provides adequate information. Here, the first combined small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS)/wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS)/total-scattering study of nano...... of nanoparticle formation is presented. We report on the formation and growth of yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) under the extreme conditions of supercritical methanol for particles with Y2O3 equivalent molar fractions of 0, 4, 8, 12 and 25%....

  19. Formation of molecular complexes of salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid, and methyl salicylate in a mixture of supercritical carbon dioxide with a polar cosolvent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrenko, V. E.; Antipova, M. L.; Gurina, D. L.; Odintsova, E. G.

    2015-08-01

    The solvate structures formed by salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid, and methyl salicylate in supercritical (SC) carbon dioxide with a polar cosolvent (methanol, 0.03 mole fractions) at a density of 0.7 g/cm3 and a temperature of 318 K were studied by the molecular dynamics method. Salicylic and acetylsalicylic acids were found to form highly stable hydrogen-bonded complexes with methanol via the hydrogen atom of the carboxyl group. For methyl salicylate in which the carboxyl hydrogen is substituted by a methyl radical, the formation of stable hydrogen bonds with methanol was not revealed. The contribution of other functional groups of the solute to the interactions with the cosolvent was much smaller. An analysis of correlations between the obtained data and the literature data on the cosolvent effect on the solubility of the compounds in SC CO2 showed that the dissolving ability of SC CO2 with respect to a polar organic substance in the presence of a cosolvent increased only when stable hydrogen-bonded complexes are formed between this substance and the cosolvent.

  20. Drying of supercritical carbon dioxide with membrane processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lohaus, Theresa; Scholz, Marco; Koziara, Beata; Benes, Nieck Edwin; Wessling, Matthias

    2015-01-01

    In supercritical extraction processes regenerating the supercritical fluid represents the main cost constraint. Membrane technology has potential for cost efficient regeneration of water-loaded supercritical carbon dioxide. In this study we have designed membrane-based processes to dehydrate

  1. Supercritical water natural circulation flow stability experiment research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Dongliang; Zhou, Tao; Li, Bing [North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). School of Nuclear Science and Engineering; North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Inst. of Nuclear Thermalhydraulic Safety and Standardization; North China Electric Power Univ., Beijing (China). Beijing Key Lab. of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy; Huang, Yanping [Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu (China). Science and Technology on Reactor System Design Technology Lab.

    2017-12-15

    The Thermal hydraulic characteristics of supercritical water natural circulation plays an important role in the safety of the Generation-IV supercritical water-cooled reactors. Hence it is crucial to conduct the natural circulation heat transfer experiment of supercritical water. The heat transfer characteristics have been studied under different system pressures in the natural circulation systems. Results show that the fluctuations in the subcritical flow rate (for natural circulation) is relatively small, as compared to the supercritical flow rate. By increasing the heating power, it is observed that the amplitude (and time period) of the fluctuation tends to become larger for the natural circulation of supercritical water. This tends to show the presence of flow instability in the supercritical water. It is possible to observe the flow instability phenomenon when the system pressure is suddenly reduced from the supercritical pressure state to the subcritical state. At the test outlet section, the temperature is prone to increase suddenly, whereas the blocking effect may be observed in the inlet section of the experiment.

  2. Synthesis of biodiesel from castor oil: Silent versus sonicated methylation and energy studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sáez-Bastante, J.; Pinzi, S.; Jiménez-Romero, F.J.; Luque de Castro, M.D.; Priego-Capote, F.; Dorado, M.P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Sonicated transesterification leads to higher conversion than conventional one. • Energy consumption required by conventional and ultrasound-assisted transesterification was compared. • Ultrasound-assisted methylation is more competitive in terms of energy than conventional one. - Abstract: In recent years, biodiesel is evolving to be one of the most employed biofuels for partial replacement of petrodiesel. The most widely used feedstocks for biodiesel production are vegetable oils. Among them, castor oil presents two interesting features as biodiesel raw material; on one hand, it does not compete with edible oils; on the other, the cultivar does not require high inputs. In this research, a comparison between conventional and ultrasound-assisted transesterification was carried out in terms of castor oil methyl ester (COME) yield and energy efficiency. Results show that sonicated transesterification leads to higher COME yields under lower methanol-to-oil molar ratio, lower amount of catalyst, shorter reaction time and lower amount of energy required. Ultrasound-assisted transesterification parameters were optimized resulting in the following optimum conditions: 20 kHz fixed frequency, 70% duty cycle, 40% sonication amplitude, 4.87 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 1.4% w/w amount of catalyst and 3 sonication cycles (3 min 48 s) that provided 86.57% w/w COME yield. The energy required along each type of transesterification was measured leading to the conclusion that sonicated transesterification consumes a significant lower amount of energy than conventional one, thus achieving higher COME yield

  3. Electro-catalytic biodiesel production from canola oil in methanolic and ethanolic solutions with low cost stainless steel and hybrid ion-exchange resin grafted electrodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allioux, Francois-Marie; Holland, Brendan J.; Kong, Lingxue; Dumée, Ludovic F.

    2017-07-01

    Biodiesel is a growing alternative to petroleum fuels and is produced by the catalysed transesterification of fats in presence of an alcohol base. Transesterification processes using homogeneous catalysts are considered to be amongst the most efficient methods but rely on the feedstock quality and low water content in order to avoid undesirable saponification reactions. In this work, the electro-catalytic conversion of canola oil to biodiesel in a 1% aqueous methanolic and ethanolic reaction mixture was performed without the addition of external catalyst or co-solvent. An inexpensive stainless steel electrode and a hybrid stainless steel electrode coated with an ion-exchange resin catalyst were used as cathode materials while the anode was composed of a plain carbon paper. The cell voltages were varied from 10 to 40 V and the reaction temperature maintained at 20 or 40°C. The canola oil conversion rates were found to be superior at 40°C without saponification reactions for cell voltages below 30 V. The conversion rates were as high as 87% for the hybrid electrode and 81% for the plain stainless steel electrode. This work could inspire new process development for the conversion of high water content feedstock for the production of second-generation biodiesel.

  4. Electro-Catalytic Biodiesel Production from Canola Oil in Methanolic and Ethanolic Solutions with Low-Cost Stainless Steel and Hybrid Ion-Exchange Resin Grafted Electrodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francois-Marie Allioux

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel is a growing alternative to petroleum fuels and is produced by the catalyzed transesterification of fats in presence of an alcohol base. Transesterification processes using homogeneous catalysts are considered to be among the most efficient methods but rely on the feedstock quality and low water content in order to avoid undesirable saponification reactions. In this work, the electro-catalytic conversion of canola oil to biodiesel in a 1% aqueous methanolic and ethanolic reaction mixture was performed without the addition of external catalyst or cosolvent. An inexpensive stainless steel (SS electrode and a hybrid SS electrode coated with an ion-exchange resin catalyst were used as cathode materials while the anode was composed of a plain carbon paper. The cell voltages were varied from 10 to 40 V and the reaction temperature maintained at 20 or 40°C. The canola oil conversion rates were found to be superior at 40°C without saponification reactions for cell voltages below 30 V. The conversion rates were as high as 87% for the hybrid electrode and 81% for the plain SS electrode. This work could inspire new process development for the conversion of high water content feedstock for the production of second-generation biodiesel.

  5. Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Quinones from Compost for Microbial Community Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ni Luh Gede Ratna Juliasih

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE was used to extract quinones from compost to monitor the microbial community dynamics during composting. The 0.3 g of dried compost was extracted using 3 mL min−1 of carbon dioxide (90% and methanol (10% at 45°C and 25 MPa for a 30 min extraction time. The extracted quinones were analysed using ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC with 0.3 mL min−1 of methanol mobile phase for a 50 min chromatographic run time. A comparable detected amount of quinones was obtained using the developed method and an organic solvent extraction method, being 36.06 μmol kg−1 and 34.54 μmol kg−1, respectively. Significantly low value of dissimilarity index (D between the two methods (0.05 indicated that the quinone profile obtained by both methods was considered identical. The developed method was then applied to determine the maturity of the compost by monitoring the change of quinone during composting. The UQ-9 and MK-7 were predominant quinones in the initial stage of composting. The diversity of quinone became more complex during the cooling and maturation stages. This study showed that SFE had successfully extracted quinones from a complex matrix with simplification and rapidity of the analysis that is beneficial for routine analysis.

  6. Effects of Supercritical Environment on Hydrocarbon-fuel Injection

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Bongchul Shin; Dohun Kim; Min Son; Jaye Koo

    2017-01-01

    In this study,the effects of environment conditions on decane were investigated.Decane was injected in subcritical and supercritical ambient conditions.The visualization chamber was pressurized to 1.68 MPa by using nitrogen gas at a temperature of 653 K for subcritical ambient conditions.For supercritical ambient conditions,the visualization chamber was pressurized to 2.52 MPa by using helium at a temperature of 653 K.The decane injection in the pressurized chamber was visualized via a shadowgraph technique and gradient images were obtained by a post processing method.A large variation in density gradient was observed at jet interface in the case of subcritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions.Conversely,for supercritical injection in supercritical ambient conditions,a small density gradient was observed at the jet interface.In a manner similar to that observed in other cases,supercritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions differed from supercritical ambient conditions such as sphere shape liquid.Additionally,there were changes in the interface,and the supercritical injection core width was thicker than that in the subcritical injection.Furthermore,in cases with the same injection conditions,the change in the supercritical ambient normalized core width was smaller than the change in the subcritical ambient normalized core width owing to high specific heat at the supercritical injection and small phase change at the interface.Therefore,the interface was affected by the changing ambient condition.Given that the effect of changing the thermodynamic properties of propellants could be essential for a variable thrust rocket engine,the effects of the ambient conditions were investigated experimentally.

  7. Effects of supercritical environment on hydrocarbon-fuel injection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Bongchul; Kim, Dohun; Son, Min; Koo, Jaye

    2017-04-01

    In this study, the effects of environment conditions on decane were investigated. Decane was injected in subcritical and supercritical ambient conditions. The visualization chamber was pressurized to 1.68 MPa by using nitrogen gas at a temperature of 653 K for subcritical ambient conditions. For supercritical ambient conditions, the visualization chamber was pressurized to 2.52 MPa by using helium at a temperature of 653 K. The decane injection in the pressurized chamber was visualized via a shadowgraph technique and gradient images were obtained by a post processing method. A large variation in density gradient was observed at jet interface in the case of subcritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions. Conversely, for supercritical injection in supercritical ambient conditions, a small density gradient was observed at the jet interface. In a manner similar to that observed in other cases, supercritical injection in subcritical ambient conditions differed from supercritical ambient conditions such as sphere shape liquid. Additionally, there were changes in the interface, and the supercritical injection core width was thicker than that in the subcritical injection. Furthermore, in cases with the same injection conditions, the change in the supercritical ambient normalized core width was smaller than the change in the subcritical ambient normalized core width owing to high specific heat at the supercritical injection and small phase change at the interface. Therefore, the interface was affected by the changing ambient condition. Given that the effect of changing the thermodynamic properties of propellants could be essential for a variable thrust rocket engine, the effects of the ambient conditions were investigated experimentally.

  8. Biodiesel from soybean oil: experimental procedure of transesterification for organic chemistry laboratories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geris, Regina; Santos, Nadia Alessandra Carmo dos; Amaral, Bruno Andrade; Maia, Isabelle de Souza; Castro, Vinicius Dourado; Carvalho, Jose Roque Mota

    2007-01-01

    The transesterification procedure of triacylglycerides from soybean oil (in natura and waste oil) to give biodiesel was adapted to semi-micro laboratory scale as an additional experimental technique of nucleophilic acyl substitution for undergraduate courses in Chemistry and related areas. (author)

  9. Geothermal energy production with supercritical fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Donald W.

    2003-12-30

    There has been invented a method for producing geothermal energy using supercritical fluids for creation of the underground reservoir, production of the geothermal energy, and for heat transport. Underground reservoirs are created by pumping a supercritical fluid such as carbon dioxide into a formation to fracture the rock. Once the reservoir is formed, the same supercritical fluid is allowed to heat up and expand, then is pumped out of the reservoir to transfer the heat to a surface power generating plant or other application.

  10. Preparation And Characterization Of Modified Calcium Oxide From Natural Sources And Their Application In The Transesterification Of Palm Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aqliliriana

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Calcium oxide catalysts were prepared from natural calcium sources such as limestone and mud creeper shell and the catalytic activities were evaluated in the transesterification of palm oil. The raw material which mainly composed of calcium carbonate can be easily converted to calcium oxide CaO after calcination above 1000 K for few hours. Abundant cheap sources benign high conversion and nontoxic become main advantages of these catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by XRF TGA XRD CO2-TPD SEM and BET methods. Thermal decomposition of CaCO3 will produced CaO which later will be converted into calcium hydroxide CaOH2 via simple hydration technique. Under optimum reaction condition methanol to oil ratio 151 catalyst loading 3 wt. reaction temperature 338 K for 5 hours the highest conversion of palm oil to methyl ester recorded were 98 and 94 when using modified limestone and mud creeper shell respectively. The results observed an increment up to 80 by using modified catalysts with characterization results showed high in basicity and surface area. Hence promising materials via simple and cheap method can be achieved.

  11. Bio-oil production from biomass via supercritical fluid extraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durak, Halil, E-mail: halildurak@yyu.edu.tr [Yuzuncu Yıl University, Vocational School of Health Services, 65080, Van (Turkey)

    2016-04-18

    Supercritical fluid extraction is used for producing bio-fuel from biomass. Supercritical fluid extraction process under supercritical conditions is the thermally disruption process of the lignocellulose or other organic materials at 250-400 °C temperature range under high pressure (4-5 MPa). Supercritical fluid extraction trials were performed in a cylindrical reactor (75 mL) in organic solvents (acetone, ethanol) under supercritical conditions with (calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate) and without catalyst at the temperatures of 250, 275 and 300 °C. The produced liquids at 300 °C in supercritical liquefaction were analyzed and characterized by elemental, GC-MS and FT-IR. 36 and 37 different types of compounds were identified by GC-MS obtained in acetone and ethanol respectively.

  12. Bio-oil production from biomass via supercritical fluid extraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durak, Halil

    2016-01-01

    Supercritical fluid extraction is used for producing bio-fuel from biomass. Supercritical fluid extraction process under supercritical conditions is the thermally disruption process of the lignocellulose or other organic materials at 250-400 °C temperature range under high pressure (4-5 MPa). Supercritical fluid extraction trials were performed in a cylindrical reactor (75 mL) in organic solvents (acetone, ethanol) under supercritical conditions with (calcium hydroxide, sodium carbonate) and without catalyst at the temperatures of 250, 275 and 300 °C. The produced liquids at 300 °C in supercritical liquefaction were analyzed and characterized by elemental, GC-MS and FT-IR. 36 and 37 different types of compounds were identified by GC-MS obtained in acetone and ethanol respectively.

  13. Enhancing power cycle efficiency for a supercritical Brayton cycle power system using tunable supercritical gas mixtures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Steven A.; Pickard, Paul S.; Vernon, Milton E.; Radel, Ross F.

    2017-08-29

    Various technologies pertaining to tuning composition of a fluid mixture in a supercritical Brayton cycle power generation system are described herein. Compounds, such as Alkanes, are selectively added or removed from an operating fluid of the supercritical Brayton cycle power generation system to cause the critical temperature of the fluid to move up or down, depending upon environmental conditions. As efficiency of the supercritical Brayton cycle power generation system is substantially optimized when heat is rejected near the critical temperature of the fluid, dynamically modifying the critical temperature of the fluid based upon sensed environmental conditions improves efficiency of such a system.

  14. A review on production of biodiesel using catalyzed transesterification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dash, Santosh Kumar; Lingfa, Pradip

    2017-07-01

    Biodiesel is arguably an important fuel for compression ignition engine as far as sustainability and environmental issues are concerned. It can be produced from both edible and non-edible vegetable oils and animal fats. Owing to higher viscosity, the utilization of crude vegetable oil is not advisable as it results engine failure. For reducing the viscosity and improving the other fuel characteristics comparable to that of diesel fuel, different approaches have been developed. However, transesterification process is very reliable, less costly and easy method compared to other methods. Due to more free fatty acids content in most of the non-edible vegetable oils, a pretreatment is employed to convert the acids to ester, then transesterified with suitable alcohol. Primarily yield of biodiesel depends upon the molar ratio of oil/alcohol, reaction temperature, reaction time, amount of catalyst, type of catalyst, stirring speed. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts are used for synthesis purposes. Heterogeneous catalysts are less costly, environmental benign and can be derived from natural resources. Enzymatic catalysts are more environmental benign than heterogeneous catalysts but are costly, which hinders its widespread research and utilization. This article reviews the results of prominent works and researches in the field of production of biodiesel via catalyzed transesterification process.

  15. 1995 world methanol conference

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1995-01-01

    The 20 papers contained in this volume deal with the global markets for methanol, the production of MTBE, integrating methanol production into a coal-to-SNG complex, production of methanol from natural gas, catalysts for methanol production from various synthesis gases, combined cycle power plants using methanol as fuel, and economics of the methanol industry. All papers have been processed for inclusion on the data base

  16. Systematic investigations of peak deformations due to co-solvent adsorption in preparative supercritical fluid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenne, Emelie; Leek, Hanna; Klarqvist, Magnus; Samuelsson, Jörgen; Fornstedt, Torgny

    2017-05-05

    Strangely shaped overloaded bands were recently reported using a standard supercritical fluid chromatographic system comprising a diol column as the stationary phase and carbon dioxide with methanol as the mobile phase. Some of these overloaded elution profiles appeared strongly deformed and even had "anti-Langmuirian" shapes although their solute compounds had "Langmuirian" adsorption. To obtain a more complete understanding of the generality of these effects, the investigation was expanded to cover also other common co-solvents, such as ethanol, 2-propanol, and acetonitrile, as well as various stationary phase materials, such as silica, and 2-ethylpyridine. From this expanded study it could be confirmed that the effects of deformed overloaded solute band shapes, due to co-solvent adsorption, is general phenomena in supercritical fluid chromatographic. It could also be concluded that these effects as well as previously observed "solvent effects" or "plug effects" are entirely due to competition between the solute and solvent molecules for the adsorption sites on the stationary phase surface. Finally, guidelines were given for how to evaluate the risk of deformations occurring for a given solvent-column combination, based simply on testing retention times of solutes and co-solvent. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Supercritical Fluids Processing of Biomass to Chemicals and Fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olson, Norman K. [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    2011-09-28

    The main objective of this project is to develop and/or enhance cost-effective methodologies for converting biomass into a wide variety of chemicals, fuels, and products using supercritical fluids. Supercritical fluids will be used both to perform reactions of biomass to chemicals and products as well as to perform extractions/separations of bio-based chemicals from non-homogeneous mixtures. This work supports the Biomass Program’s Thermochemical Platform Goals. Supercritical fluids are a thermochemical approach to processing biomass that, while aligned with the Biomass Program’s interests in gasification and pyrolysis, offer the potential for more precise and controllable reactions. Indeed, the literature with respect to the use of water as a supercritical fluid frequently refers to “supercritical water gasification” or “supercritical water pyrolysis.”

