Subcritical Ethylic Biodiesel Production from Wet Animal Fat and Vegetable Oils: A Net Energy Ratio Analysis

Maria Ghirardi, Emerson Sales, Orlando Jorquera

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Ethylic transesterification process for biodiesel production without any chemical or biochemical catalysts at different subcritical thermodynamic conditions was performed using wet animal fat, soybean and palm oils as feedstock. The results indicate that 2 h of reaction at 240 °C with pressures varying from 20 to 45 bar was sufficient to transform almost all lipid fraction of the samples to biodiesel, depending on the reactor dead volume and proportions between reactants. Conversions of 100%, 84% and 98.5% were obtained for animal fat, soybean oil and palm oil, respectively, in the presence of water, with a net energy ration values of 2.6, 2.1 and 2.5 respectively. These results indicate that the process is energetically favorable, and thus represents a cleaner technology with environmental advantages when compared to traditional esterification or transesterification processes.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)216-223
Number of pages8
JournalEnergy Conversion and Management
Volume141
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-2700-66993

Keywords

  • Animal fat
  • Biodiesel
  • FAEEs
  • Net energy ratio
  • Subcritical

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