Optimization of biodiesel production from rapeseed using pulsed electric field method

Subject Areas : environmental management

Mohammad Ali  Salehi ¹ (Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran. * (Corresponding Author))
Narges  Ahmadi ² (MSc, Department of Chemical Engineering, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.)

Received: 2015-12-16 Accepted : 2016-02-09 Published : 2018-12-22

Keywords: Non-thermal process, Pulsed Electric Filed, Alkaline in-situ Transesterifi, Boidiesel,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: Biodiesel is a fuel derived from renewable resources such as edible and non-edible oil-bearing seeds. Unlike conventional biodiesel processes, to simplify production process and reduce production costs, transesterification can be performed on the oil-bearing seeds directly and without prior extraction. Method: In this study, application of pulsed electric field and its effects on the efficiency of mass production of ester crushed canola seed by reactive extraction with the optimum ratio of methanol to oil and concentration of catalyst were discussed. Esther mass efficiencies were compared in the processes with and without electric field. Findings: According to the results, the optimal methanol to oil ratio of 1:475 and a catalyst concentration of 0.1 mol NaOH/kg methanol were obtained. Using the pulsed electric field pre-preparation method, the biodiesel mass efficiency in reactive extraction at a moderate temperature increased and reached over 76% only in 1 minute. Also, studies have shown that the using a field of 7kV/cm increases mass efficiency by 9–58.5% and increases the conversion rates compared to the control sample in moderate temperature and particles sizes of 1200-300 micron by about 1%. Study of the effective parameters showed an increase in the frequency and number of pulses, temperature and particle size, leading to increase of the efficiency of biodiesel production. Discussion and Conclusion: The results indicate that the electric field pulse could be desirable as a way to generate and optimize the efficiency of the extraction process used under low temperature conditions.

References:

1-     Ghobadian, B., Khatami Far, M., 2006, Biodiesel production from edible oil residue, 2nd national conference of agricultural waste material, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).

2-   Fayazi, I., 2013, Biodiesel production using ultrasonic method, M.Sc. in agricultural machinery, Tarbiat Modares University, Faculty of Agricultural Machinery, Page 7. (In Persian).

3-     Demirbas, A., Biodiesel fuels from vegetable oils via catalytic and non-catalytic supercritical alcohol transesterifications and othe r methods: a survey. Energy conversion and management, 2003. 44: p.2093-2109.

4-     Krawczyk, T., Biodiesel-alternative fuel makes inroads but hurdles remain. Inform, 1996. 7(8): p. 801-829.

5-     Canakci, M. and J.H. Van Gerpen, Comparison of engine performance and emissions for petroleum diesel fuel, yellow grease biodiesel, and soybean oil biodiesel. Transactions of the ASAE, 2003. 46(4): p. 937-944.

6-     Al-Widyan, M. I. and Al-Shyoukh, A. O., Experimental evaluation of the transesterification of waste palm oil into biodiesel. Bioresource technology, 2002. 85: 253-256.

7-   Nazari, A. 2009, Determination of fuel properties of rapeseed oil as biodiesel, M.Sc. in agricultural machinery, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Faculty of Agricultural Machinery, Page 17. (In Persian)

8-     Ma, F. & Hanna, M. A., Biodiesel Production: a Review. Bio Resource Technology, 1999. 70: p. 1-15.

9-     House, W., Twenty in Ten: Strengthening America's Energy Security. Fact Sheet. Washington, DC: White House Office of Communications, January, 2007. 23.

10-  Kemp, W.H., Biodiesel, basics and beyond: A comprehensive guide to production and use for the home and farm. 2006: Aztext Pr.

11-  Zakaria, R. and A.P. Harvey, Direct production of biodiesel from rapeseed by reactive extraction/in situ transesterification. Fuel Processing Technology, 2012. 102: p. 53-60.

12-  Harrington, K.J. and C. D’Arcy-Evans, A comparison of conventional and in situ methods of transesterification of seed oil from a series of sunflower cultivars. Journal of the American Oil Chemists Society, 1985. 62(6): p. 1009-1013.

13-  Pourzaki, A., Mirzaee, H., Pulsed Electric Field Generators in food processing. 18th National Congress on Food Technology, Oct 2008. Mashhad, Iran.

14-  Pourzaki, A., Mirzaee, H., New High Voltage Pulse Generators. Recent Patents on Electric Engineering, Bentham Science Publishers Ltd, 2009. 2: p. 65-76.

15-  Schroeder, S., Buckow, R., Knoerzer, K., Numerical simulation of pulsed electric field (PEF) processing for chamber design and optimization. 17th International Conference on CFD in the Minerads and Process Industries CSIRO, 2009. Australia.

16-  Asavasanti, S., Ristenpart, W., Stroeve, P., Barrett, D.M., Permeabilization of Plant Tissue by Monopolar Pulsed Electric Field: Effect of Frequency. Journal of Food Science, 2011. 76.

17-  Andrade, D.F., et al, Assessment of different measurement methods using H-NMR data for the analysis of the transesterification of vagetable oils. American oil Chemist's Society, 2012. 89(7): p. 619-630.

18-  Vicente, G., et al., Kinetics of sunflower oil methanolysis. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2005. 44(15): p. 5447-5454.