  18. Castor Oil Transesterification Catalysed by Liquid Enzymes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andrade, Thalles; Errico, Massimiliano; Christensen, Knud Villy

    2017-01-01

    In the present work, biodiesel production by reaction of non-edible castor oil with methanol under enzymatic catalysis is investigated. Two liquid enzymes were tested: Eversa Transform and Resinase HT. Reactions were performed at 35 °C and with a molar ratio of methanol to oil of 6:1. The reaction...... time was 8 hours. Stepwise addition of methanol was necessary to avoid enzyme inhibition by methanol. In order to minimize the enzyme costs, the influence of enzyme activity loss during reuse of both enzymes was evaluated under two distinct conditions. In the former, the enzymes were recovered...... and fully reused; in the latter, a mixture of 50 % reused and 50 % fresh enzymes was tested. In the case of total reuse after three cycles, both enzymes achieved only low conversions. The biodiesel content in the oil-phase using Eversa Transform was 94.21 % for the first cycle, 68.39 % in the second, and 33...

  19. Transport properties of supercritical carbon dioxide

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lavanchy, F.; Fourcade, E.; de Koeijer, E.A.; Wijers, J.G.; Meyer, T.; Keurentjes, J.T.F.; Kemmere, M.F.; Meyer, T.

    2005-01-01

    Recently, supercritical fluids have emerged as more sustainable alternatives for the organic solvents often used in polymer processes. This is the first book emphasizing the potential of supercritical carbon dioxide for polymer processes from an engineering point of view. It develops a

  20. Supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry: A high-efficiency detection technique to quantify Taxane drugs in whole-blood samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Chan; Guan, Jibin; Zhang, Dong; Li, Bing; Liu, Hongzhuo; He, Zhonggui

    2017-10-01

    We present a technique to rapid determine taxane in blood samples by supercritical fluid chromatography together with mass spectrometry. The aim of this study was to develop a supercritical fluid chromatography with mass spectrometry method for the analysis of paclitaxel, cabazitaxel, and docetaxel in whole-blood samples of rats. Liquid-dry matrix spot extraction was selected in sample preparation procedure. Supercritical fluid chromatography separation of paclitaxel, cabazitaxel, docetaxel, and glyburide (internal standard) was accomplished within 3 min by using the gradient mobile phase consisted of methanol as the compensation solvent and carbon dioxide at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The method was validated regarding specificity, the lower limit of quantification, repeatability, and reproducibility of quantification, extraction recovery, and matrix effects. The lower limit of quantification was found to be 10 ng/mL since it exhibited acceptable precision and accuracy at the corresponding level. All interday accuracies and precisions were within the accepted criteria of ±15% of the nominal value and within ±20% at the lower limit of quantification, implying that the method was reliable and reproducible. In conclusion, this method is a promising tool to support and improve preclinical or clinical pharmacokinetic studies with the taxanes anticancer drugs. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Towards a methanol economy based on homogeneous catalysis: methanol to H2 and CO2 to methanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alberico, E.; Nielsen, Martin

    2015-01-01

    The possibility to implement both the exhaustive dehydrogenation of aqueous methanol to hydrogen and CO2 and the reverse reaction, the hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol and water, may pave the way to a methanol based economy as part of a promising renewable energy system. Recently, homogeneous...

  2. Green biodiesel production: a review on feedstock, catalyst, monolithic reactor, and supercritical fluid technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rizo Edwin Gumba

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The advancement of alternative energy is primarily catalyzed by the negative environmental impacts and energy depletion caused by the excessive usage of fossil fuels. Biodiesel has emerged as a promising substitute to petrodiesel because it is biodegradable, less toxic, and reduces greenhouse gas emission. Apart from that, biodiesel can be used as blending component or direct replacements for diesel fuel in automotive engines. A diverse range of methods have been reported for the conversion of renewable feedstocks (vegetable oil or animal fat into biodiesel with transesterification being the most preferred method. Nevertheless, the cost of producing biodiesel is higher compared to fossil fuel, thus impeding its commercialization potentials. The limited source of reliable feedstock and the underdeveloped biodiesel production route have prevented the full-scale commercialization of biodiesel in many parts of the world. In a recent development, a new technology that incorporates monoliths as support matrices for enzyme immobilization in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2 for continuous biodiesel production has been proposed to solve the problem. The potential of SC-CO2 system to be applied in enzymatic reactors is not well documented and hence the purpose of this review is to highlight the previous studies conducted as well as the future direction of this technology.

  3. Recent Studies on Methanol Crossover in Liquid-Feed Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdez, T. I.; Narayanan, S. R.

    2000-01-01

    In this work, the effects of methanol crossover and airflow rates on the cathode potential of an operating direct methanol fuel cell are explored. Techniques for quantifying methanol crossover in a fuel cell and for separating the electrical performance of each electrode in a fuel cell are discussed. The effect of methanol concentration on cathode potential has been determined to be significant. The cathode is found to be mass transfer limited when operating on low flow rate air and high concentrations of methanol. Improvements in cathode structure and operation at low methanol concentration have been shown to result in improved cell performance.

  4. Supercritical boiler material selection using fuzzy analytic network process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saikat Ranjan Maity

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The recent development of world is being adversely affected by the scarcity of power and energy. To survive in the next generation, it is thus necessary to explore the non-conventional energy sources and efficiently consume the available sources. For efficient exploitation of the existing energy sources, a great scope lies in the use of Rankin cycle-based thermal power plants. Today, the gross efficiency of Rankin cycle-based thermal power plants is less than 28% which has been increased up to 40% with reheating and regenerative cycles. But, it can be further improved up to 47% by using supercritical power plant technology. Supercritical power plants use supercritical boilers which are able to withstand a very high temperature (650-720˚C and pressure (22.1 MPa while producing superheated steam. The thermal efficiency of a supercritical boiler greatly depends on the material of its different components. The supercritical boiler material should possess high creep rupture strength, high thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion, high specific heat and very high temperature withstandability. This paper considers a list of seven supercritical boiler materials whose performance is evaluated based on seven pivotal criteria. Given the intricacy and difficulty of this supercritical boiler material selection problem having interactions and interdependencies between different criteria, this paper applies fuzzy analytic network process to select the most appropriate material for a supercritical boiler. Rene 41 is the best supercritical boiler material, whereas, Haynes 230 is the worst preferred choice.

  5. Thermodynamic Optimization of Supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton Cycles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rhim, Dong-Ryul; Park, Sung-Ho; Kim, Su-Hyun; Yeom, Choong-Sub [Institute for Advanced Engineering, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    The supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle has been studied for nuclear applications, mainly for one of the alternative power conversion systems of the sodium cooled fast reactor, since 1960's. Although the supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle has not been expected to show higher efficiency at lower turbine inlet temperature over the conventional steam Rankine cycle, the higher density of supercritical CO{sub 2} like a liquid in the supercritical region could reduce turbo-machinery sizes, and the potential problem of sodium-water reaction with the sodium cooled fast reactor might be solved with the use of CO{sub 2} instead of water. The supercritical CO{sub 2} recompression Brayton cycle was proposed for the better thermodynamic efficiency than for the simple supercritical CO{sub 2} Brayton cycle. Thus this paper presents the efficiencies of the supercritical CO{sub 2} recompression Brayton cycle along with several decision variables for the thermodynamic optimization of the supercritical CO{sub 2} recompression Brayton cycle. The analytic results in this study show that the system efficiency reaches its maximum value at a compressor outlet pressure of 200 bars and a recycle fraction of 30 %, and the lower minimum temperature approach at the two heat exchangers shows higher system efficiency as expected.

  6. Vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization of small methanol and methanol-water clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, Musahid; Ahmed, Musahid; Wilson, Kevin R.; Belau, Leonid; Kostko, Oleg

    2008-01-01

    In this work we report on the vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization of small methanol and methanol-water clusters. Clusters of methanol with water are generated via co-expansion of the gas phase constituents in a continuous supersonic jet expansion of methanol and water seeded in Ar. The resulting clusters are investigated by single photon ionization with tunable vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation and mass analyzed using reflectron mass spectrometry. Protonated methanol clusters of the form (CH3OH)nH + (n=1-12) dominate the mass spectrum below the ionization energy of the methanol monomer. With an increase in water concentration, small amounts of mixed clusters of the form (CH3OH)n(H2O)H + (n=2-11) are detected. The only unprotonated species observed in this work are the methanol monomer and dimer. Appearance energies are obtained from the photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves for CH3OH +, (CH 3OH)2 +, (CH3OH)nH + (n=1-9), and (CH 3OH)n(H2O)H + (n=2-9 ) as a function of photon energy. With an increase in the water content in the molecular beam, there is an enhancement of photoionization intensity for methanol dimer and protonated methanol monomer at threshold. These results are compared and contrasted to previous experimental observations

  7. Design and Integration for Biodiesel Production from Vegetable Oil via Transesterification Reaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Abbaspour Aghdam

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Biodiesel is Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME which is used as a renewable fuel in diesel engines. Extraction of lipid from various flora sources, including Sunflower, Palm, Canola or animal oils, with a Trans-Esterification reaction between alcohol and Triglyceride (TG, leads to production of Biodiesel and Glycerin. The production cost of biodiesel is so important that is now considered as the greatest obstacle during scale-up process. In this research, a model-type of biodiesel production unit (using vegetable oil source, was designed by Aspen HYSYS V7.2 software, then a great deal of the attempt was employed to optimize the overall yield against the processing parameters including: mass and energy consumption load, as well as some technical discussion regarding associated apparatuses. Materials and Methods Process Design The simulation was carried out using Aspen HYSYS V7.2 employing Triolein (as TG, Oleic acid (as Free Fatty Acid (FFA, and Oleat as biodiesel. Avoiding side-stream reactions as well as trans-esterification, the FFA content was taken to a mere 0.05% (%mass. Feed stream was considered as product of NaOH-catalyzed bi-reactor system operating at 60˚C and 1 atm with the overall conversion of 70% using two series reactors. The ratio of TG to Alcohol is 1:3, however, owing to establish an appropriate reactor performance; this ratio was applied as 1:6 practically. The design was mainly intended to produce 480 m3d-1 biodiesel with mass concentration of 99.65%. Methanol was used in this investigation due to low cost, accessibility and handling considerations. NRTL was taken as the Equation of State (EOS for the process and should be used PRSV equation in the decanter. Thermal Integration Energy consumption was taken into account as basis of optimization in this study. Table 2 demonstrates the thermal characteristics of all streams consist of source and down-streams, while outlet stream like glycerol streams were neglected to

  8. Supercritical Fluid Chromatographic Separation of Dimethylpolysiloxane Polymer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pyo, Dong Jin; Lim, Chang Hyun [Kangwon National University, Chuncheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-02-15

    Water was used as a polar modifier and a μ-porasil column as a saturator column. The μ-porasil column was inserted between the pump outlet and the injection valve. During the passage of the supercritical fluid mobile phase through the silica column, a polar modifier (water) can be dissolved in the pressurized supercritical fluid. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has been known as more polar polymer than polystyrene polymer. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has never been separated using water modified mobile phase. In this paper, using a μ-porasil column as a saturator column, excellent supercritical fluid chromatograms of dimethylpolysiloxane oligomers were obtained. The use of compressed (dense) gases and supercritical fluids as chromatographic mobile phases in conjunction with liquid chromatographic (LC)-type packed columns was first reported by Klesper et al. in 1962. During its relatively short history, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has become an attractive alternative to GC and LC in certain industrially important applications. SFC gives the advantage of high efficiency and allows the analysis of nonvolatile or thermally labile mixtures.

  9. Supercritical Fluid Chromatographic Separation of Dimethylpolysiloxane Polymer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pyo, Dong Jin; Lim, Chang Hyun

    2005-01-01

    Water was used as a polar modifier and a μ-porasil column as a saturator column. The μ-porasil column was inserted between the pump outlet and the injection valve. During the passage of the supercritical fluid mobile phase through the silica column, a polar modifier (water) can be dissolved in the pressurized supercritical fluid. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has been known as more polar polymer than polystyrene polymer. Dimethylpolysiloxane polymer has never been separated using water modified mobile phase. In this paper, using a μ-porasil column as a saturator column, excellent supercritical fluid chromatograms of dimethylpolysiloxane oligomers were obtained. The use of compressed (dense) gases and supercritical fluids as chromatographic mobile phases in conjunction with liquid chromatographic (LC)-type packed columns was first reported by Klesper et al. in 1962. During its relatively short history, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has become an attractive alternative to GC and LC in certain industrially important applications. SFC gives the advantage of high efficiency and allows the analysis of nonvolatile or thermally labile mixtures

  10. Introduction to supercritical fluids a spreadsheet-based approach

    CERN Document Server

    Smith, Richard; Peters, Cor

    2013-01-01

    This text provides an introduction to supercritical fluids with easy-to-use Excel spreadsheets suitable for both specialized-discipline (chemistry or chemical engineering student) and mixed-discipline (engineering/economic student) classes. Each chapter contains worked examples, tip boxes and end-of-the-chapter problems and projects. Part I covers web-based chemical information resources, applications and simplified theory presented in a way that allows students of all disciplines to delve into the properties of supercritical fluids and to design energy, extraction and materials formation systems for real-world processes that use supercritical water or supercritical carbon dioxide. Part II takes a practical approach and addresses the thermodynamic framework, equations of state, fluid phase equilibria, heat and mass transfer, chemical equilibria and reaction kinetics of supercritical fluids. Spreadsheets are arranged as Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) functions and macros that are completely (source code) ...

  11. The (p, ρ, T) of (methanol + benzene) and (methanol + ethylbenzene)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naziev, Yashar M.; Shahverdiyev, Astan N.; Hasanov, Vaqif H.

    2005-01-01

    The (p, ρ, T) of methanol, ethylbenzene and (methanol + benzene) and (methanol + ethylbenzene) at temperatures between (290 and 500) K and pressures in the range (0.1 to 60) MPa have been measured with a magnetic suspension densimeter with an uncertainty of ±0.1%. Our measurements with methanol deviate from the literature values by less than 0.2%. The (p, ρ, T) measurements were fitted with experimental uncertainties by an empirical equation. The temperature and mole fraction dependence of the coefficients of the equation of state are presented

  12. Preparation of Biodiesel from Microalgae and Palm Oil by Direct Transesterification in a Batch Microwave Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marwan; Suhendrayatna; Indarti, E

    2015-01-01

    The present work was aimed to study the so-called direct transesterification of microalgae lipids to biodiesel in a batch microwave reactor. As a comparison, preparation of palm oil to biodiesel by alkaline catalyzed ethanolysis was also carried out. Palm oil biodiesel was recovered close to an equilibrium conversion (94-96% yield) under microwave heating for at least 6 min, while the conventional method required more than 45 minutes reaching the same yield. A very short reaction time suggests the benefit of microwave effect over conventional heating method in making biodiesel. FTIR analysis revealed the presence of fatty acid ethyl esters with no undesired chemical groups or compounds formed due to local heat generated by microwave effect, thus the conversion only followed transesterification route. Oil containing microalgae of Chlorella sp. isolated from the local brackish water pond was used as a potential source of biodiesel. High yield of biodiesel (above 0.6 g/g of dried algae) was also attainable for the direct transesterification of microalgae in the microwave reactor. Effect of water content of the algae biomass became insignificant at 11.9%(w/w) or less, related to the algae biomass dried for longer than 6 h. Fast transesterification of the algal oil towards equilibrium conversion was obtained at reaction time of 6 min, and at longer times the biodiesel yield remains unchanged. FAME profile indicates unsaturated fatty acids as major constituents. It was shown that microwave irradiation contributes not only to enhance the transeseterification, but also to assist effective release of fatty acid containing molecules (e.g. triacylglycerol, free fatty acids and phospholipids) from algal cells. (paper)

  13. Preparation of Biodiesel from Microalgae and Palm Oil by Direct Transesterification in a Batch Microwave Reactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marwan; Suhendrayatna; Indarti, E.

    2015-06-01

    The present work was aimed to study the so-called direct transesterification of microalgae lipids to biodiesel in a batch microwave reactor. As a comparison, preparation of palm oil to biodiesel by alkaline catalyzed ethanolysis was also carried out. Palm oil biodiesel was recovered close to an equilibrium conversion (94-96% yield) under microwave heating for at least 6 min, while the conventional method required more than 45 minutes reaching the same yield. A very short reaction time suggests the benefit of microwave effect over conventional heating method in making biodiesel. FTIR analysis revealed the presence of fatty acid ethyl esters with no undesired chemical groups or compounds formed due to local heat generated by microwave effect, thus the conversion only followed transesterification route. Oil containing microalgae of Chlorella sp. isolated from the local brackish water pond was used as a potential source of biodiesel. High yield of biodiesel (above 0.6 g/g of dried algae) was also attainable for the direct transesterification of microalgae in the microwave reactor. Effect of water content of the algae biomass became insignificant at 11.9%(w/w) or less, related to the algae biomass dried for longer than 6 h. Fast transesterification of the algal oil towards equilibrium conversion was obtained at reaction time of 6 min, and at longer times the biodiesel yield remains unchanged. FAME profile indicates unsaturated fatty acids as major constituents. It was shown that microwave irradiation contributes not only to enhance the transeseterification, but also to assist effective release of fatty acid containing molecules (e.g. triacylglycerol, free fatty acids and phospholipids) from algal cells.

