How is Biodiesel Produced from Plant Oils?

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How is Bio-diesel Produced from Plant Oils?

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Did you know? Straight Vegetable Oils (SVO) cannot be directly used in diesel engines.

The major problem associated with the use of pure vegetable oils as fuels for diesel engines is caused by high fuel viscosity (Viscosity – from Physics Hypertextbook) in compression ignition. The vegetable oils are all highly viscous, with viscosities ranging 10–20 times those of no. 2 Diesel fuel. Amongst vegetable oils in the context of viscosity, castor oil is in a class by itself, with a viscosity more than 100 times that of no. 2 Diesel fuel (MSDS of No.2 Diesel Fuel – PetroCard). Due to their high viscosity and low volatility, they do not burn completely and form deposits in the fuel injector of diesel engines. Furthermore, acrolein (a highly toxic substance) ( Acrolein – from EPA) is formed through thermal decomposition of glycerol (Glycerol – from Info Please).

Dilution, micro-emulsification (Emulsions & Emulsification – from Wikipedia), pyrolysis ( Pyrolysis Definition from AFR) and transesterification are the four techniques applied to solve the problems encountered with the high fuel viscosity. Amongst the four techniques, chemical conversion of the oil to its corresponding fatty ester is the most promising solution to the high viscosity problem. This process - chemical conversion of the oil to its corresponding fatty ester, and thus biodiesel - is called transesterification.

Did you know? Biodiesel is produced from plant oils by the transesterification process.

What is transesterification?

· The process of converting vegetable oil into biodiesel fuel is called transesterification, and is fortunately much less complex than it sounds.

· Transesterification refers to a reaction between an ester (Ester – from Wikipedia) of one alcohol and a second alcohol to form an ester of the second alcohol and an alcohol from the original ester, as that of methyl acetate and ethyl alcohol to form ethyl acetate and methyl alcohol ( see also interesterification – Interesterification – from Cyber Lipid) . Chemically, transesterification means taking a triglyceride molecule or a complex fatty acid, neutralizing the free fatty acids, removing the glycerin and creating an alcohol ester. This is accomplished by mixing methanol with sodium hydroxide to make sodium methoxide (Sodium Methoxide – from Great Vista Chemicals, Sodium Methoxide MSDS – JT Baker) . This liquid is then mixed into vegetable oil. The entire mixture then settles. Glycerin is left on the bottom and methyl esters, or biodiesel, is left on top. The glycerin can be used to make soap (or any one of 1600 other products) and the methyl esters is washed and filtered.

· Transesterification is not a new process. Scientists E. Duy and J. Patrick conducted it as early as 1853. One of the first uses of transesterified vegetable oil was powering heavy-duty vehicles in South Africa before World War II.

Did you know? Transesterification is a simple process that can even be done at home!

More Links on Transesterification

Biodiesel Manufacturing Equipment

· Biodiesel Equipment, Kits Directory – from Eco Business Links

· Biodiesel Gear – Biodiesel Equipments, Processing & Related Information

· Testing

· Biodiesel Fuel Testing – from Intertek Caleb Brett

Other Methods of Producing Bio-diesel

Other than transesterification, the other methods that have been considered to reduce the high viscosity of vegetable oils are:

· dilution of 25 parts of vegetable oil with 75 parts of diesel fuel

· microemulsions with short chain alcohols (e.g. ethanol or methanol)

· thermal decomposition, which produces alkanes, alkenes, carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds

· catalytic cracking, which produces alkanes, cycloalkanes and alkylbenzenes

However, when compared with the above, the transesterification process appears to be the best choice, as the physical characteristics of fatty acid esters (biodiesel) are very close to those of diesel fuel, and the process is relatively simple. Furthermore, the methyl or ethyl esters of fatty acids can be burned directly in unmodified diesel engines, with very low deposit

More Bio-diesel Production Links

The following web sites provide more inputs on the various methods to produce bio-diesel, including the transesterification process.

· Biodiesel Production Methods – from Distribution Drive

· Biodiesel Analytical Methods – from National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA (PDF)

· Chemical Biodiesel Microreactor

· How to Make Biodiesel – SchNew, UK

· Advanced Biodiesel Production Methods Forums – from Biodiesel Now

· Biodiesel Production Resources – from Wikipedia

· Biodiesel Production Methods & Costs

· An Improved Method for the Production of Ethyl Ester Biodiesel

· Making Biodiesel – from Utah Biodiesel

· Publications of Thomas Foglia, Agricultural Research Service, USDA

· Tiny Microreactor for Biodiesel Production – University of Oregon

· Better Biodiesel – New Biodiesel Production Technology

· New Technologies for Making Biofuels

· Development of Biodiesel by Supercritical Methanol (PDF)

· Potential Production of Biodiesel – from University of Idaho (PDF)

· Small-scale Biodiesel Production – from Energy Line 2000

· Making Biodiesel – from Biodiesel Update

· Research into Biodiesel Kinetics & Catalyst Development (PDF)

· Biodiesel Basics (PDF)

· Biodiesel Production Process

· Biodiesel Production Info from Biodiesel.org (PDF)

· Breakthrough in Biodiesel Production by Japanese Scientists

· Collaborative Biodiesel Production Tutorial

· Biodiesel Production Technology, NREL.gov (PDF)

· Small-scale Biodiesel Production Feaibility Report, Uiuc.edu (PDF)

· Biodiesel Handling & Use Guidelines (PDF)

· Biodiesel Production Research Abstracts

· Veg Conversion of Diesel Engine for SVO

· Validation of a Model for Biodiesel Production

· The Biodiesel Chemical Make-up – from Wikipedia

· Biodiesel Chemical Info Page – from Biodiesel Gear

· A Visual Guide to Titraiton – from Flexistentialist.org

· Transesterification & Biodiesel Production

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About Oilgae - Oilgae - Oil & Biodiesel from Algae has a focus on biodiesel production from algae while also discussing alternative energy in general. Algae present an exciting possibility as a feedstock for biodiesel, and when you realise that oil was originally formed from algae - among others - you think "Hey! Why not oil again from algae!"

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