Critical review on analytical methods for biodiesel characterization

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel composed of mono-alkyl esters and obtained mainly from the base-catalyzed transesterification reaction of oils or fats. Its use (pure or blended) does not demand any modification in the diesel engine and in the existing fuel distribution and storage infrastructure. Moreover, biodiesel has a high energetic yield, fixes the solar energy and contains insignificant amounts of sulphur. Therefore, biodiesel is currently the best substitute for fossil diesel fuel.Besides mono-alkyl esters, glycerol (main co-product), alcohol, catalyst, free fatty acids, tri-, di- and monoglycerides compose the final mixture of biodiesel production process. These and other kinds of contaminants can lead to severe operational and environmental problems. Therefore, the quality control of biodiesel is greatly significant to the success of its commercialization and market acceptance. Some important issues on the biodiesel quality control involve the monitoring of transesterification reaction, the quantification of mono-alkyl esters and free- and bonded glycerol as well as determination of residual catalysts and alcohol. Moreover, the determination of blend levels is another key aspect of biodiesel analyses. Chromatography and spectroscopy are the analytical methods most used for the biodiesel characterization, but procedures based on physical properties are also available.Previously, a review on analytical methods used to evaluate biodiesel quality was written by Knothe. Due to the importance of this field, we made an update of Knothes’ review. Therefore, in this paper, we will describe new developments in biodiesel analyses and some references showed in Knothes’ paper. Specially, we will describe analytical methods used for quantification of glycerol, mono-, di-, triglycerides, methanol, water, Na, K, P, and steroids in biodiesel or along the transesterification reaction. Also, the determination of biodiesel content in blends and some physicochemical parameters are discussed. At the end, we will assess the available techniques and point out some improvements on analytical methods for biodiesel characterization.     

Coupling transesterifications for no-glycerol biodiesel production catalyzed by calcium oxide

In this study, a method consisting in coupling transesterifications for no-glycerol biodiesel production catalyzed by CaO was put forward. The transesterification between rapeseed oil and methanol was greatly improved by integrating glycerol and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) transesterification. From this result, it was found that the high fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of 92.6% (with ultra-traces of glycerol as a by-product) was obtained at 65 °C under normal pressure, which is as high as the previously reported supercritical DMC method for no-glycerol biodiesel production at a reaction temperature of 350 °C and under pressures up to 17.8 MPa. Moreover, this new method has high water tolerance, and a yield of over 82% of FAME is still achieved in the presence of 0.2% of water. The optimized reaction conditions, such as the molar ratio of DMC to methanol, the catalyst dosage and the reaction time, were investigated to produce high-quality biodiesel. The fuel properties determined and discussed in light of EN 14214 (European standards) demonstrate that the biodiesel produced using this new method has good flow properties with a cloud filter plugging point of –10 °C and a pour point of –9.4 °C. Furthermore, the amount of free glycerol was found to be as low as 0.018% in the biodiesel obtained directly from this new method without any further processing. The results of this study indicate the feasibility of producing quality biodiesel fuels without glycerol by coupling transesterifications.     

Simultaneous determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel by capillary electrophoresis using multiple short‐end injection

A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of free glycerol (FG) and total glycerol (TG) in biodiesel by CE using a short‐end multiple injection (SE/MI) configuration system is described. The sample preparation for FG involves the extraction of glycerol with water and for TG a saponification reaction is carried out followed by extraction as in the case of FG. The glycerol extracted in both cases is submitted to periodate oxidation and the iodate ions formed are measured on a CE‐SE/MI system. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that no analytical procedure has been previously reported for the determination of TG (or of FG and TG simultaneously) by CE. The optimum conditions for the saponification/extraction process were 1.25% KOH and 25°C, with a time of only 5 min, and biodiesel mass in the range of 50.0–200.0 mg can be used. Multiple injections were performed hydrodynamically with negative pressure as follows: 50 mbar/3s (FG sample); 50 mbar/6s (electrolyte spacer); 50 mbar/3s (TG sample). The linear range obtained was 1.55–46.5 mg/L with R²> 0.99. The LOD and LOQ were 0.16 mg/L and 0.47 mg/L, respectively for TG. The method provides acceptable throughput for application in quality control and monitoring biodiesel synthesis process. In addition, it offers simple sample preparation (saponification process), it can be applied to a variety biodiesel samples (soybean, castor, and waste cooking oils) and it can be used for the determination of two key parameters related to the biodiesel quality with a fast separation (less than 30 s) using an optimized CE‐SE/MI system.     