  14. Simulation of Thermal Hydraulic at Supercritical Pressures with APROS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurki, Joona [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI02044 VTT (Finland)

    2008-07-01

    The proposed concepts for the fourth generation of nuclear reactors include a reactor operating with water at thermodynamically supercritical state, the Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR). For the design and safety demonstrations of such a reactor, the possibility to accurately simulate the thermal hydraulics of the supercritical coolant is an absolute prerequisite. For this purpose, the one-dimensional two-phase thermal hydraulics solution of APROS process simulation software was developed to function at the supercritical pressure region. Software modifications included the redefinition of some parameters that have physical significance only at the subcritical pressures, improvement of the steam tables, and addition of heat transfer and friction correlations suitable for the supercritical pressure region. (author)

  15. Characterization of calcium oxide catalysts from natural sources and their application in the transesterification of sunflower oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Correia, Leandro Marques; Saboya, Rosana Maria Alves; Campelo, Natália de Sousa; Cecilia, Juan Antonio; Rodríguez-Castellón, Enrique; Cavalcante, Célio Loureiro; Vieira, Rodrigo Silveira

    2014-01-01

    The catalytic activities of calcium oxide obtained from natural sources (crab shell and eggshell) were characterized and evaluated in the transesterification of vegetable oil. These catalysts are mainly composed of calcium carbonate, which is partially converted into CaO after calcination (900°C for 2h). The catalysts have some advantages, such as abundant occurrence, low cost, porous structure, and nontoxic. The materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TG/DTG, CO2-TPD, XPS, SEM, and BET methods. The thermal treatment produces small particles of CaCO3 and CaO that are responsible for the catalytic activity. The conversion from triglycerides to methyl ester was not observed in transesterification carried out using natural crab shell and eggshell. Under optimized reaction conditions, the conversions to YFAME using the calcined catalysts were: crab shell (83.10±0.27 wt.%) and eggshell (97.75±0.02 wt.%). These results, showed that these materials have promising viability in transesterification for biodiesel production. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Methanol Fuel Cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voecks, G. E.

    1985-01-01

    In proposed fuel-cell system, methanol converted to hydrogen in two places. External fuel processor converts only part of methanol. Remaining methanol converted in fuel cell itself, in reaction at anode. As result, size of fuel processor reduced, system efficiency increased, and cost lowered.

  17. Methanol-Tolerant Cathode Catalyst Composite For Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yimin; Zelenay, Piotr

    2006-03-21

    A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) having a methanol fuel supply, oxidant supply, and its membrane electrode assembly (MEA) formed of an anode electrode and a cathode electrode with a membrane therebetween, a methanol oxidation catalyst adjacent the anode electrode and the membrane, an oxidant reduction catalyst adjacent the cathode electrode and the membrane, comprises an oxidant reduction catalyst layer of a platinum-chromium alloy so that oxidation at the cathode of methanol that crosses from the anode through the membrane to the cathode is reduced with a concomitant increase of net electrical potential at the cathode electrode.

  18. Novel investigation of enzymatic biodiesel reaction by isothermal calorimetry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søtoft, Lene Fjerbaek; Westh, Peter; Christensen, Knud V.

    2010-01-01

    Isothermal calorimetry (ITC) was used to investigate solvent-free enzymatic biodiesel production. The transesterification of rapeseed oil with methanol and ethanol was catalyzed by immobilized lipase Novozym 435 at 40 °C. The aim of the study was to determine reaction enthalpy for the enzymatic...... transesterification and to elucidate the mass transfer and energetic processes taking place. Based on the measured enthalpy and composition change in the system, the heat of reaction at 40 °C for the two systems was determined as −9.8 ± 0.9 kJ/mole biodiesel formed from rapeseed oil and methanol, and −9.3 ± 0.7 k...

  19. Site-specific DNA transesterification catalyzed by a restriction enzyme

    OpenAIRE

    Sasnauskas, Giedrius; Connolly, Bernard A.; Halford, Stephen E.; Siksnys, Virginijus

    2007-01-01

    Most restriction endonucleases use Mg2+ to hydrolyze phosphodiester bonds at specific DNA sites. We show here that BfiI, a metal-independent restriction enzyme from the phospholipase D superfamily, catalyzes both DNA hydrolysis and transesterification reactions at its recognition site. In the presence of alcohols such as ethanol or glycerol, it attaches the alcohol covalently to the 5′ terminus of the cleaved DNA. Under certain conditions, the terminal 3′-OH of one DNA strand can attack the t...

  20. Transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil glycerides: Theoretical and experimental studies of biodiesel reaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neyda C. Om Tapanes; Donato A. Gomes Aranda; Jose W. de Mesquita Carneiro; Octavio A. Ceva Antunes [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Laboratorio GREENTEC

    2008-08-15

    Vegetal oil, also known as triglycerides, is a mixture of fatty acid triesters of glycerol. In the triglycerides alkyl chains of Jatropha curcas oil, predominate the palmitic, oleic and linoleic fatty acids. The process usually used to convert these triglycerides to biodiesel is called transesterification. The overall process is a sequence of three equivalent, consecutive and reversible reactions, in which di- and monoglycerides are formed as intermediates. Semi-empirical AM1 molecular orbital calculations were used to investigate the reaction pathways of base-catalyzed transesterification of glycerides of palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid. The most probable pathway and the rate determining-step of the reactions were estimated from the molecular orbital calculations. Our results suggest the formation of only one tetrahedral intermediate, which in a subsequent step rearranges to form the products. The rate determining-step is the break of this tetrahedral intermediate. 27 refs., 6 figs., 4 tabs.

  1. Supercritical fluid technology: concepts and pharmaceutical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshpande, Praful Balavant; Kumar, G Aravind; Kumar, Averineni Ranjith; Shavi, Gopal Venkatesh; Karthik, Arumugam; Reddy, Meka Sreenivasa; Udupa, Nayanabhirama

    2011-01-01

    In light of environmental apprehension, supercritical fluid technology (SFT) exhibits excellent opportunities to accomplish key objectives in the drug delivery sector. Supercritical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide (CO(2)) has been recognized as a green technology. It is a clean and versatile solvent with gas-like diffusivity and liquid-like density in the supercritical phase, which has provided an excellent alternative to the use of chemical solvents. The present commentary provides an overview of different techniques using supercritical fluids and their future opportunity for the drug delivery industry. Some of the emerging applications of SFT in pharmaceuticals, such as particle design, drug solubilization, inclusion complex, polymer impregnation, polymorphism, drug extraction process, and analysis, are also covered in this review. The data collection methods are based on the recent literature related to drug delivery systems using SFT platforms. SFT has become a much more versatile and environmentally attractive technology that can handle a variety of complicated problems in pharmaceuticals. This cutting-edge technology is growing predominantly to surrogate conventional unit operations in relevance to the pharmaceutical production process. Supercritical fluid technology has recently drawn attention in the field of pharmaceuticals. It is a distinct conception that utilizes the solvent properties of supercritical fluids above their critical temperature and pressure, where they exhibit both liquid-like and gas-like properties, which can enable many pharmaceutical applications. For example, the liquid-like properties provide benefits in extraction processes of organic solvents or impurities, drug solubilization, and polymer plasticization, and the gas-like features facilitate mass transfer processes. It has become a much more versatile and environmentally attractive technology that can handle a variety of complicated problems in pharmaceuticals. This review is

  2. Lipase catalyzed transesterification of castor oil by straight chain higher alcohols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malhotra, Deepika; Mukherjee, Joyeeta; Gupta, Munishwar N

    2015-03-01

    Biolubricants from Castor oil were produced enzymatically by transesterification with higher alcohols using a lipase mixture of immobilized Mucor miehei (RMIM) and immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435) under low water conditions. The conversions were in the range of 80-95% under the optimized conditions. Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Methanol fuel update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colledge, R.; Spacek, J.

    1992-01-01

    An overview is presented of methanol fuel developments, with particular reference to infrastructure, supply and marketing. Methanol offers reduced emissions, easy handling, is cost effective, can be produced from natural gas, coal, wood, or municipal waste, is a high performance fuel, is safer than gasoline, and contributes to energy security. Methanol supply, environmental benefits, safety/health issues, economics, passenger car economics, status of passenger car technology, buses, methanol and the prosperity initiative, challenges to implementation, and the role of government and original equipment manufacturers are discussed. Governments must assist in the provision of methanol refuelling infrastructure, and in providing an encouraging regulatory atmosphere. Discriminatory and inequitable taxing methods must be addressed, and an air quality agenda must be defined to allow the alternative fuel industry to respond in a timely manner

  4. Processing behaviors of thin-film pentacene and benzene-1,4-diboronic acid in supercritical carbon dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngo, Truc T.; Keegan, James E.; George, Robert D.

    2011-01-01

    This research investigates the feasibility of using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) as a green solvent for processing organic thin film semiconductor, such as pentacene, and a potential molecular modifier for use in electronic device applications. Benzene-1,4-diboronic acid (BDBA) was selected as a molecular modifier in this work due to its electron deficient nature, which can potentially enhance pentacene's physical, chemical or electronic properties by changing its structure in the solid state. In this study, the solubilities of BDBA and pentacene in scCO 2 are measured as individual compounds and as co-solutes, at 313 K, using ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy. Methanol co-solvent effects on solubility have also been characterized for each compound. The results show that BDBA is insoluble in pure scCO 2 up to 1.82 × 10 7 Pa. However, with a small amount of methanol added to the mixture, BDBA becomes soluble in solution with a solubility of 3.81 × 10 −4 mol/l at 9.00 × 10 6 -Pa-pressure. In contrast, pentacene is only soluble in scCO 2 at pressures above 1.10 × 10 7 Pa, and its solubility is decreased upon addition of methanol due to the non-polar nature of pentacene. When a pentacene thin film is treated with BDBA in scCO 2 /methanol solution, BDBA sorption is observed at pressures as low as 8.80 × 10 6 Pa. Based on these results, it is concluded that treatment of pentacene thin films in scCO 2 is a promising approach that can be optimized for BDBA and other similar molecular modifiers, to produce multi-component organic thin film devices.

  5. Integrated anode structure for passive direct methanol fuel cells with neat methanol operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huijuan; Zhang, Haifeng; Chen, Peng; Guo, Jing; Yuan, Ting; Zheng, Junwei; Yang, Hui

    2014-02-01

    A microporous titanium plate based integrated anode structure (Ti-IAS) suitable for passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) fueled with neat methanol is reported. This anode structure incorporates a porous titanium plate as a methanol mass transfer barrier and current collector, pervaporation film for passively vaporizing methanol, vaporous methanol cavity for evenly distributing fuel, and channels for carbon dioxide venting. With the effective control of methanol delivery rate, the Ti-IAS based DMFC allows the direct use of neat methanol as the fuel source. In the meantime, the required water for methanol-oxidation reaction at the anode can also be fully recovered from the cathode with the help of the highly hydrophobic microporous layer in the cathode. DMFCs incorporating this new anode structure exhibit a power density as high as 40 mW cm-2 and a high volumetric energy density of 489 Wh L-1 operating with neat methanol and at 25 °C. Importantly, no obvious performance degradation of the passive DMFC system is observed after more than 90 h of continuous operation. The experimental results reveal that the compact DMFC based on the Ti-IAS exhibits a substantial potential as power sources for portable applications.

  6. Integrated methanol synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaeger, W.

    1982-01-01

    This invention concerns a plant for methanol manufacture from gasified coal, particularly using nuclear power. In order to reduce the cost of the hydrogen circuits, the methanol synthesis is integrated in the coal gasification plant. The coal used is gasified with hydration by means of hydrogen and the crude gas emerging, after cooling and separating the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, is mixed with the synthetic gas leaving the methane cracking furnace. This mixture is taken to the methanol synthesis and more than 90% is converted into methanol in one pass. The gas mixture remaning after condensation and separation of methanol is decomposed into three fractions in low temperature gas decomposition with a high proportion of unconverted carbon monoxide. The flow of methane is taken to the cracking furnace with steam, the flow of hydrogen is taken to the hydrating coal gasifier, and the flow of carbon monoxide is taken to the methanol synthesis. The heat required for cracking the methane can either be provided by a nuclear reactor or by the coke left after hydrating gasification. (orig./RB) [de

  7. Transesterification of Vegetable Oils with Ethanol and Characterization of the Key Fuel Properties of Ethyl Esters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stamoulis Stournas

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The transesterification reactions of four different vegetable oils (sunflower, rapeseed, olive oil and used frying oil with ethanol, using sodium hydroxide as catalyst, were studied. The ester preparation involved a two-step transesterification reaction, followed by purification. The effects of the mass ratio of catalyst to oil (0.25 – 1.5%, the molar ratio of ethanol to oil (6:1 – 12:1, and the reaction temperature (35 – 90 °C were studied for the conversion of sunflower oil to optimize the reaction conditions in both stages. The rest of the vegetable oils were converted to ethyl esters under optimum reaction parameters. The optimal conditions for first stage transesterification were an ethanol/oil molar ratio of 12:1, NaOH amount (1% wt/wt, and 80 °C temperature, whereas the maximum yield of ethyl esters reached 81.4% wt/wt. In the second stage, the yield of ethyl esters was improved by 16% in relation with the one-stage transesterification, which was obtained under the following optimal conditions: catalyst concentration 0.75% and ethanol/oil molar ratio 6:1. The fuel properties of the esters were measured according to EN test methods. Based on the experimental results one can see that the ethyl esters do not differ significantly from methyl esters. Moreover, the results showed that the values of density, viscosity, and higher heating value of ethyl esters were similar to those of automotive and heavy duty engine diesel fuel. However, the CFPP values were higher, which may contribute to potential difficulties in cold starts. On the other hand, the flash points, which were higher than those of diesel fuel constituted a safety guarantee from the point of view of handling and storage.

  8. Supercritical Airfoil Coordinates

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Rectangular Supercritical Wing (Ricketts) - design and measured locations are provided in an Excel file RSW_airfoil_coordinates_ricketts.xls . One sheet is with Non...

  9. Preparation of CaO/Fly ash as a catalyst inhibitor for transesterification process off palm oil in biodiesel production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helwani, Z.; Fatra, W.; Saputra, E.; Maulana, R.

    2018-03-01

    A palm fly ash supported calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst was prepared and used in transesterification from off-grade palm oil for biodiesel production. The catalyst synthesized by loading CaO of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (Ca(NO3)2.4H2O) into fly ash through impregnation method. The optimum catalyst preparation conditions were determined by influence of calcination temperature and weight ratio of Ca(NO3)2.4H2O and fly ash. Catalyst with highest catalytic activity was achieved when calcined at 800 °C and proportion of Ca(NO3)2.4H2O to fly ash is 80:20. Under the conditions of oil : methanol ratio of 1:6, catalyst dosage of 6 wt% and temperature of 70 °C for 2 h, the biodiesel yield reaches to 71.77%. CaO, SiO2, Ca(OH)2 and Ca2SiO4 were found in the catalyst through X-ray diffraction (XRD) while the basic strength of the catalyst H_ in the range 9.3 – 11. Surface area of the developed catalyst is 24.342 m2/g through Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). Characteristics of biodiesel such as density, kinematic viscosity, acid value, flash point has been matched with standard for biodiesel specification of Indonesia.

  10. Theoretical models for supercritical fluid extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zhen; Shi, Xiao-Han; Jiang, Wei-Juan

    2012-08-10

    For the proper design of supercritical fluid extraction processes, it is essential to have a sound knowledge of the mass transfer mechanism of the extraction process and the appropriate mathematical representation. In this paper, the advances and applications of kinetic models for describing supercritical fluid extraction from various solid matrices have been presented. The theoretical models overviewed here include the hot ball diffusion, broken and intact cell, shrinking core and some relatively simple models. Mathematical representations of these models have been in detail interpreted as well as their assumptions, parameter identifications and application examples. Extraction process of the analyte solute from the solid matrix by means of supercritical fluid includes the dissolution of the analyte from the solid, the analyte diffusion in the matrix and its transport to the bulk supercritical fluid. Mechanisms involved in a mass transfer model are discussed in terms of external mass transfer resistance, internal mass transfer resistance, solute-solid interactions and axial dispersion. The correlations of the external mass transfer coefficient and axial dispersion coefficient with certain dimensionless numbers are also discussed. Among these models, the broken and intact cell model seems to be the most relevant mathematical model as it is able to provide realistic description of the plant material structure for better understanding the mass-transfer kinetics and thus it has been widely employed for modeling supercritical fluid extraction of natural matters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Process parameters optimization for synthesis of methyl ester from sunflower oil using Taguchi technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Senthilkumar

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In this work, transesterification of sunflower oil for obtaining biodiesel was studied. Taguchi’s methodology (L9 orthogonal array was selected to optimize the most significant variables (methanol, catalyst concentration and stirrer speed in transesterification process. Experiments have conducted based on development of L9 orthogonal array by using Taguchi technique. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA and the regression equations were used to find the optimum yield of sunflower methyl ester under the influence of methanol, catalyst & stirrer speed. The study resulted in a maximum yield of sun flower methyl ester as 96% with the optimal conditions of methanol 110 ml with 0.5% by wt. of sodium hydroxide (NaOH stirred at 1200 rpm. The yield was analyzed on the basis of “larger is better”. Finally, confirmation tests were carried out to verify the experimental results.

  12. OPTIMIZATION OF TRANSESTERIFICATION PARAMETERS FOR OPTIMAL BIODIESEL YIELD FROM CRUDE JATROPHA OIL USING A NEWLY SYNTHESIZED SEASHELL CATALYST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. N. R. REDDY

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Heterogeneous catalysts are promising catalysts for optimal biodiesel yield from transesterification of vegetable oils. In this work calcium oxide (CaO heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized from Polymedosa erosa seashell. Calcination was carried out at 900ºC for 2h and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Catalytic efficiency of CaO was testified in transesterification of crude Jatropha oil (CJO. A response surface methodology (RSM based on five-level-two-factor central composite design (CCD was employed to optimize two critical transesterification parameters catalyst concentration to pretreated CJO (0.01-0.03 w/w % and the reaction time (90 min - 150 min. A JB yield of 96.48% was estimated at 0.023 w/w% catalyst and 125.76 min reaction using response optimizer. The legitimacy of the predicted model was verified through the experiments. The validation experiments conformed a yield of JB 96.4%±0.01% as optimal at 0.023 w/w% catalyst to pretreated oil ratio and 126 min reaction time.

  13. PENGARUH KATALIS BASA (NaOH PADA TAHAP REAKSI TRANSESTERIFIKASI TERHADAP KUALITAS BIOFUEL DARI MINYAK TEPUNG IKAN SARDIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diah Probo Ningtyas

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Biofuel is an alternative diesel engine fuel is produced from oils/fats of plants and animals (including the fisheries industry waste through the esterification and transesterifiksi reactions. A transesterification is reaction to form esters and glycerol from trigliserin (fat/oil and bioalcohol (methanol or ethanol. Transesterification is an equilibrium reaction so that the presence of a catalyst can accelerate the achievement of a state of equilibrium. Process of the transesterification reaction of sardine flour oil waste with NaOH as base catalyst in producing biofuels was conducted.The research purpose has studied the influence of NaOH concentration in transesterification process and examinate its effect on the quality of biofuels production, conversion, and physic quality. The variables that analysed was the effect of NaOH concentration as catalyst (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% from amount of oil and methanol in the transesterification reaction step. The result showed that the increasing NaOH concentration (0.5 - 1.5%, enhanced the biofuel conversion (%. The highest conversion of biofuels was achieved by using 1.50% NaOH (w/w with 45.34% biofuels conversion. The major component in the biofuels was methyl palmitate (20.31%. ASTM analysis data also supported that the biofuel product was in agreement with automotive diesel fuel specification.

  14. Fuzzy Modeling to Evaluate the Effect of Temperature on Batch Transesterification of Jatropha Curcas for Biodiesel Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vipan Kumar Sohpal

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel is an alternative source of fuel that can be synthesized from edible, non-edible and waste oils through transesterification. Firstly Transesterification reaction of Jatropha Curcas oil with butanol in the ratio of 1:25 investigated by using of sodium hydroxide catalyst with mixing intensity of 250 rpm in isothermal batch reactor. Secondly the fuzzy model of the temperature is developed. Performance was evaluated by comparing fuzzy model with the batch kinetic data. Fuzzy models were developed using adaptive neurofuzzy inference system (ANFIS. © 2011 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved(Received: 27th January 2011, Revised: 13rd February 2011; Accepted: 16th February 2011[How to Cite: V.K. Sohpal, A. Singh, A. Dey. (2011. Fuzzy Modeling to Evaluate the Effect of Temperature on Batch Transesterification of Jatropha Curcas for Biodiesel Production. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering and Catalysis, 6(1: 31-38. doi:10.9767/bcrec.6.1.816.31-38][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.6.1.816.31-38 || or local:  http://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/bcrec/article/view/816 ] | View in 

  15. A monolithic lipase reactor for biodiesel production by transesterification of triacylglycerides into fatty acid methyl esters

    KAUST Repository

    Urban, Jiří T.

    2011-09-26

    An enzymatic reactor with lipase immobilized on a monolithic polymer support has been prepared and used to catalyze the transesterification of triacylglycerides into the fatty acid methyl esters commonly used for biodiesel. A design of experiments procedure was used to optimize the monolithic reactor with variables including control of the surface polarity of the monolith via variations in the length of the hydrocarbon chain in alkyl methacrylate monomer, time of grafting of 1-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone used to activate the monolith, and time used for the immobilization of porcine lipase. Optimal conditions involved the use of a poly(stearyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith, grafted first with vinylazlactone, then treated with lipase for 2h to carry out the immobilization of the enzyme. Best conditions for the transesterification of glyceryl tributyrate included a temperature of 37°C and a 10min residence time of the substrate in the bioreactor. The reactor did not lose its activity even after pumping through it a solution of substrate equaling 1,000 reactor volumes. This enzymatic reactor was also used for the transesterification of triacylglycerides from soybean oil to fatty acid methyl esters thus demonstrating the ability of the reactor to produce biodiesel. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. A monolithic lipase reactor for biodiesel production by transesterification of triacylglycerides into fatty acid methyl esters

    KAUST Repository

    Urban, Jiří T.; Švec, František; Frechet, Jean

    2011-01-01

    An enzymatic reactor with lipase immobilized on a monolithic polymer support has been prepared and used to catalyze the transesterification of triacylglycerides into the fatty acid methyl esters commonly used for biodiesel. A design of experiments procedure was used to optimize the monolithic reactor with variables including control of the surface polarity of the monolith via variations in the length of the hydrocarbon chain in alkyl methacrylate monomer, time of grafting of 1-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone used to activate the monolith, and time used for the immobilization of porcine lipase. Optimal conditions involved the use of a poly(stearyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith, grafted first with vinylazlactone, then treated with lipase for 2h to carry out the immobilization of the enzyme. Best conditions for the transesterification of glyceryl tributyrate included a temperature of 37°C and a 10min residence time of the substrate in the bioreactor. The reactor did not lose its activity even after pumping through it a solution of substrate equaling 1,000 reactor volumes. This enzymatic reactor was also used for the transesterification of triacylglycerides from soybean oil to fatty acid methyl esters thus demonstrating the ability of the reactor to produce biodiesel. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. A monolithic lipase reactor for biodiesel production by transesterification of triacylglycerides into fatty acid methyl esters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urban, Jiri; Svec, Frantisek; Fréchet, Jean M J

    2012-02-01

    An enzymatic reactor with lipase immobilized on a monolithic polymer support has been prepared and used to catalyze the transesterification of triacylglycerides into the fatty acid methyl esters commonly used for biodiesel. A design of experiments procedure was used to optimize the monolithic reactor with variables including control of the surface polarity of the monolith via variations in the length of the hydrocarbon chain in alkyl methacrylate monomer, time of grafting of 1-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone used to activate the monolith, and time used for the immobilization of porcine lipase. Optimal conditions involved the use of a poly(stearyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith, grafted first with vinylazlactone, then treated with lipase for 2 h to carry out the immobilization of the enzyme. Best conditions for the transesterification of glyceryl tributyrate included a temperature of 37°C and a 10 min residence time of the substrate in the bioreactor. The reactor did not lose its activity even after pumping through it a solution of substrate equaling 1,000 reactor volumes. This enzymatic reactor was also used for the transesterification of triacylglycerides from soybean oil to fatty acid methyl esters thus demonstrating the ability of the reactor to produce biodiesel. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Advanced Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, Mark [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Sienicki, James [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Moisseytsev, Anton [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Nellis, Gregory [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Klein, Sanford [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

    2015-10-21

    Fluids operating in the supercritical state have promising characteristics for future high efficiency power cycles. In order to develop power cycles using supercritical fluids, it is necessary to understand the flow characteristics of fluids under both supercritical and two-phase conditions. In this study, a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) methodology was developed for supercritical fluids flowing through complex geometries. A real fluid property module was implemented to provide properties for different supercritical fluids. However, in each simulation case, there is only one species of fluid. As a result, the fluid property module provides properties for either supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) or supercritical water (SCW). The Homogeneous Equilibrium Model (HEM) was employed to model the two-phase flow. HEM assumes two phases have same velocity, pressure, and temperature, making it only applicable for the dilute dispersed two-phase flow situation. Three example geometries, including orifices, labyrinth seals, and valves, were used to validate this methodology with experimental data. For the first geometry, S-CO2 and SCW flowing through orifices were simulated and compared with experimental data. The maximum difference between the mass flow rate predictions and experimental measurements is less than 5%. This is a significant improvement as previous works can only guarantee 10% error. In this research, several efforts were made to help this improvement. First, an accurate real fluid module was used to provide properties. Second, the upstream condition was determined by pressure and density, which determines supercritical states more precise than using pressure and temperature. For the second geometry, the flow through labyrinth seals was studied. After a successful validation, parametric studies were performed to study geometric effects on the leakage rate. Based on these parametric studies, an optimum design strategy for the see

  19. Enzymatic transesterification of soybean oil with ethanol using lipases immobilized on highly crystalline PVA microspheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergamasco, Juliana; Araujo, Marcelo V. de; Vasconcellos, Adriano de; Luizon Filho, Roberto A.; Hatanaka, Rafael R.; Giotto, Marcus V.; Aranda, Donato A.G.; Nery, José G.

    2013-01-01

    Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microspheres with different degree of crystallinity were used as solid supports for Rhizomucor miehei lipase immobilization, and the enzyme-PVA complexes were used as biocatalysts for the transesterification of soybean oil to fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE). The amounts of immobilized enzyme on the polymeric supports were similar for both the amorphous microspheres (PVA4) and the high crystalline microspheres (PVA25). However, the enzymatic activity of the immobilized enzymes was depended on the crystallinity degree of the PVA microspheres: enzymes immobilized on the PVA4 microspheres have shown low enzymatic activity (6.13 U mg −1 ), in comparison with enzymes immobilized on the high crystalline PVA25 microspheres (149.15 U mg −1 ). A synergistic effect was observed for the enzyme-PVA25 complex during the transesterification reaction of soybean oil to FAEE: transesterification reactions with free enzyme with the equivalent amount of enzyme that were immobilized onto the PVA25 microspheres (5.4 U) have yielded only 20% of FAEE, reactions with the pure highly crystalline microsphere PVA25 have not yielded FAEE, however reactions with the enzyme-PVA25 complexes have yielded 66.3% of FAEE. This synergistic effect of an immobilized enzyme on a polymeric support has not been observed before for transesterification reaction of triacylglycerides into FAEE. Based on ATR-FTIR, 23 Na- and 13 C-NMR-MAS spectroscopic data and the interaction of the polymeric network intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the lipases residual amino acids a possible explanation for this synergistic effect is provided. Highlights: • Rhizomucor miehei lipase was immobilized on PVA microspheres (PVA4, PVA12, PVA25). • Polymer-enzyme complex was characterized by XDR, SEM, ATR-FTIR, 13 C-CPMAS-NMR, 23 Na-MAS-NMR. • Polymer-enzymes (PVA12 and PVA25) enzymes yielded considerable amount of ethyl esters. • Synergistic effect was observed for the polymer-enzyme complexes

  20. Temperature influence on biodiesel production by non-catalytic transesterification; Influencia da temperatura na producao de biodiesel por transesterificacao nao catalitica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Humberto N.M.; Oliveira, Thomas R; Sousa, Elisa M.B.D. [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    The main objective of this paper is to produce biodiesel using supercritical fluids through of the transesterification process without use of catalysts. It become easier the separation of the reaction products when compared with conventional method. In this work the influence of the temperature in the production of biodiesel from mamona oil was studied. Tree temperatures were studied (473.15 K, 523.15 K and 573.15 K) and the pressure (300 bar) and molar ratio (1:40) was keep constant during the process. Excess of Alcohol was used for this synthesis. The influence of temperature on the conversion and the reaction time was evaluated. The castor bean oil and biodiesel obtained were characterized in relation to their properties more significant. For results, higher conversions were found at higher temperatures (573.15 K), however can see a trend to the stability of reaction. The quality of the product was suitable for most properties evaluated. The equipment designed and built for this purpose was feasible but require some modifications to its optimization. The reaction of biodiesel production was confirmed, even without the addition of catalyst. It was the need to use a large excess of alcohol in relation to oil on this route without catalytic converters. In the case of the route of biodiesel production without the addition of catalysts, was felt the need to use excess alcohol in relation to the castor bean oil. (author)

  1. Fast infrared spectroscopy in supercritical fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, X.

    2000-05-01

    Chapter 1: Introduction. A brief introduction to supercritical fluids is given, illustrating why supercritical fluids are unique solvents and why there is a wide application of supercritical fluids in industry and laboratories. Potential ways for solvation in supercritical fluids to affect reactivity are briefly reviewed. A general introduction to the photochemistry of organometallic complexes is also given. Chapter 2: Time resolved vibrational spectroscopy. Time resolved resonance Raman is introduced and compared with Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy (TRIR). The different approaches of TRIR, including microsecond, nanosecond, and ultrafast (picosecond and femtosecond) systems are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of these systems are also compared. The TRIR apparatus using an IR diode laser used for work in this thesis are described in detail. Experimental procedures for supercritical fluid TRIR experiments are described with emphasis on handling the IR cell for supercritical fluids and preparation of supercritical fluid solutions. Chapter 3: Photochemistry of group VIB hexacarbonyl compounds in supercritical noble gases and CO 2 solutions. A systematic TRIR study of the photolysis of M(CO) 6 in supercritical Ar, Kr, Xe, and CO 2 and the observation of M(CO) 5 L (M = Cr, Mo, and W; L = Ar (W only), Kr, Xe, and CO 2 ) is described. The second-order rate constants for the reaction of M(CO) 5 L with CO have been evaluated and the reactivity for each metal is Kr > Xe ∼ CO 2 . For M(CO) 5 Kr, M(CO) 5 Xe, or M(CO) 5 (CO 2 ), the reactivity is Cr ∼ Mo > W. In supercritical Kr doped with either Xe or CO 2 , the M(CO) 5 moiety interacts with Xe or CO 2 in preference to Kr. The effect of solvent density on the rate of the reaction of W(CO) 5 (CO 2 ) with CO has been investigated. The reaction of W(CO) 5 (CO 2 ) with CO in scCO 2 is predominantly a dissociative process. The activation energies for the reaction of W(CO) 5 Xe and W(CO) 5 (CO 2 ) with CO and

  2. Development of a test facility for analyzing supercritical fluid blowdown

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberto, Thiago D.; Alvim, Antonio C.M.

    2015-01-01

    The generation IV nuclear reactors under development mostly use supercritical fluids as the working fluid because higher temperatures improve the thermal efficiency. Supercritical fluids are used by modern nuclear power plants to achieve thermal efficiencies of around 45%. With water as the supercritical working fluid, these plants operate at a high temperature and pressure. However, experiments on supercritical water are limited by technical and financial difficulties. These difficulties can be overcome by using model fluids, which have more feasible supercritical conditions and exhibit a lower critical pressure and temperature. Experimental research is normally used to determine the conditions under which model fluids represent supercritical fluids under steady-state conditions. A fluid-to-fluid scaling approach has been proposed to determine model fluids that can represent supercritical fluids in a transient state. This paper presents an application of fractional scale analysis to determine the simulation parameters for a depressurization test facility. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and R134a gas were considered as the model fluids because their critical point conditions are more feasible than those of water. The similarities of water (prototype), CO 2 (model) and R134a (model) for depressurization in a pressure vessel were analyzed. (author)

  3. Production of biodiesel from Amari (Amoora Wallichii King) tree seeds using optimum process parameters and its characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kakati, J.; Gogoi, T.K.; Pakshirajan, K.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Biodiesel was produced from Amari tree seed oil (ATSO). • Two stage acid base transesterification was used. • The fatty acid composition of ATSO was determined. • Reaction time, temperature and concentrations of methanol and catalysts were optimized. • Properties of ATSO FAME were compared with standards and FAMEs of Amoora and Pithraj. - Abstract: Amari (Amoora Wallichii King) is a forest based tree from Meliaceae family which is mainly used in making timber. Amari wood also possess some medicinal activity. In this article, biodiesel production from Amari tree seed oil (ATSO) was investigated. Oil content in the seed was 42.85%. Linoleic (32.938%) and oleic acids (23.007%) were the major fatty acid constituents in ATSO with 84.617% unsaturation. The free fatty acid (FFA) in ATSO was 16%, hence, a two stage acid base transesterification was done to produce biodiesel from ATSO. Effect of reaction time, temperature, methanol and catalyst concentrations on yields from the 1st stage acid pre-treatment and 2nd stage base transesterification was evaluated. Maximum 96% yield (vol.%) from the 1st stage occurred with 0.80% (v/v) H_2SO_4 at an oil methanol ratio of 4:1 after 3.5 h of acid esterification. From the 2nd stage, highest biodiesel yield of 88.5% (vol.%) was obtained during base catalysed transesterification by adding 1% (w/v) NaOH and 30% (v/v) methanol with the acid pre-treated oil after 2.5 h. Characterization of ATSO fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was done and properties were compared with Amoora and Pithraj tree seed biodiesels from same Meliaceae family. Properties were found similar and most of them conformed to the ASTM (D6751) and EN 14214 standards except water and sulphur contents with slight deviations.

  4. Biological Properties of Fucoxanthin in Oil Recovered from Two Brown Seaweeds Using Supercritical CO2 Extraction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saravana Periaswamy Sivagnanam

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The bioactive materials in brown seaweeds hold great interest for developing new drugs and healthy foods. The oil content in brown seaweeds (Saccharina japonica and Sargassum horneri was extracted by using environmentally friendly supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2 with ethanol as a co-solvent in a semi-batch flow extraction process and compared the results with a conventional extraction process using hexane, ethanol, and acetone mixed with methanol (1:1, v/v. The SC-CO2 method was used at a temperature of 45 °C and pressure of 250 bar. The flow rate of CO2 (27 g/min was constant for the entire extraction period of 2 h. The obtained oil from the brown seaweeds was analyzed to determine their valuable compounds such as fatty acids, phenolic compounds, fucoxanthin and biological properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antihypertension effects. The amounts of fucoxanthin extracted from the SC-CO2 oils of S. japonica and S. horneri were 0.41 ± 0.05 and 0.77 ± 0.07 mg/g, respectively. High antihypertensive activity was detected when using mixed acetone and methanol, whereas the phenolic content and antioxidant property were higher in the oil extracted by SC-CO2. The acetone–methanol mix extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activities than those obtained by other means. Thus, the SC-CO2 extraction process appears to be a good method for obtaining valuable compounds from both brown seaweeds, and showed stronger biological activity than that obtained by the conventional extraction process.

  5. Biological Properties of Fucoxanthin in Oil Recovered from Two Brown Seaweeds Using Supercritical CO2 Extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivagnanam, Saravana Periaswamy; Yin, Shipeng; Choi, Jae Hyung; Park, Yong Beom; Woo, Hee Chul; Chun, Byung Soo

    2015-05-29

    The bioactive materials in brown seaweeds hold great interest for developing new drugs and healthy foods. The oil content in brown seaweeds (Saccharina japonica and Sargassum horneri) was extracted by using environmentally friendly supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) with ethanol as a co-solvent in a semi-batch flow extraction process and compared the results with a conventional extraction process using hexane, ethanol, and acetone mixed with methanol (1:1, v/v). The SC-CO2 method was used at a temperature of 45 °C and pressure of 250 bar. The flow rate of CO2 (27 g/min) was constant for the entire extraction period of 2 h. The obtained oil from the brown seaweeds was analyzed to determine their valuable compounds such as fatty acids, phenolic compounds, fucoxanthin and biological properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antihypertension effects. The amounts of fucoxanthin extracted from the SC-CO2 oils of S. japonica and S. horneri were 0.41 ± 0.05 and 0.77 ± 0.07 mg/g, respectively. High antihypertensive activity was detected when using mixed acetone and methanol, whereas the phenolic content and antioxidant property were higher in the oil extracted by SC-CO2. The acetone-methanol mix extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activities than those obtained by other means. Thus, the SC-CO2 extraction process appears to be a good method for obtaining valuable compounds from both brown seaweeds, and showed stronger biological activity than that obtained by the conventional extraction process.