气相色谱法在生物柴油生产工艺研究中的应用

综述了气相色谱法在生物柴油生产工艺研究中的应用,包括反应产物和生物柴油产品中脂肪酸甲酯含量和分布的测定,单脂肪酸甘油酯、二脂肪酸甘油酯和三脂肪酸甘油酯含量的测定,游离脂肪酸含量的测定以及微量甲醇含量的测定等。讨论了进样方式、色谱柱类型、硅烷化等因素对反应产物组成测定的影响;提出了一种采用双柱压力反吹的方式测定生物柴油产品中微量甲醇含量的方法：采用正丙醇作内标,甲醇与内标通过预切柱进入分析柱后,通过压力变化,将其余组分通过分流出口反吹出色谱系统;采用极性聚乙二醇色谱柱测定了8种不同植物油中脂肪酸甲酯的含量和分布。     

Determination of free glycerol in biodiesel at a platinum oxide surface using potential cycling technique

A novel, inexpensive and fast method based on the electrooxidation of glycerol on platinum electrodes by the potential cycling technique has been designed for the determination of free glycerol in biodiesel. A wide range of linearity was achieved between 15 and 150 mg L⁻¹ (0.16 and 1.6 mmol L⁻¹), which corresponds to concentrations ranging between 56 and 560 mg kg⁻¹ (glycerol:biodiesel) for an extraction using 2 g biodiesel. A method for the fast extraction of glycerol from biodiesel with water followed by elimination of organic interferents has also been developed, so that the novel determination method can be applied to various biodiesel samples. The excellent repeatability allows determination of glycerol in numerous samples, with no need for recalibration.     

亚临界条件下地沟油制备生物柴油副产物中有机氯化物的定性检测及来源分析

该文介绍了一种生物柴油副产物粗甘油和拔出轻组分中有机氯化物的气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）定性检测方法。样品来自于亚临界条件下地沟油与甲醇的酯交换反应，总氯含量较高。在GC-MS分析之前采用正己烷萃取脱除样品中的脂肪酸甲酯和游离脂肪酸等脂溶性干扰组分，对参考标准样品3-氯代甘油和2-氯代甘油以及样品的脱脂水相部分进行苯硼酸衍生化、正己烷萃取、浓缩等处理，经正己烷复溶后进行GC-MS分析。结果表明，生物柴油副产物中的有机氯化物主要为3-氯代甘油和2-氯代甘油。参考已有文献的研究结果和生物柴油制备工艺对有机氯化物的来源进行了讨论，推断原料地沟油中存在的大量无机氯盐是导致产生3-氯代甘油和2-氯代甘油的主要原因。     

Development and validation of a fast method for determination of free glycerol in biodiesel by capillary electrophoresis

In this study, a capillary electrophoresis (CE) methodology for the determination of free glycerol in biodiesel using oxidative cleavage with periodate was optimized and validated. The amount of iodate produced in the reaction was determined by CE. The optimized electrolyte was 20 mmol L(-1) glycine and 10 mmol L(-1) trifluoroacetic acid (direct UV detection, 210 nm). The short total analysis time (less than 28 s) was obtained using the short end injection mode. The optimization of the method was carried out using Peakmaster software. The choice of the components of the run electrolyte and of the internal standard (nitrate) was made through the use of effective mobility curves. A good correlation coefficient higher than 0.9991 and low LOD 4.3 mg L(-1) was obtained. The recovery of free glycerol was 95.4-102.4%. This method was used to determine glycerol in commercial biodiesel samples.     

HPLC-ELSD法测定生物柴油中的游离甘油

采用液液萃取及高效液相色谱-蒸发光散射检测技术,建立了生物柴油中游离甘油含量的测定方法.待测生物柴油经乙腈-水(75:25)抽提并离心分离后,取部分下层水相进行分析.优化的色谱条件为:色谱柱Inertsil NH2 (250 nun ×4.6 mm,5μm );流动相为乙腈-水(75:25);流速1.0 mL/min;...     

A review of chromatographic characterization techniques for biodiesel and biodiesel blends

This review surveys chromatographic technology that has been applied to the characterization of biodiesel and its blends. Typically, biodiesel consists of fatty acid methyl esters produced by transesterification of plant or animal derived triacylglycerols. Primary attention is given to the determination of trace impurities in biodiesel, such as methanol, glycerol, mono-, di-, and triacylglycerols, and sterol glucosides. The determination of the fatty acid methyl esters, trace impurities in biodiesel, and the determination of the biodiesel content of commercial blends of biodiesel in conventional diesel are also addressed.     

Enzymatic Biodiesel Synthesis in Semi-Pilot Continuous Process in Near-Critical Carbon Dioxide

A semi-pilot continuous process (SPCP) for enzymatic biodiesel synthesis utilizing near-critical carbon dioxide (NcCO₂) as the reaction medium was developed with the aim of reducing the reaction time and alleviating the catalyst inhibition by methanol. Biodiesel synthesis was evaluated in both lab-scale and semi-pilot scale reactors (batch and continuous reactors). In a SPCP, the highest conversion (～99.9 %) in four and a half hours was observed when three-step substrate (methanol) addition (molar ratio [oil/methanol]?=?1:1.3) was used and the reaction mixture containing enzyme (Lipozyme TL IM, 20 wt.% of oil) was continuously mixed (agitation speed?=?300 rpm) at 30 °C and 100 bar in a CO₂ environment. The biodiesel produced from canola oil conformed to the fuel standard (EU) even without additional downstream processing, other than glycerol separation and drying.     