  6. 27.12 MHz plasma generation in supercritical carbon dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawashima, Ayato; Toyota, Hiromichi; Nomura, Shinfuku; Takemori, Toshihiko; Mukasa, Shinobu; Maehara, Tsunehiro; Yamashita, Hiroshi

    2007-01-01

    An experiment was conducted for generating high-frequency plasma in supercritical carbon dioxide; it is expected to have the potential for applications in various types of practical processes. It was successfully generated at 6-20 MPa using electrodes mounted in a supercritical cell with a gap of 1 mm. Emission spectra were then measured to investigate the physical properties of supercritical carbon dioxide plasma. The results indicated that while the emission spectra for carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide could be mainly obtained at a low pressure, the emission spectra for atomic oxygen could be obtained in the supercritical state, which increased with the pressure. The temperature of the plasma in supercritical state was estimated to be approximately 6000-7000 K on the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium and the calculation results of thermal equilibrium composition in this state showed the increase of atomic oxygen by the decomposition of CO 2

  7. Radiolytic and electron-transfer reactions in supercritical CO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartels, D. M.; Dimitrijevic, N. M.; Jonah, C. D.; Takahashi, K.

    2000-01-01

    Using supercritical fluids as solvents is useful for both practical and theoretical reasons. It has been proposed to use supercritical CO 2 as a solvent for synthesis because it eliminates the air pollution arising from other solvents. The properties of supercritical fluids can be easily varied with only modest changes in temperature and density, so they provide a way of testing theories of chemical reactions. It has also been proposed to use supercritical fluids for the treatment of hazardous mixed waste. For these reasons the authors have studied the production of radiolytic species in supercritical CO 2 and have measured their reactivity as a function of density. They have shown that the C 2 O 4 + is formed. They also have shown that the electron transfer reactions of dimethylaniline to C 2 O 4 + and CO 2 (e - ) to benzoquinone are diffusion controlled over a considerable density range

  8. Short-term inhalation toxicity of methanol, gasoline, and methanol/gasoline in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poon, R; Chu, I; Bjarnason, S; Vincent, R; Potvin, M; Miller, R B; Valli, V E

    1995-01-01

    Four- to five-week-old male and female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to vapors of methanol (2500 ppm), gasoline (3200 ppm), and methanol/gasoline (2500/3200 ppm, 570/3200 ppm) six hours per day, five days per week for four weeks. Control animals were exposed to filtered room air only. Depression in body weight gain and reduced food consumption were observed in male rats, and increased relative liver weight was detected in rats of both sexes exposed to gasoline or methanol/gasoline mixtures. Rats of both sexes exposed to methanol/gasoline mixtures had increased relative kidney weight and females exposed to gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures had increased kidney weight. Decreased serum glucose and cholesterol were detected in male rats exposed to gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures. Decreased hemoglobin was observed in females inhaling vapors of gasoline and methanol/gasoline at 570/3200 ppm. Urine from rats inhaling gasoline or methanol/gasoline mixtures had up to a fourfold increase in hippuric acid, a biomarker of exposure to the toluene constituent of gasoline, and up to a sixfold elevation in ascorbic acid, a noninvasive biomarker of hepatic response. Hepatic mixed-function oxidase (aniline hydroxylase, aminopyrine N-demethylase and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase) activities and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity were elevated in rats exposed to gasoline and methanol/gasoline mixtures. Histopathological changes were confined to very mild changes in the nasal passages and in the uterus, where decreased incidence or absence of mucosal and myometrial eosinophilia was observed in females inhaling gasoline and methanol/gasoline at 570/3200 ppm. It was concluded that gasoline was largely responsible for the adverse effects, the most significant of which included depression in weight gain in the males, increased liver weight and hepatic microsomal enzyme activities in both sexes, and suppression of uterine eosinophilia. No apparent interactive effects

  9. Supercritical fields and bald black holes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Irvine, J M

    1975-01-01

    The instability of a many-fermion ground state against particle-hole excitations is reviewed and the existence of supercritical electromagnetic and strong interaction fields is briefly discussed. The nature of associated phase changes and in particular the change in conservation laws which accompanies the phase changes is outlined. Finally, the supercritical gravitational field is considered and weight given to the argument that ''black holes have no hair.''

  10. Methods and catalysts for making biodiesel from the transesterification and esterification of unrefined oils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Shuli [Detroit, MI; Salley, Steven O [Grosse Pointe Park, MI; Ng, K Y. Simon [West Bloomfield, MI

    2012-04-24

    A method of forming a biodiesel product and a heterogeneous catalyst system used to form said product that has a high tolerance for the presence of water and free fatty acids (FFA) in the oil feedstock is disclosed. This catalyst system may simultaneously catalyze both the esterification of FAA and the transesterification of triglycerides present in the oil feedstock. The catalyst system according to one aspect of the present disclosure represents a class of zinc and lanthanum oxide heterogeneous catalysts that include different ratios of zinc oxide to lanthanum oxides (Zn:La ratio) ranging from about 10:0 to 0:10. The Zn:La ratio in the catalyst is believed to have an effect on the number and reactivity of Lewis acid and base sites, as well as the transesterification of glycerides, the esterification of fatty acids, and the hydrolysis of glycerides and biodiesel.

  11. Supercritical Synthesis of Biodiesel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michel Vaultier

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of biodiesel fuel from lipids (vegetable oils and animal fats has gained in importance as a possible source of renewable non-fossil energy in an attempt to reduce our dependence on petroleum-based fuels. The catalytic processes commonly used for the production of biodiesel fuel present a series of limitations and drawbacks, among them the high energy consumption required for complex purification operations and undesirable side reactions. Supercritical fluid (SCF technologies offer an interesting alternative to conventional processes for preparing biodiesel. This review highlights the advances, advantages, drawbacks and new tendencies involved in the use of supercritical fluids (SCFs for biodiesel synthesis.

  12. Supercritical heat transfer phenomena in nuclear system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, Kyoung Woo; Kim, Moo Hwan; Anderson, Mark H.; Corradini, Michael L.

    2005-01-01

    A supercritical water (SCW) power cycle has been considered as one of the viable candidates for advanced fission reactor designs. However, the dramatic variation of thermo-physical properties with a modest change of temperature near the pseudo-critical point make existing heat transfer correlations such as the Dittus-Boelter correlation not suitably accurate to calculate the heat transfer in supercritical fluid. Several other correlations have also been suggested but none of them are able to predict the heat transfer over a parameter range, needed for reactor thermal-hydraulics simulation and design. This has prompted additional research to understand the characteristic of supercritical fluid heat transfer

  13. Data set for extraction and transesterification of bio-oil from Stoechospermum marginatum, a brown marine algae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkatesan, Hariram; Godwin, John J; Sivamani, Seralathan

    2017-10-01

    The article presents the experimental data on the extraction and transesterification of bio-oil derived from Stoechospermum marginatum, a brown macro marine algae. The samples were collected from Mandapam region, Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, India. The bio-oil was extracted using Soxhlet technique with a lipid extraction efficiency of 24.4%. Single stage transesterification was adopted due to lower free fatty acid content. The yield of biodiesel was optimized by varying the process parameters. The obtained data showed the optimum process parameters as reaction time 90 min, reaction temperature 65 °C, catalyst concentration 0.50 g and 8:1 M ratio. Furthermore, the data pertaining to the physio-chemical properties of the derived algal biodiesel were also presented.

  14. Data set for extraction and transesterification of bio-oil from Stoechospermum marginatum, a brown marine algae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hariram Venkatesan

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the experimental data on the extraction and transesterification of bio-oil derived from Stoechospermum marginatum, a brown macro marine algae. The samples were collected from Mandapam region, Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, India. The bio-oil was extracted using Soxhlet technique with a lipid extraction efficiency of 24.4%. Single stage transesterification was adopted due to lower free fatty acid content. The yield of biodiesel was optimized by varying the process parameters. The obtained data showed the optimum process parameters as reaction time 90 min, reaction temperature 65 °C, catalyst concentration 0.50 g and 8:1 M ratio. Furthermore, the data pertaining to the physio-chemical properties of the derived algal biodiesel were also presented.

  15. Analysis of parameter and interaction between parameter of the microwave assisted transesterification process of coconut oil using response surface methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidayanti, Nur; Suryanto, A.; Qadariyah, L.; Prihatini, P.; Mahfud, Mahfud

    2015-12-01

    A simple batch process was designed for the transesterification of coconut oil to alkyl esters using microwave assisted method. The product with yield above 93.225% of alkyl ester is called the biodiesel fuel. Response surface methodology was used to design the experiment and obtain the maximum possible yield of biodiesel in the microwave-assisted reaction from coconut oil with KOH as the catalyst. The results showed that the time reaction and concentration of KOH catalyst have significant effects on yield of alkyl ester. Based on the response surface methodology using the selected operating conditions, the time of reaction and concentration of KOH catalyst in transesterification process were 150 second and 0.25%w/w, respectively. The largest predicted and experimental yield of alkyl esters (biodiesel) under the optimal conditions are 101.385% and 93.225%, respectively. Our findings confirmed the successful development of process for the transesterification reaction of coconut oil by microwave-assisted heating, which is effective and time-saving for alkyl ester production.

  16. Effect of supercritical fluid density on nanoencapsulated drug particle size using the supercritical antisolvent method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalani, Mahshid; Yunus, Robiah

    2012-01-01

    The reported work demonstrates and discusses the effect of supercritical fluid density (pressure and temperature of supercritical fluid carbon dioxide) on particle size and distribution using the supercritical antisolvent (SAS) method in the purpose of drug encapsulation. In this study, paracetamol was encapsulated inside L-polylactic acid, a semicrystalline polymer, with different process parameters, including pressure and temperature, using the SAS process. The morphology and particle size of the prepared nanoparticles were determined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed that increasing temperature enhanced mean particle size due to the plasticizing effect. Furthermore, increasing pressure enhanced molecular interaction and solubility; thus, particle size was reduced. Transmission electron microscopy images defined the internal structure of nanoparticles. Thermal characteristics of nanoparticles were also investigated via differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction pattern revealed the changes in crystallinity structure during the SAS process. In vitro drug release analysis determined the sustained release of paracetamol in over 4 weeks.

  17. Nanotechnology and supercritical fluids | Hamidreza | Journal of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Supercritical fluid (SCF) technology has become an important tool of materials processing in the last two decades. Supercritical CO2 and H2O are extensively being used in the preparation of a great variety of nanomaterials. The interest in the preparation and application of nanometer size materials is increasing since they ...

  18. Methanol from biomass and hydrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1989-01-01

    For Hawaii in the near term, the only liquid fuels indigenous sources will be those that can be made from biomass, and of these, methanol is the most promising. In addition, hydrogen produced by electrolysis can be used to markedly increase the yield of biomass methanol. This paper calculates cost of producing methanol by an integrated system including a geothermal electricity facility plus a plant producing methanol by gasifying biomass and adding hydrogen produced by electrolysis. Other studies cover methanol from biomass without added hydrogen and methanol from biomass by steam and carbon dioxide reforming. Methanol is made in a two-step process: the first is the gasification of biomass by partial oxidation with pure oxygen to produce carbon oxides and hydrogen, and the second is the reaction of gases to form methanol. Geothermal steam is used to generate the electricity used for the electrolysis to produce the added hydrogen

  19. A selective electrocatalyst-based direct methanol fuel cell operated at high concentrations of methanol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yan; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

    2017-06-01

    Owing to the serious crossover of methanol from the anode to the cathode through the polymer electrolyte membrane, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) usually use dilute methanol solutions as fuel. However, the use of high-concentration methanol is highly demanded to improve the energy density of a DMFC system. Instead of the conventional strategies (for example, improving the fuel-feed system, membrane development, modification of electrode, and water management), we demonstrate the use of selective electrocatalysts to run a DMFC at high concentrations of methanol. In particular, at an operating temperature of 80°C, the as-fabricated DMFC with core-shell-shell Au@Ag 2 S@Pt nanocomposites at the anode and core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles at the cathode produces a maximum power density of 89.7 mW cm -2 at a methanol feed concentration of 10 M and maintains good performance at a methanol concentration of up to 15 M. The high selectivity of the electrocatalysts achieved through structural construction accounts for the successful operation of the DMFC at high concentrations of methanol.

  20. A selective electrocatalyst–based direct methanol fuel cell operated at high concentrations of methanol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yan; Liu, Hui; Yang, Jun

    2017-01-01

    Owing to the serious crossover of methanol from the anode to the cathode through the polymer electrolyte membrane, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) usually use dilute methanol solutions as fuel. However, the use of high-concentration methanol is highly demanded to improve the energy density of a DMFC system. Instead of the conventional strategies (for example, improving the fuel-feed system, membrane development, modification of electrode, and water management), we demonstrate the use of selective electrocatalysts to run a DMFC at high concentrations of methanol. In particular, at an operating temperature of 80°C, the as-fabricated DMFC with core-shell-shell Au@Ag2S@Pt nanocomposites at the anode and core-shell Au@Pd nanoparticles at the cathode produces a maximum power density of 89.7 mW cm−2 at a methanol feed concentration of 10 M and maintains good performance at a methanol concentration of up to 15 M. The high selectivity of the electrocatalysts achieved through structural construction accounts for the successful operation of the DMFC at high concentrations of methanol. PMID:28695199

  1. Transesterification of canola, palm, peanut, soybean and sunflower oil with methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, butanol and tert-butanol to biodiesel: Modelling of chemical equilibrium, reaction kinetics and mass transfer based on fatty acid composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Likozar, Blaž; Levec, Janez

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Modelling of chemical equilibrium, reaction kinetics and mass transfer for triglyceride transesterification with different alcohols based on fatty acid composition. - Highlights: • Catalysed transesterification to biodiesel with various oils, alcohols and catalysts. • Analysis of components and reactivity based on fatty acid composition of all species. • Simultaneous modelling of mass transfer, reaction kinetics and chemical equilibrium. • Diffusivities, distribution and mass transfer coefficients for individual components. • Correlation of kinetic parameters with molecular structure of reactants and products. - Abstract: Mechanism of alcoholysis (e.g. methanolysis) using different oils, alcohols and homogeneous base catalysts was utilized to devise chemical kinetics and thermodynamics based on fatty acid composition, differentiating among triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides and fatty acid alkyl esters (e.g. fatty acid alkyl esters, FAME) with bonded gadoleic, linoleic, linolenic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acid-originating substituents. Their concentrations were measured using an optimized high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Hydrodynamics and diffusion limitations in emulsion were considered in overall model by determining diffusivities, distribution coefficients, molar volumes, boiling points and viscosities of individual components. Pre-exponential factors and activation energies were related with structure of reactants, intermediates and products acknowledging number of carbons, double bonds and alkyl branches by linear and mixed response surface methodology. Developed model may be used with batch and continuous flow reactors, e.g. for novel micro-structured or industrial-scale process intensification, different vegetable or non-edible oils (waste cooking Jatropha or microalgae lipids)

  2. Heterogeneous catalysis for sustainable biodiesel production via esterification and transesterification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Adam F; Bennett, James A; Manayil, Jinesh C; Wilson, Karen

    2014-11-21

    Concern over the economics of accessing fossil fuel reserves, and widespread acceptance of the anthropogenic origin of rising CO2 emissions and associated climate change from combusting such carbon sources, is driving academic and commercial research into new routes to sustainable fuels to meet the demands of a rapidly rising global population. Here we discuss catalytic esterification and transesterification solutions to the clean synthesis of biodiesel, the most readily implemented and low cost, alternative source of transportation fuels to meet future societal demands.

  3. Biodiesel production over copper vanadium phosphate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Lei; Yin, Ping; Liu, Xiguang; Yang, Lixia; Yu, Zhongxi; Guo, Xin; Xin, Xinquan

    2011-01-01

    In the present study, copper vanadium phosphate (CuVOP) with three-dimensional network structure was synthesized by hydrothermal method, and was characterized by Infrared spectrum (IR), elemental analysis (EA), EDXRF (energy dispersive X ray fluorescence) etc. Moreover, soybean oil was used as feedstock for producing biodiesel, and biodiesel was produced by CuVOP-catalyzed transesterification process. Response surface methodology was employed to statistically evaluate and optimize the conditions for the maximum conversion to biodiesel, and the effects of amount of catalyst, ratio of methanol to oil, reaction time and reaction temperature were investigated by the 2 4 full-factorial central composite design. The maximum conversion is obtained at amount of catalyst of 1.5%, methanol/oil molar ratio of 6.75, reaction temperature of 65 o C and reaction time of 5 h. Copper vanadium phosphate CuVOP resulted very active in the transesterification reaction for biodiesel production. -- Research highlights: → Copper vanadium phosphate CuVOP with three-dimensional network structure was prepared successfully. Moreover, for the transesterification reaction of soybean oil with methanol under atmospheric pressure, CuVOP had higher catalytic activity and the effects of production conditions such as amount of catalysts etc. were analyzed by response surface methodology.

  4. Supercritical fluid technology for energy and environmental applications

    CERN Document Server

    Anikeev, Vladimir

    2014-01-01

    Supercritical Fluid Technology for Energy and Environmental Applications covers the fundamental principles involved in the preparation and characterization of supercritical fluids (SCFs) used in the energy production and other environmental applications. Energy production from diversified resources - including renewable materials - using clean processes can be accomplished using technologies like SCFs. This book is focused on critical issues scientists and engineers face in applying SCFs to energy production and environmental protection, the innovative solutions they have found, and the challenges they need to overcome. The book also covers the basics of sub- and supercritical fluids, like the thermodynamics of phase and chemical equilibria, mathematical modeling, and process calculations. A supercritical fluid is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist. At this state the compound demonstrates unique properties, which can be "fine...

  5. Geotrichum candidum 4013: Extracellular lipase versus cell-bound lipase from the single strain

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hlavsová, Klára; Zarevúcka, Marie; Wimmer, Zdeněk; Macková, M.; Sovová, Helena

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 61, 3/4 (2009), s. 188-193 ISSN 1381-1177 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506; CEZ:AV0Z50380511; CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : supercritical carbon dioxide * blackcurrant oil hydrolysis * enantioselectivity * transesterification Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 2.400, year: 2009

  6. Selective chelation and extraction of lanthanides and actinides with supercritical fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brauer, R.D.; Carleson, T.E.; Harrington, J.D.; Jean, F.; Jiang, H.; Lin, Y.; Wai, C.M.

    1994-01-01

    This report is made up of three independent papers: (1) Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Thorium and Uranium with Fluorinated Beta-Diketones and Tributyl Phosphate, (2) Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Lanthanides with Beta-Diketones and Mixed Ligands, and (3) A Group Contribution Method for Predicting the Solubility of Solid Organic Compounds in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. Experimental data are presented demonstrating the successful extraction of thorium and uranium using fluorinated beta-diketones to form stable complexes that are extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide. The conditions for extracting the lanthanide ions from liquid and solid materials using supercritical carbon dioxide are presented. In addition, the Peng-Robison equation of state and thermodynamic equilibrium are used to predict the solubilities of organic solids in supercritical carbon dioxide from the sublimation pressure, critical properties, and a centric factor of the solid of interest

  7. Effects of Gravity on Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegde, Uday; Hicks, Michael

    2013-01-01

    The effects of gravity on the fluid mechanics of supercritical water jets are being studied at NASA to develop a better understanding of flow behaviors for purposes of advancing supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) technologies for applications in reduced gravity environments. These studies provide guidance for the development of future SCWO experiments in new experimental platforms that will extend the current operational range of the DECLIC (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization) Facility on board the International Space Station (ISS). The hydrodynamics of supercritical fluid jets is one of the basic unit processes of a SCWO reactor. These hydrodynamics are often complicated by significant changes in the thermo-physical properties that govern flow behavior (e.g., viscosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, compressibility, etc), particularly when fluids transition from sub-critical to supercritical conditions. Experiments were conducted in a 150 ml reactor cell under constant pressure with water injections at various flow rates. Flow configurations included supercritical jets injected into either sub-critical or supercritical water. Profound gravitational influences were observed, particularly in the transition to turbulence, for the flow conditions under study. These results will be presented and the parameters of the flow that control jet behavior will be examined and discussed.

  8. Supercritical carbon dioxide for textile applications and recent developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eren, H. A.; Avinc, O.; Eren, S.

    2017-10-01

    In textile industry, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), possessing liquid-like densities, mostly find an application on textile dyeing processes such as providing hydrophobic dyes an advantage on dissolving. Their gas-like low viscosities and diffusion properties can result in shorter dyeing periods in comparison with the conventional water dyeing process. Supercritical carbon dioxide dyeing is an anhydrous dyeing and this process comprises the usage of less energy and chemicals when compared to conventional water dyeing processes leading to a potential of up to 50% lower operation costs. The advantages of supercritical carbon dioxide dyeing method especially on synthetic fiber fabrics hearten leading textile companies to alter their dyeing method to this privileged waterless dyeing technology. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) waterless dyeing is widely known and applied green method for sustainable and eco-friendly textile industry. However, not only the dyeing but also scouring, desizing and different finishing applications take the advantage of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). In this review, not only the principle, advantages and disadvantages of dyeing in supercritical carbon dioxide but also recent developments of scCO2 usage in different textile processing steps such as scouring, desizing and finishing are explained and commercial developments are stated and summed up.

  9. Determination of coumarins in the roots of Angelica dahurica by supercritical fluid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfeifer, Isabella; Murauer, Adele; Ganzera, Markus

    2016-09-10

    The fact that supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) offers many desirable features is known for a long time. Yet, the number of applications on natural products is still limited, because robust and user-friendly instrumentation became available just a few years ago. As coumarins hardly have been studied by this technique we developed the first SFC assay for their determination in crude plant material. After method optimization eight standard compounds, including simple coumarins, linear and angular furanocoumarins, could be baseline separated in 6min using an Acquity UPC(2) CSH Fluoro-Phenyl 1.7μm column with supercritical CO2, methanol and diethylamine as mobile phase. Method validation confirmed that the assay is linear (R(2)≥0.9995), precise (intra-day variation≤5.8%; inter-day variation≤4.4%) and accurate (recovery rates from 96.5 to 104.2%). Detection limits determined at 300nm were below 2ng on-column, and the method showed to be well suited for the analysis of coumarins in Angelica dahurica roots. It was observed that qualitative as well as quantitative composition vary significantly. In all samples Imperatorin (0.09-0.28%) was the major coumarin, followed either by Isoimperatorin or Oxypeucedanin; the total coumarin content ranged from 0.16 to 0.77%. The results were in good agreement to published data, so that because of its speed and green nature SFC is definitely an interesting alternative for the analysis of this important class of natural products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A kinetic study of biodiesel in waste cooking oil | Krishnan | African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Methyl esters are produced by transesterification of waste cooking palm oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst, potassium hydroxide (KOH). These reactions were carried out in 4:1 (molar ratio of methanol and oil) with 0.45 weight % of the catalyst used. The rate of reaction was enhanced with increasing temperature ...

  11. PROSPECTS FOR USE OF CONDENSED GASES AND SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS IN PHYTOCHEMICAL PRODUCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Demyanenko DV

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In the given review article analysis of the literature and patent sources concerning main methods for intensification of extraction processes of medicinal vegetative raw materials – use of condensed gases and supercritical fluids (SCF on more acceptable extractants has been carried out for last 20 years. Urgency of the specified technologies consists in need for replacement of traditional extraction methods on power- and time-saving ones, and also in use of nontoxic, fire-proof and low-boiling solvents because the most of routine organic solvents (ethanol, methanol, acetone, chloroform, ethylacetate, etc. are toxic and/or flammable or expansive and rather hard to evaporate out from extracts obtained. The abovementioned trends are the most universal for intensification of extraction processes and sometimes purification of final or intermediate products acceptable for commercial scale of manufacture. The main advantages and disadvantages of the given methods are compared for different plant species and groups of biologically active substances (BAS. It has been shown that in most cases supercritical СО2 (SC-СО2 are inferior in its dissolving ability to number of condensed gases and, besides, such technology is much more expensive. The range of BAS taken with SC-СО2 is limited to mainly lipophilic compounds because of zero electrical dipole moment of SC-СО2 and its low polarity. As extractants alternative to SC-СО2 with higher dissolving ability SC - ethane, nitrogen monoxide, freons - R134а, R23, R32, R408 and number of others can be used. Also to enlarge range of extractable BAS it is possible to add different cosolvents, mainly ethanol or methanol in quantity up to 20%. At the same time in phytochemical production prospective alternatives to liquid or supercritical СО2 are certain condensed gases with wider range of physico-chemical properties: fluorinated derivatives of hydrocarbons (freons, liquid ammonia, dimethyl ether (DME

  12. Industrial applications and current trends in supercritical fluid technologies

    OpenAIRE

    Gamse Thomas

    2005-01-01

    Supercritical fluids have a great potential for wide fields of processes Although CO2 is still one of the most used supercritical gases, for special purposes propane or even fluorinated-chlorinated fluids have also been tested. The specific characteristics of supercritical fluids behaviour were analyzed such as for example the solubilities of different components and the phase equilibria between the solute and solvent. The application at industrial scale (decaffeinating of tea and coffee, hop...

  13. Design and Operation of an Electrochemical Methanol Concentration Sensor for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, S. R.; Valdez, T. I.; Chun, W.

    2000-01-01

    The development of a 150-Watt packaged power source based on liquid feed direct methanol fuel cells is being pursued currently at the Jet propulsion Laboratory for defense applications. In our studies we find that the concentration of methanol in the fuel circulation loop affects the electrical performance and efficiency the direct methanol fuel cell systems significantly. The practical operation of direct methanol fuel cell systems, therefore, requires accurate monitoring and control of methanol concentration. The present paper reports on the principle and demonstration of an in-house developed electrochemical sensor suitable for direct methanol fuel cell systems.

  14. Supercritical fluid analytical methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, R.D.; Kalinoski, H.T.; Wright, B.W.; Udseth, H.R.

    1988-01-01

    Supercritical fluids are providing the basis for new and improved methods across a range of analytical technologies. New methods are being developed to allow the detection and measurement of compounds that are incompatible with conventional analytical methodologies. Characterization of process and effluent streams for synfuel plants requires instruments capable of detecting and measuring high-molecular-weight compounds, polar compounds, or other materials that are generally difficult to analyze. The purpose of this program is to develop and apply new supercritical fluid techniques for extraction, separation, and analysis. These new technologies will be applied to previously intractable synfuel process materials and to complex mixtures resulting from their interaction with environmental and biological systems

  15. Evaluation as a catalyst in ferrispinel NiFe_2O_4 esterification and transesterification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pereira, Kleberson Ricardo de Oliveira; Dantas, Joelda; Costa, Ana Cristina Figueiredo de Melo; Silva, Adriano Sant'Ana; Kiminami, Ruth Herta Goldschmidt Aliaga

    2014-01-01

    The advancement of nanoscience and nanotechnology, magnetic nanoparticles ferrispinels type, have found numerous applications in biochemistry, molecular biology, biomedicine, diagnosis and heterogeneous catalysis for biodiesel production. Therefore, we propose to synthesize ferrispinel NiFe_2O_4 and evaluate its performance as a catalyst for esterification and transesterification of the methyl soybean oil. The sample was obtained through combustion reaction with production of 10 g / batch and characterized by XRD, SEM and BET. The catalytic reaction was conducted in high-pressure reactor at 180 °C for 1 hour, with a molar ratio of oil:ethanol 1:12 with 2% catalyst. The results showed the formation of ferrispinel phase, morphology composed of aggregates in the form of irregular blocks formed by pre sintered particles and low interparticle porosity. As a catalyst, the conversion values presented ferrispinel 52% and 4% in the esterification and transesterification, respectively, indicating that promising material for use in biodiesel production. (author)

  16. Structural behavior of supercritical fluids under confinement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Kanka; Krishnamurthy, C. V.

    2018-01-01

    The existence of the Frenkel line in the supercritical regime of a Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid shown through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations initially and later corroborated by experiments on argon opens up possibilities of understanding the structure and dynamics of supercritical fluids in general and of the Frenkel line in particular. The location of the Frenkel line, which demarcates two distinct physical states, liquidlike and gaslike within the supercritical regime, has been established through MD simulations of the velocity autocorrelation (VACF) and radial distribution function (RDF). We, in this article, explore the changes in the structural features of supercritical LJ fluid under partial confinement using atomistic walls. The study is carried out across the Frenkel line through a series of MD simulations considering a set of thermodynamics states in the supercritical regime (P =5000 bar, 240 K ≤T ≤1500 K ) of argon well above the critical point. Confinement is partial, with atomistic walls located normal to z and extending to "infinity" along the x and y directions. In the "liquidlike" regime of the supercritical phase, particles are found to be distributed in distinct layers along the z axis with layer spacing less than one atomic diameter and the lateral RDF showing amorphous-like structure for specific spacings (packing frustration) and non-amorphous-like structure for other spacings. Increasing the rigidity of the atomistic walls is found to lead to stronger layering and increased structural order. For confinement with reflective walls, layers are found to form with one atomic diameter spacing and the lateral RDF showing close-packed structure for the smaller confinements. Translational order parameter and excess entropy assessment confirms the ordering taking place for atomistic wall and reflective wall confinements. In the "gaslike" regime of the supercritical phase, particle distribution along the spacing and the lateral RDF exhibit features

  17. Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, DMFC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amornpitoksuk, P.

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, DMFC is a kind of fuel cell using methanol as a fuel for electric producing. Methanol is low cost chemical substance and it is less harmful than that of hydrogen fuel. From these reasons it can be commercial product. The electrocatalytic reaction of methanol fuel uses Pt-Ru metals as the most efficient catalyst. In addition, the property of membrane and system designation are also effect to the fuel cell efficient. Because of low power of methanol fuel cell therefore, direct methanol fuel cell is proper to use for the energy source of small electrical devices and vehicles etc.

  18. Methanol production by Mycobacterium smegmatis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weisman, L.S.; Ballou, C.E.

    1988-01-01

    Mycobacterium smegmatis cells produce [ 3 H]methanol when incubated with [methyl- 3 H]methionine. The methanol is derived from S-adenosylmethionine rather than methyltetrahydrofolate. M. smegmatis cells carboxymethylate several proteins, and some of the methanol probably results from their demethylation, but most of the methanol may come from an unidentified component with a high gel mobility. Although methanol in the medium reached 19 μM, it was not incorporated into the methylated mannose polysaccharide, a lipid carrier in this organism

  19. Electro-oxidation of methanol diffused through proton exchange membrane on Pt surface: crossover rate of methanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Inhwa; Kim, Doyeon; Yun, Yongsik; Chung, Suengyoung; Lee, Jaeyoung; Tak, Yongsug

    2004-01-01

    Methanol crossover rate through proton exchange membrane (Nafion 117) was investigated with a newly designed electrochemical stripping cell. Nanosize Pt electrode was prepared by the electroless deposition. Distinct electrocatalytic oxidation behaviors of methanol inside membrane were similar to the methanol oxidation in aqueous electrolyte, except adsorption/desorption of hydrogen. The amount of methanol diffused through membrane was calculated from the charge of methanol oxidation during repetitive cyclic voltammetry (CV) and methanol crossover rate was estimated to be 0.69 nmol/s

  20. Operation and Performance of the Supercritical Fluids Reactor (SFR)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hanush, R

    1996-01-01

    The Supercritical Fluids Reactor (SFR) at Sandia National Laboratories, CA has been developed to examine and solve engineering, process, and fundamental chemistry issues regarding the development of supercritical water oxidation (SCWO...

  1. Experimental analysis of methanol cross-over in a direct methanol fuel cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casalegno, Andrea [Dipartimento di Energetica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: andrea.casalegno@polimi.it; Grassini, Paolo [Dipartimento di Energetica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: PGrassini@seal.it; Marchesi, Renzo [Dipartimento di Energetica, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan (Italy)]. E-mail: renzo.marchesi@polimi.it

    2007-03-15

    Methanol cross-over through the polymeric membrane is one of the main causes limiting direct methanol fuel cell performances. It causes fuel wasting and enhances cathode overpotential. A repeatable and reproducible measurement system, that assures the traceability of the measurement to international reference standards, is necessary to compare different fuel cell construction materials. In this work a method to evaluate methanol cross-over rate and operating condition influence is presented and qualified in term of measurement uncertainty. In the investigated range, the methanol cross-over rate results mainly due to diffusion through the membrane, in fact it is strongly affected by temperature. Moreover the cross-over influence on fuel utilization and fuel cell efficiency is investigated. The methanol cross-over rate appears linearly proportional to electrochemical fuel utilization and values, obtained by measurements at different anode flow rate but constant electrochemical fuel utilization, are roughly equal; methanol wasting, due to cross-over, is considerable and can still be higher than electrochemical utilization. The fuel recirculation effect on energy efficiency has been investigated and it was found that fuel recirculation gives more advantage at low temperature, but fuel cell energy efficiency results are in any event higher at high temperature.

  2. Experimental analysis of methanol cross-over in a direct methanol fuel cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casalegno, Andrea; Grassini, Paolo; Marchesi, Renzo

    2007-01-01

    Methanol cross-over through the polymeric membrane is one of the main causes limiting direct methanol fuel cell performances. It causes fuel wasting and enhances cathode overpotential. A repeatable and reproducible measurement system, that assures the traceability of the measurement to international reference standards, is necessary to compare different fuel cell construction materials. In this work a method to evaluate methanol cross-over rate and operating condition influence is presented and qualified in term of measurement uncertainty. In the investigated range, the methanol cross-over rate results mainly due to diffusion through the membrane, in fact it is strongly affected by temperature. Moreover the cross-over influence on fuel utilization and fuel cell efficiency is investigated. The methanol cross-over rate appears linearly proportional to electrochemical fuel utilization and values, obtained by measurements at different anode flow rate but constant electrochemical fuel utilization, are roughly equal; methanol wasting, due to cross-over, is considerable and can still be higher than electrochemical utilization. The fuel recirculation effect on energy efficiency has been investigated and it was found that fuel recirculation gives more advantage at low temperature, but fuel cell energy efficiency results are in any event higher at high temperature

  3. Production of biodiesel via the in situ transesterification of grain sorghum bran and DDGS

    Science.gov (United States)

    The acylglycerides in sorghum bran and distiller’s dried grains and solubles (DDGS) from sorghum post-fermentation stillage have been converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) using an in-situ transesterification (IST) method. The reactions were conducted at 25 deg C or 40 deg C in the presence...

  4. METHANOL REMOVAL FROM METHANOL-WATER MIXTURE USING ACTIVATED SLUDGE, AIR STRIPPING AND ADSORPTION PROCESS: COMPARATIVE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SALAM K. AL-DAWERY

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available An experimental research has been carried out in order to examine the removal of methanol from methanol-water mixtures using three different methods; activated sludge; activated carbon and air stripping. The results showed that the methanol was totally consumed by the bacteria as quickly as the feed entered the activated sludge vessel. Air stripping process has a limited ability for removing of methanol due to strong intermolecular forces between methanol and water; however, the results showed that the percentage of methanol removed using air pressure at 0.5 bar was higher than that of using air pressure of 0.25 bar. Removal of methanol from the mixture with a methanol content of 5% using activated carbon was not successful due to the limited capacity of the of the activated carbon. Thus, the activated sludge process can be considered as the most suitable process for the treatment of methanol-water mixtures.

  5. Generic supercritical water technology; Generic technology to shite no chorinkaisui riyo gijutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arai, K; Ajiri, M; Inomata, H; Smith, R; Hakuta, Y [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Yokoyama, C [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan). The Institute forChemical Reaction Science; Chin, L [New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Tokyo, (Japan)

    1997-02-01

    This paper describes the measurement and analysis for clarifying solution structure of supercritical water and exhibition mechanism of solvent functions. It also describes the development of new processes using supercritical water as reaction solvent. The PVT measurements were conducted in the supercritical region using pure water and NaCl aqueous solution, to confirm the reduction of molar volume of the electrolyte solution. The hydration structure was examined in the supercritical aqueous solution by the molecular dynamic simulation. As a result, presence of hydrogen bond structure, where the contribution of two branching hydrogen bond can not be ignored, was suggested under the supercritical condition. Characteristics of supercritical aqueous solutions are analyzed through in-situ Raman and scattered X-ray spectral measurements. Moreover, this paper introduces developments of some processes in the supercritical water, such as decomposition of wasted polymers, recovery of chemical materials, reforming of heavy hydrocarbons by contact hydrogenation, and synthesis of fine powders of metal oxide by reaction crystallization.

  6. Determination of major aromatic constituents in vanilla using an on-line supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yanshan; Liu, Jiaqi; Zhong, Qisheng; Shen, Lingling; Yao, Jinting; Huang, Taohong; Zhou, Ting

    2018-04-01

    An on-line supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography method was developed for the determination of four major aromatic constituents in vanilla. The parameters of supercritical fluid extraction were systematically investigated using single factor optimization experiments and response surface methodology by a Box-Behnken design. The modifier ratio, split ratio, and the extraction temperature and pressure were the major parameters which have significant effects on the extraction. While the static extraction time, dynamic extraction time, and recycle time had little influence on the compounds with low polarity. Under the optimized conditions, the relative extraction efficiencies of all the constituents reached 89.0-95.1%. The limits of quantification were in the range of 1.123-4.747 μg. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.3368-1.424 μg. The recoveries of the four analytes were in the range of 76.1-88.9%. The relative standard deviations of intra- and interday precision ranged from 4.2 to 7.6%. Compared with other off-line methods, the present method obtained higher extraction yields for all four aromatic constituents. Finally, this method has been applied to the analysis of vanilla from different sources. On the basis of the results, the on-line supercritical fluid extraction-supercritical fluid chromatography method shows great promise in the analysis of aromatic constituents in natural products. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Biodiesel de babaçu (Orbignya sp. obtido por via etanólica Biodiesel from babassu (Orbignya sp. synthesized via ethanolic route

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Renato de Oliveira Lima

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel was obtained by transesterification of babassu oil in anhydrous ethanol and methanol, employing NaOH as catalyst. The products obtained were characterized by physico-chemical and thermogravimetric analysis. It could be concluded that the properties of the two types of biodiesel (ethanolic and methanolic are very similar when compared with diesel oil.

  8. Tri-potassium phosphate as a solid catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guan, Guoqing; Kusakabe, Katsuki; Yamasaki, Satoko [Department of Living Environmental Science, Fukuoka Women' s University, 1-1-1 Kasumigaoka, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 813-8529 (Japan)

    2009-04-15

    Transesterification of waste cooking oil with methanol, using tri-potassium phosphate as a solid catalyst, was investigated. Tri-potassium phosphate shows high catalytic properties for the transesterification reaction, compared to CaO and tri-sodium phosphate. Transesterification of waste cooking oil required approximately two times more solid catalyst than transesterification of sunflower oil. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield reached 97.3% when the transesterification was performed with a catalyst concentration of 4 wt.% at 60 C for 120 min. After regeneration of the used catalyst with aqueous KOH solution, the FAME yield recovered to 88%. Addition of a co-solvent changed the reaction state from three-phase to two-phase, but reduced the FAME yield, contrary to the results with homogeneous catalysts. The catalyst particles were easily agglomerated by the glycerol drops derived from the homogeneous liquid in the presence of co-solvents, reducing the catalytic activity. (author)

  9. Production of bio diesel from chicken frying oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bakir, E.T.; Fadhil, A.B.

    2011-01-01

    Chicken fried oil was converted into different bio diesels through single step transesterification and two step transesterification, namely acid-base and base-base catalyzed transesterification. Hydrochloric acid and potassium hydroxide with methanol were used for this purpose. The results showed that two step base catalyzed transesterification was better compared to other methods. It resulted in higher yield and better fuel properties. Transesterification of fried chicken oil was monitored by TLC technique and compared with that of the parent oil. Fuel properties of the products have been measured and found markedly enhanced compared to those of the parent oil. Also, the values satisfied the standard limits according to the ASTM standards. Blending of the better bio diesel sample with petro diesel was made using three volume percentages (10, 30 and 50% v/v). The results disclosed that blending had slight effect on the original properties of petro diesel.

  10. Heat Transfer Phenomena of Supercritical Fluids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krau, Carmen Isabella; Kuhn, Dietmar; Schulenberg, Thomas [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    In concepts for supercritical water cooled reactors, the reactor core is cooled and moderated by water at supercritical pressures. The significant temperature dependence of the fluid properties of water requires an exact knowledge of the heat transfer mechanism to avoid fuel pin damages. Near the pseudo-critical point a deterioration of heat transfer might happen. Processes, that take place in this case, are not fully understood and are due to be examined systematically. In this paper a general overview on the properties of supercritical water is given, experimental observations of different authors will be reviewed in order to identify heat transfer phenomena and onset of occurrence. The conceptional design of a test rig to investigate heat transfer in the boundary layer will be discussed. Both, water and carbon dioxide, may serve as operating fluids. The loop, including instrumentation and safety devices, is shown and suitable measuring methods are described. (authors)

  11. Upgrading of bitumen using supercritical water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kayukawa, T. [JGC Corp., Ibaraki (Japan)

    2009-07-01

    This presentation outlined the technical and economic aspects of thermal cracking by supercritical water. Supercritical water (SCW) is a commonly used method for upgrading heavy oil to produce pipeline-transportable oil from high-viscous bitumen. The process uses water and does not require hydrogen nor catalysts. Pre-heated bitumen and water enter a vertical reactor with flows of counter current at the supercritical point of water. The upgraded synthetic crude oil (SCO) and pitch are obtained from the top of the reactor when the bitumen is thermally cracked. Bench-scale studies have shown that Canadian oil sands bitumen can be converted to 80 volume per cent of SCO and 20 volume per cent of pitch. The SCO has satisfied Canadian pipeline specifications in terms of API gravity and kinetic viscosity. The kinetic viscosity of the pitch has also satisfied boiler fuel specifications. tabs., figs.

  12. Modelling and experimental studies on a direct methanol fuel cell working under low methanol crossover and high methanol concentrations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, V.B.; Pinto, A.M.F.R. [Centro de Estudos de Fenomenos de Transporte, Departamento de Eng. Quimica, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto (Portugal); Rangel, C.M. [Instituto Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, Estrada do Paco do Lumiar, 1649-038 Lisboa (Portugal)

    2009-08-15

    A number of issues need to be resolved before DMFC can be commercially viable such as the methanol crossover and water crossover which must be minimised in portable DMFCs. The main gain of this work is to systematically vary commercial MEA materials and check their influence on the cell performance of a direct methanol fuel cell operating at close to room temperature. A detailed experimental study on the performance of an <> developed DMFC with 25 cm{sup 2} of active membrane area, working near the ambient conditions is described. Tailored MEAs (membrane-electrode assemblies), with different structures and combinations of gas diffusion layers (GDLs), were designed and tested in order to select optimal working conditions at high methanol concentration levels without sacrificing performance. The experimental polarization and power density curves were successfully compared with the predictions of a steady state, one-dimensional model accounting for coupled heat and mass transfer, along with the electrochemical reactions occurring in the DMFC recently developed by the same authors. The influence of the anode gas diffusion layer media, the membrane thickness and the MEA properties on the cell performance are explained under the light of the predicted methanol crossover rate across the membrane. A tailored MEA build-up with the common available commercial materials was proposed to achieve relatively low methanol crossover, operating at high methanol concentrations. The use of adequate materials for the gas diffusion layers (carbon paper at the anode GDL and carbon cloth at the cathode GDL) enables the use of thinner membranes enhancing the water back diffusion which is essential to work at high methanol concentrations. (author)

  13. Updated heat transfer correlations for supercritical water-cooled reactor applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mokry, S.J.; Pioro, I.L.; Farah, A.; King, K.

    2011-01-01

    In support of the development of SuperCritical Water-cooled Reactors (SCWRs), research is currently being conducted for heat-transfer at supercritical conditions. Currently, there are no experimental datasets for heat transfer from power reactor fuel bundles to the fuel coolant (Water) available in open literature. Therefore, for preliminary calculations, heat-transfer correlations obtained with bare tube data can be used as a conservative approach. A large set of experimental data, for supercritical water was analyzed and an updated heat-transfer correlation for forced-convective heat-transfer, in the normal heat transfer regime, was developed. This experimental dataset was obtained within conditions similar to those for proposed SCWR concepts. Thus, this new correlation can be used for preliminary heat-transfer calculations in SCWR fuel channels. It has demonstrated a good fit for the analyzed dataset. Experiments with SuperCritical Water (SCW) are very expensive. Therefore, a number of experiments are performed in modeling fluids, such as carbon dioxide and refrigerants. However, there is no common opinion if SC modeling fluids' correlations can be applied to SCW and vice versa. Therefore, a correlation for supercritical carbon dioxide heat transfer was developed as a less expensive alternative to using supercritical water. The conducted analysis also meets the objective of improving our fundamental knowledge of the transport processes and handling of supercritical fluids. These correlations can be used for supercritical water heat exchangers linked to indirect-cycle concepts and the cogeneration of hydrogen, for future comparisons with other independent datasets, with bundle data, for the verification of computer codes for SCWR core thermalhydraulics and for the verification of scaling parameters between water and modeling fluids. (author)

  14. Sorption phenomena of methanol on heat treated coal; Netsushori wo hodokoshita sekitan no methanol kyuchaku tokusei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yasuda, H.; Kaiho, M.; Yamada, O.; Soneda, Y.; Kobayashi, M.; Makino, M. [National Institute for Resources and Environment, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1996-10-28

    Experiments were carried out to learn methanol sorption characteristics of heat-treated coal. When Taiheiyo coal is heat-treated at 125{degree}C, performed with a first methanol adsorption at 25{degree}C, and then desorption at 25{degree}C, a site with strong interaction with methanol and a site with relatively weak interaction are generated in test samples. A small amount of methanol remains in both sites. Then, when the methanol is desorbed at as low temperature as 70{degree}C, the methanol in the site with strong interaction remains as it has existed therein, but the methanol in the site with relatively weak interaction desorbs partially, hence the adsorption amount in a second adsorption at 25{degree}C increases. However, when desorption is performed at as high temperature as 125{degree}C, the methanol in the site with strong interaction also desorbs, resulting in increased adsorption heat in the second adsorption. The adsorption velocity drops, however. Existence of methanol in a site with strong interaction affects the adsorption velocity, but no effect is given by methanol in a site with weak interaction. 3 refs., 4 figs.

  15. One step transesterification process of sludge palm oil (SPO) by using deep eutectic solvent (DES) in biodiesel production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manurung, Renita; Ramadhani, Debbie Aditia; Maisarah, Siti

    2017-06-01

    Biodiesel production by using sludge palm oil (SPO) as raw material is generally synthesized in two step reactions, namely esterification and transesterification, because the free fatty acid (FFA) content of SPO is relatively high. However, the presence of choline chloride (ChCl), glycerol based deep eutectic solvent (DES), in transesterification may produce biodiesel from SPO in just one step. In this study, DES was produced by the mixture of ChCl and glycerol at molar ratio of 1:2 at a temperature of 80°C and stirring speed of 400 rpm for 1 hour. DES was characterized by its density and viscosity. The transesterification process was performed at reaction temperature of 70 °C, ethanol to oil molar with ratio of 9:1, sodium hydroxide as catalyst concentration of 1 % wt, DES as cosolvent with concentration of 0 to 5 % wt, stirring speed of 400 rpm, and one hour reaction time. The obtained biodiesel was then assessed with density, viscosity, and ester content as the parameters. FFA content of SPO as the raw material was 7.5290 %. In this case, DES as cosolvent in one step transesterification process of low feedstock could reduce the side reaction (saponification), decrease the time reaction, decrease the surface tension between ethanol and oil, and increase the mass transfer that simultaneously simplified the purification process and obtained the highest yield. The esters properties met the international standards of ASTM D 6751, with the highest yield obtained was 83.19% with 99.55% of ester content and the ratio of ethanol:oil of 9:1, concentration of DES of 4%, catalyst amount of 1%, temperature of reaction at 70°C and stirring speed of 400 rpm.

  16. A finite-dimensional reduction method for slightly supercritical elliptic problems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riccardo Molle

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe a finite-dimensional reduction method to find solutions for a class of slightly supercritical elliptic problems. A suitable truncation argument allows us to work in the usual Sobolev space even in the presence of supercritical nonlinearities: we modify the supercritical term in such a way to have subcritical approximating problems; for these problems, the finite-dimensional reduction can be obtained applying the methods already developed in the subcritical case; finally, we show that, if the truncation is realized at a sufficiently large level, then the solutions of the approximating problems, given by these methods, also solve the supercritical problems when the parameter is small enough.

  17. Development of Nuclear Decontamination Technology Using Supercritical Fluid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Wonyoung; Park, Kwangheon; Park, Jihye; Lee, Donghee [Kyunghee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    Soil cleaning technologies that have been developed thus far increase treatment costs in contaminated soil recovery processes because they generate large amounts of secondary wastes. In this respect, this study is intended to develop soil decontamination methods using CO{sub 2}, which is a nontoxic, environmentally friendly substance, in order to fundamentally suppress the generation of secondary wastes from the decontamination process and to create high added values. In this study, to develop decontamination methods for uranium-contaminated soil using supercritical CO{sub 2}, a soil decontamination system using supercritical CO{sub 2} was constructed. In addition, the basic principle of supercritical CO{sub 2} decontamination using a TBP-HNO3 complex was explained. According to the results of the study, sea-sand samples having the same degree of contamination showed different results of decontamination according to the quantities of the TBP-HNO3 complex used as an extraction agent, which resulted in high extraction rates. Thus far, a most widely used method of extracting uranium has been the dissolving of uranium in acids. However, this method has the large adverse effect of generating strong acidic wastes that cannot be easily treated. On the other hand, supercritical CO{sub 2} requires critical conditions that are no more difficult to meet than those of other supercritical fluids, since its density can be changed from a very low state close to that of an ideal gas to a high state close to that of liquids. The critical gas conditions are a pressure of 71 bar and a temperature of 31 .deg. C, both of which are inexpensive to achieve. Moreover, CO{sub 2} is a solvent that is not harmful to the human body and few effects on environmental pollution. Therefore, nontoxic and environment friendly processes can be developed using supercritical CO{sub 2}. Supercritical CO{sub 2}'s advantages over prevailing methods suggest its potential for developing innovative

  18. Development of Nuclear Decontamination Technology Using Supercritical Fluid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Wonyoung; Park, Kwangheon; Park, Jihye; Lee, Donghee

    2014-01-01

    Soil cleaning technologies that have been developed thus far increase treatment costs in contaminated soil recovery processes because they generate large amounts of secondary wastes. In this respect, this study is intended to develop soil decontamination methods using CO 2 , which is a nontoxic, environmentally friendly substance, in order to fundamentally suppress the generation of secondary wastes from the decontamination process and to create high added values. In this study, to develop decontamination methods for uranium-contaminated soil using supercritical CO 2 , a soil decontamination system using supercritical CO 2 was constructed. In addition, the basic principle of supercritical CO 2 decontamination using a TBP-HNO3 complex was explained. According to the results of the study, sea-sand samples having the same degree of contamination showed different results of decontamination according to the quantities of the TBP-HNO3 complex used as an extraction agent, which resulted in high extraction rates. Thus far, a most widely used method of extracting uranium has been the dissolving of uranium in acids. However, this method has the large adverse effect of generating strong acidic wastes that cannot be easily treated. On the other hand, supercritical CO 2 requires critical conditions that are no more difficult to meet than those of other supercritical fluids, since its density can be changed from a very low state close to that of an ideal gas to a high state close to that of liquids. The critical gas conditions are a pressure of 71 bar and a temperature of 31 .deg. C, both of which are inexpensive to achieve. Moreover, CO 2 is a solvent that is not harmful to the human body and few effects on environmental pollution. Therefore, nontoxic and environment friendly processes can be developed using supercritical CO 2 . Supercritical CO 2 's advantages over prevailing methods suggest its potential for developing innovative decontamination methods, as demonstrated

  19. [Isolation of a methanol-utilizing strain and its application for determining methanol].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Jun; Gao, Wei; Zhang, Qiang; Qu, Fei; Lu, Dongtao; Zheng, Jun; Pang, Jinmei; Yang, Yujing

    2013-08-04

    To isolate and characterize bacteria that can be used todevelop microbial biosensor for methanol (MeOH) determination. We used selective medium and streak plate to isolate bacteria. Morphological, physiological characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis were used to identify the strain. An MeOH biosensor was then developed by immobilizing M211 along with dissolved oxygen (O2) sensor. An MeOH utilizing bacterium was isolated from biogas-producing tank using methanol as the sole carbon source, and identified as Methylobacteriumorganophilium. Decrease of O2 concentration is linearly related to the MeOH concentration in the range from 0.02% to 1%, with the MeOH detection limit of 0.27 mg/L. The response time of the biosensor is within 20 min. Furthermore, the result of interference test and the detection of methanol sample are both satisfactory. Good results are obtained in interference test and the detection of methanol sample. The proposed method seems very attractive in monitoring methanol.

  20. Simultaneous determination of inorganic anions and cations by supercritical fluid chromatography using evaporative light scattering detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foulon, Catherine; Di Giulio, Pauline; Lecoeur, Marie

    2018-01-26

    Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is commonly used for the analysis of non-polar compounds, but remains poorly explored for the separation of polar and ionized molecules. In this paper, SFC has been investigated for the separation of 14 inorganic ions sampled in aqueous solutions. Four polar stationary phases were first screened using CO 2 -methanol-based mobile phases containing water or different acidic or basic additives, in order to select the most efficient conditions for the simultaneous retention of inorganic cations and anions and to favor their detection using evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). Orthogonal selectivity was obtained depending on the stationary phase used: whereas anions are less retained on HILIC stationary phase, 2-ethylpyridine (2-EP) stationary phase exhibits strong interaction for anions. Best results were obtained under gradient elution mode using a 2-EP stationary phase and by adding 0.2% triethylamine in the CO 2 -methanol-based mobile phase. The composition of the injection solvent was also investigated. The results showed that a methanolic sample containing a percentage of water not exceeding 20% does not affect the analytical performances obtained on 2-EP. Moreover, the presence of triethylamine in the injection solvent contributes to eliminate peaks shoulders. Among the 14 inorganic ions tested, three cations (Li + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ ) and five anions (Cl - , Br - , NO 3 - , I - , SCN - ) were totally resolved in 15 min. NO 3 - and NO 2 - still coeluted in the final optimized conditions. The other investigated ions were either strongly retained on the stationary phase or not detected by the ELSD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Electrodeposition of germanium from supercritical fluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ke, Jie; Bartlett, Philip N; Cook, David; Easun, Timothy L; George, Michael W; Levason, William; Reid, Gillian; Smith, David; Su, Wenta; Zhang, Wenjian

    2012-01-28

    Several Ge(II) and Ge(IV) compounds were investigated as possible reagents for the electrodeposition of Ge from liquid CH(3)CN and CH(2)F(2) and supercritical CO(2) containing as a co-solvent CH(3)CN (scCO(2)) and supercritical CH(2)F(2) (scCH(2)F(2)). For Ge(II) reagents the most promising results were obtained using [NBu(n)(4)][GeCl(3)]. However the reproducibility was poor and the reduction currents were significantly less than the estimated mass transport limited values. Deposition of Ge containing films was possible at high cathodic potential from [NBu(n)(4)][GeCl(3)] in liquid CH(3)CN and supercritical CO(2) containing CH(3)CN but in all cases they were heavily contaminated by C, O, F and Cl. Much more promising results were obtained using GeCl(4) in liquid CH(2)F(2) and supercritical CH(2)F(2). In this case the reduction currents were consistent with mass transport limited reduction and bulk electrodeposition produced amorphous films of Ge. Characterisation by XPS showed the presence of low levels of O, F and C, XPS confirmed the presence of Ge together with germanium oxides, and Raman spectroscopy showed that the as deposited amorphous Ge could be crystallised by the laser used in obtaining the Raman measurements.

  2. Chemical deposition methods using supercritical fluid solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sievers, Robert E.; Hansen, Brian N.

    1990-01-01

    A method for depositing a film of a desired material on a substrate comprises dissolving at least one reagent in a supercritical fluid comprising at least one solvent. Either the reagent is capable of reacting with or is a precursor of a compound capable of reacting with the solvent to form the desired product, or at least one additional reagent is included in the supercritical solution and is capable of reacting with or is a precursor of a compound capable of reacting with the first reagent or with a compound derived from the first reagent to form the desired material. The supercritical solution is expanded to produce a vapor or aerosol and a chemical reaction is induced in the vapor or aerosol so that a film of the desired material resulting from the chemical reaction is deposited on the substrate surface. In an alternate embodiment, the supercritical solution containing at least one reagent is expanded to produce a vapor or aerosol which is then mixed with a gas containing at least one additional reagent. A chemical reaction is induced in the resulting mixture so that a film of the desired material is deposited.

  3. Optical wave microphone measurements of laser ablation of copper in supercritical carbon dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitsugi, Fumiaki, E-mail: mitsugi@cs.kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Ikegami, Tomoaki [Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Nakamiya, Toshiyuki; Sonoda, Yoshito [Graduate School of Industrial Engineering, Tokai University, 9-1-1 Toroku, Kumamoto 862-8652 (Japan)

    2013-11-29

    Laser ablation plasma in a supercritical fluid has attracted much attention recently due to its usefulness in forming nanoparticles. Observation of the dynamic behavior of the supercritical fluid after laser irradiation of a solid is necessary for real-time monitoring and control of laser ablation. In this study, we utilized an optical wave microphone to monitor pulsed laser irradiation of a solid in a supercritical fluid. The optical wave microphone works based on Fraunhofer diffraction of phase modulation of light by changes in refractive index. We hereby report on our measurements for pulsed laser irradiation of a Cu target in supercritical carbon dioxide using an optical wave microphone. Photothermal acoustic waves which generated after single pulsed laser irradiation of a Cu target were detectable in supercritical carbon dioxide. The speed of sound around the critical point of supercritical carbon dioxide was clearly slower than that in gas. The optical wave microphone detected a signal during laser ablation of Cu in supercritical carbon dioxide that was caused by shockwave degeneration. - Highlights: • Photothermal acoustic wave in supercritical fluid was observed. • Sound speed around the critical point was slower than that in gas. • Optical wave microphone detected degeneration of a shockwave. • Ablation threshold of a solid in supercritical fluid can be estimated. • Generation of the second shockwave in supercritical phase was suggested.

  4. Dietary methanol and autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walton, Ralph G; Monte, Woodrow C

    2015-10-01

    The authors sought to establish whether maternal dietary methanol during pregnancy was a factor in the etiology of autism spectrum disorders. A seven item questionnaire was given to women who had given birth to at least one child after 1984. The subjects were solicited from a large primary care practice and several internet sites and separated into two groups - mothers who had given birth to a child with autism and those who had not. Average weekly methanol consumption was calculated based on questionnaire responses. 550 questionnaires were completed by women who gave birth to a non-autistic child. On average these women consumed 66.71mg. of methanol weekly. 161 questionnaires were completed by women who had given birth to an autistic child. The average estimated weekly methanol consumption for this group was 142.31mg. Based on the results of the Wilcoxon rank sum-test, we see a significant difference between the reported methanol consumption rates of the two groups. This study suggests that women who have given birth to an autistic child are likely to have had higher intake of dietary sources of methanol than women who have not. Further investigation of a possible link of dietary methanol to autism is clearly warranted. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. Evaluation of the Optimal Reaction Conditions for the Methanolysis and Ethanolysis of Castor Oil Catalyzed by Immobilized Enzymes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andrade, Thalles Allan; Al-Kabalawi, Ibrahim F.; Errico, Massimiliano

    :1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 5 wt% of enzymes, 7.5 wt% of water, 50 wt% n-hexane, at 50 °C. The fatty acid methyl esters content was 96.8 % and 1.0 % FFA. Regarding the reactions with ethanol, 98.0 % fatty acid ethyl ester was obtained and 1.3 % FFA, when the reaction was carried out at 60 °C, 4:1 ethanol......As an alternative to the use of chemical catalysts, immobilized enzyme Lipozyme 435 was evaluated as catalyst for biodiesel production, comparing its efficiency in the castor oil transesterification with methanol and ethanol. Different reaction conditions were assessed and optimized, including...... the reaction temperature (35 – 60 °C), alcohol-to-oil molar ratio (from 3:1 to 6:1), amount of catalyst (from 3 to 15 wt% by weight of oil), addition of water (0 – 15 wt%), and use of n-hexane as a solvent (0 – 75 wt%). For the transesterification with methanol, the optimal reaction conditions were 3...

  6. [Comparative assessment of Cladophora, Spirogyra and Oedogonium biomass for the production of fatty acid methyl esters].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haq, I; Muhammad, A; Hameed, U

    2014-01-01

    The use of alternative fuels for the mitigation of ecological impacts by use of diesel has been focus of intensive research. In the present work, algal oils extracted from cultivated biomass of Cladophora sp., Spirogyra sp. and Oedogonium sp. were evaluated for the lipase-mediated synthesis of fatty acid monoalkyl esters (FAME, biodiesel). To optimize the transesterification of these oils, different parameters such as the alkyl group donor, reaction temperature, stirring time and oil to alcohol ratio were investigated. Four different alcohols i.e. methanol, ethanol, n-propanol and n-butanol were tested as alkyl group donor for the biosynthesis FAME and methanol was found to be the best. Similarly, temperature 50 C and stirring time of 6 h were optimized for the transesterification of oils with methanol. The maximum biodiesel conversions from Cladophora (75.0%), Spirogyra (87.5%) and Oedogonium (92.0%) were obtained when oil to alcohol ratio was 1 : 8.

  7. High Density Thermal Energy Storage with Supercritical Fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganapathi, Gani B.; Wirz, Richard

    2012-01-01

    A novel approach to storing thermal energy with supercritical fluids is being investigated, which if successful, promises to transform the way thermal energy is captured and utilized. The use of supercritical fluids allows cost-affordable high-density storage with a combination of latent heat and sensible heat in the two-phase as well as the supercritical state. This technology will enhance penetration of several thermal power generation applications and high temperature water for commercial use if the overall cost of the technology can be demonstrated to be lower than the current state-of-the-art molten salt using sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate eutectic mixtures.

  8. Selective free radical reactions using supercritical carbon dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cormier, Philip J; Clarke, Ryan M; McFadden, Ryan M L; Ghandi, Khashayar

    2014-02-12

    We report herein a means to modify the reactivity of alkenes, and particularly to modify their selectivity toward reactions with nonpolar reactants (e.g., nonpolar free radicals) in supercritical carbon dioxide near the critical point. Rate constants for free radical addition of the light hydrogen isotope muonium to ethylene, vinylidene fluoride, and vinylidene chloride in supercritical carbon dioxide are compared over a range of pressures and temperatures. Near carbon dioxide's critical point, the addition to ethylene exhibits critical speeding up, while the halogenated analogues display critical slowing. This suggests that supercritical carbon dioxide as a solvent may be used to tune alkene chemistry in near-critical conditions.

  9. Hot new gamble on methanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hatton, J.

    1981-10-01

    Methanol from coal, wood, or natural gas is being considered as an extender or an alternative source of gasoline. Firms such as Nova and Celanese are gambling millions on the proposition that methanol is a crucial steppingstone to the fuels and chemicals of the future. With a new process developed by Mobil Oil, methanol from coal could be converted into gasoline. By the 1990s Imperial Oil Ltd. expects there will be at least one methanol plant using Alberta coal. These and other plans by the Alberta and British Columbia governments and by Canadian industry to produce methanol are reported.

  10. using Supercritical Fluid Extraction

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Methods: Supercritical CO2 extraction technology was adopted in this experiment to study the process of extraction of volatile oil from Polygonatum odoratum while gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer ..... Saponin rich fractions from.

  11. Catalyst retention in continuous flow with supercritical carbon dioxide

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stouten, S.C.; Noel, T.; Wang, Q.; Hessel, V.

    2014-01-01

    This review discusses the retention of organometallic catalysts in continuous flow processes utilizing supercritical carbon dioxide. Due to its innovative properties, supercritical carbon dioxide offers interesting possibilities for process intensification. As a result of safety and cost

  12. Use of Anion Exchange Resins for One-Step Processing of Algae from Harvest to Biofuel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Poenie

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Some microalgae are particularly attractive as a renewable feedstock for biodiesel production due to their rapid growth, high content of triacylglycerols, and ability to be grown on non-arable land. Unfortunately, obtaining oil from algae is currently cost prohibitive in part due to the need to pump and process large volumes of dilute algal suspensions. In an effort to circumvent this problem, we have explored the use of anion exchange resins for simplifying the processing of algae to biofuel. Anion exchange resins can bind and accumulate the algal cells out of suspension to form a dewatered concentrate. Treatment of the resin-bound algae with sulfuric acid/methanol elutes the algae and regenerates the resin while converting algal lipids to biodiesel. Hydrophobic polymers can remove biodiesel from the sulfuric acid/methanol, allowing the transesterification reagent to be reused. We show that in situ transesterification of algal lipids can efficiently convert algal lipids to fatty acid methyl esters while allowing the resin and transesterification reagent to be recycled numerous times without loss of effectiveness.

  13. Sensing methanol concentration in direct methanol fuel cell with total harmonic distortion: Theory and application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao Qing; Krewer, Ulrike

    2012-01-01

    The nonlinear frequency response of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is studied by analyzing the total harmonic distortion (THD) spectra. The dependence of the THD spectra on methanol concentration and methanol oxidation kinetics is investigated by means of both simulation and experiment. Simulation using a continuous stirred tank reactor network model suggests that the methanol concentration profile in the anode has a strong impact on the THD spectra. The experimentally observed nonlinear behavior of the DMFC anode can be qualitatively reproduced with a model containing a three-step methanol oxidation mechanism with Kauranen–Frumkin/Temkin kinetics. Both experiment and simulation results show that THD value has a monotonic correlation with methanol concentration at certain frequencies and its sensitivity to concentration is improved with increased current amplitude. The monotonic relationship enables the THD to sense the methanol concentration level by the DMFC itself, which is of mayor interest for the portable application as an external sensor for the system can be omitted.

  14. Metabolism of methanol in acetogenic bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivey, D.K.W.

    1987-01-01

    Acetogens can grown on methanol in the presence of a cosubstrate that is more oxidized than methanol. Three mol of acetate is formed from 4 mol methanol and 2 mol CO 2 . One mol of methanol is oxidized to CO 2 . The levels of the tetrahydrofolate enzymes, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, and corrinoids indicate the presence of the acetyl CoA pathway when growing on methanol. The acetyl-CoA pathway of acetate synthesis as presently understood does not include methanol as a substrate. It is demonstrated that methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and then to formate by a methanol dehydrogenase. It is also possible that the methyl group of methanol is transferred directly to either a corrinoid-type enzyme, or tetrahydrofolate. When cells of C. thermoautotrophicum are grown on 14 CO 2 , acetate becomes labeled in both carbons with a ratio 14 CH 3 / 14 COOH of 0.7. In addition, methanol gets labeled. When cells are grown on 14 CH 3 OH, label appears in both acetate carbons with a ratio of 3.3, and also appears in CO 2 . Thus methanol is preferentially incorporated into the methyl group of acetate, whereas CO 2 is the preferred source of the carboxyl carbon

  15. The Asian methanol market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagase, Hideki

    1995-01-01

    For the purpose of this presentation, Asia has been broadly defined as a total of 15 countries, namely Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. In 1994 and the first half of 1995, the methanol industry and its derivative industries experienced hard time, because of extraordinarily high methanol prices. In spite of this circumstance, methanol demand in Asian countries has been growing steadily and remarkably, following Asian high economic growth. Most of this growth in demand has been and will continue to be met by outside supply. However, even with increased import of methanol from outside of Asia, as a result of this growth, Asian trade volume will be much larger in the coming years. Asian countries must turn their collective attention to making logistics and transportation for methanol and its derivatives more efficient in the Asian region to make better use of existing supply resources. The author reviews current economic growth as his main topic, and explains the forecast of the growth of methanol demand and supply in Asian countries in the near future

  16. Industrial applications and current trends in supercritical fluid technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gamse Thomas

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Supercritical fluids have a great potential for wide fields of processes Although CO2 is still one of the most used supercritical gases, for special purposes propane or even fluorinated-chlorinated fluids have also been tested. The specific characteristics of supercritical fluids behaviour were analyzed such as for example the solubilities of different components and the phase equilibria between the solute and solvent. The application at industrial scale (decaffeinating of tea and coffee, hop extraction or removal of pesticides from rice, activity in supercritical extraction producing total extract from the raw material or different fractions by using the fractionated separation of beverages (rum, cognac, whisky, wine, beer cider, of citrus oils and of lipids (fish oils, tall oil were also discussed. The main interest is still for the extraction of natural raw materials producing food ingredients, nutraceuticals and phytopharmaceuticals but also cleaning purposes were tested such as the decontamination of soils the removal of residual solvents from pharmaceutical products, the extraction of flame retardants from electronic waste or precision degreasing and cleaning of mechanical and electronic parts. An increasing interest obviously exists for impregnation purposes based on supercritical fluids behaviour, as well as for the dying of fibres and textiles. The production of fine particles in the micron and submicron range, mainly for pharmaceutical products is another important application of supercritical fluids. Completely new products can be produced which is not possible under normal conditions. Supercritical fluid technology has always had to compete with the widespread opinion that these processes are very expensive due to very high investment costs in comparison with classical low-pressure equipment. Thus the opinion is that these processes should be restricted to high-added value products. A cost estimation for different plant sizes and

  17. The Methanol Economy Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olah, George [Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Prakash, G. K. [Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

    2014-02-01

    The Methanol Economy Project is based on the concept of replacing fossil fuels with methanol generated either from renewable resources or abundant natural (shale) gas. The full methanol cycle was investigated in this project, from production of methanol through bromination of methane, bireforming of methane to syngas, CO2 capture using supported amines, co-electrolysis of CO2 and water to formate and syngas, decomposition of formate to CO2 and H2, and use of formic acid in a direct formic acid fuel cell. Each of these projects achieved milestones and provided new insights into their respective fields.

  18. Particle Formation by Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Expansion Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sujuan Pan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Supercritical fluid extraction and expansion (SFEE patented technology combines the advantages of both supercritical fluid extraction (SFE and rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS with on-line coupling, which makes the nanoparticle formation feasible directly from matrix such as Chinese herbal medicine. Supercritical fluid extraction is a green separation technology, which has been developed for decades and widely applied in traditional Chinese medicines or natural active components. In this paper, a SFEE patented instrument was firstly built up and controlled by LABVIEW work stations. Stearic acid was used to verify the SFEE process at optimized condition; via adjusting the preexpansion pressure and temperature one can get different sizes of particles. Furthermore, stearic acid was purified during the SFEE process with HPLC-ELSD detecting device; purity of stearic acid increased by 19%, and the device can purify stearic acid.

  19. Destruction of polyphasic systems in supercritical water reaction media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leybros, A.

    2009-12-01

    Spent ion exchange resins (IER) are, hence, radioactive process wastes for which there is no satisfactory industrial treatment. Supercritical water oxidation offers a viable alternative treatment to destroy the organic structure of resins by using supercritical water properties. The reactor used in Supercritical Fluids and Membranes Laboratory is a double shell stirred reactor. Total Organic Carbon reduction rates higher than 99% were obtained thanks to POSCEA2 experimental set-up when using a co-fuel, isopropyl alcohol. Influence of operating parameters was studied. A detailed reactional mechanism for cationic and anionic resins is created. For the solubilization of the particles in supercritical water, a mechanism has been created with the identified rate determining species and implemented into Fluent software through the EDC approach. Experimental temperature profiles are well represented by EDC model. Reaction rates are hence controlled by the chemical species mixing. (author)

  20. Central composite design approach towards optimization of flamboyant pods derived steam activated carbon for its use as heterogeneous catalyst in transesterification of Hevea brasiliensis oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhawane, Sumit H.; Kumar, Tarkeshwar; Halder, Gopinath

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Activated carbon was prepared from novel precursor flamboyant pods (Delonix regia). • Activation process was optimized using central composite design approach. • Prepared activated carbon at optimized condition was used as support for KOH. • Carbon based heterogeneous catalyst was used in transesterification of HBO. • Effect of catalyst loading and alcohol ratio on biodiesel yield was studied. - Abstract: The present investigation emphasises the preparation of carbon based KOH impregnated heterogeneous catalyst from flamboyant pods (Delonix regia) for the production of biodiesel from novel feedstock Hevea brasiliensis oil (HBO). Initially, carbonized char was physically activated by superheated steam and the process was optimized to study the effects of activation time and temperature by central composite design approach (CCD) using response surface methodology (RSM). Activated carbon was impregnated with KOH at four different ratios. Biodiesel production process was carried out at constant temperature 60 °C, reaction time 1 h, and 5 g of carbon based catalyst at varying quantities of catalyst loading (0.5, 2, 3.5, 5 wt%) and methanol to oil ratio (5:1–20:1). The influence of parameters on the biodiesel yield at varied condition was studied. Maximum yield of 89.3% was obtained at methanol to oil ratio 15:1 and catalyst loading 3.5 wt% and corresponding yield at same process parameters was observed to be 88.7% implying the significant activity of catalyst in reutilization. Produced biodiesel was characterized following ASTM standards. The experimental analysis confirmed that the carbonaceous catalyst developed from flamboyant pods under optimized condition is capable of transesterifying HBO into biodiesel