Effect of Biodiesel-derived Raw Glycerol on 1,3-Propanediol Production by Different Microorganisms

The microbial production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) from raw glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production, is economically and environmentally advantageous. Although direct use of raw glycerol without any pretreatment is desirable, previous studies have reported that this could cause inhibition of microbial growth. In this study, we investigated the effects of raw glycerol type, different microorganisms, and pretreatment of raw glycerol on the production of 1,3-PD. Raw glycerol from waste vegetable-oil-based biodiesel production generally caused more inhibition of 1,3-PD production and microbial growth compared to raw glycerol from soybean-oil-based biodiesel production. In addition, two raw glycerol types produced from two biodiesel manufacturers using waste vegetable oil exhibited different 1,3-PD production behavior, partially due to different amounts of methanol included in the raw glycerol from the two biodiesel manufacturers. Klebsiella strains were generally resistant to all types of raw glycerol while the growth of Clostridium strains was variably inhibited depending on the type of raw glycerol. The 1,3-PD production of the Clostridium strains using acid-pretreated raw glycerol was significantly enhanced compared to that with raw glycerol, demonstrating the feasibility of using raw glycerol for 1,3-PD production by various microorganisms.     

Montmorillonite-supported KF/CaO: a new solid base catalyst for biodiesel production

Biodiesel is an alternative to petroleum-derived diesel fuel; development of a high-efficiency base catalyst to be used in heterogeneous biodiesel production is still a challenge. In this paper, a novel solid base catalyst, KF- and CaO-supported montmorillonite (KCa/MMT) was successfully synthesized by a facile impregnation method, and used for producing biodiesel in transesterification of commercial soybean oil with methanol. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, carbon dioxide temperature-programmed desorption and scanning electron microscopy. Effects of the parameters, such as the loading amount of KF, the amount of KCa/MMT, and the methanol to oil molar ratios, on the yield of biodiesel were investigated. A maximum biodiesel yield of 98 % was obtained under the optimal reaction conditions. The separated catalyst can be directly used in the next round of reactions and gave a satisfactory yield. Furthermore, analysis of the catalyst's tolerance to oil-containing water or free fatty acids, and a kinetic study were also carried out. Koros–Nowak tests were designed and conducted, and it was proven that the heat and mass transfer were not limited by the reaction rate.     

Sequential spectrofluorimetric determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel in a multicommuted flow system

A new procedure for spectrofluorimetric determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel samples is presented. It is based on the oxidation of glycerol by periodate, forming formaldehyde, which reacts with acetylacetone, producing the luminescent 3,5-diacetyl-1,4-dihydrolutidine. A flow system with solenoid micro-pumps is proposed for solution handling. Free glycerol was extracted off-line from biodiesel samples with water, and total glycerol was converted to free glycerol by saponification with sodium ethylate under sonication. For free glycerol, a linear response was observed from 5 to 70 mg L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.5 mg L⁻¹, which corresponds to 2 mg kg⁻¹ in biodiesel. The coefficient of variation was 0.9% (20 mg L⁻¹, n = 10). For total glycerol, samples were diluted on-line, and the linear response range was 25 to 300 mg L⁻¹. The detection limit was 1.4 mg L⁻¹ (2.8 mg kg⁻¹ in biodiesel) with a coefficient of variation of 1.4% (200 mg L⁻¹, n = 10). The sampling rate was ca. 35 samples h⁻¹ and the procedure was applied to determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel samples from soybean, cottonseed, and castor beans.     

HPLC-ELSD法测定生物柴油中游离甘油含量

建立了高效液相色谱(HPLC)-蒸发光散射(ELSD)法测定生物柴油中游离甘油的方法。用水萃取生物柴油中的甘油,选用强酸型阳离子交换柱(Ultimate XB-SCX)分离甘油和杂质,流动相为乙腈-水(25:75,V:V),柱温35℃;ELSD漂移管温度30℃,载气压力360 kPa。结果表明:在7.12～307.31 mg/kg范围内,甘油峰面积和其浓度的对数具有良好的线性相关性,相关系数r为0.9929。甘油的回收率为96.3%～105.6%,RSD均小于2.0%(n=5)。最低检测限(LOD)和最低定量限(LOQ)分别为2.50 mg/kg、7.12 mg/kg。该研究为生物柴油中游离甘油的提取和检测提供了一种快速高效的方法。     

Electrochemical Determination of Organic Compounds in Automotive Fuels

This article critically reviews the electroanalytical methods devoted for the determination of organic compounds in automotive fuels that can range from contaminants to additives typically introduced into liquid biofuels and liquid fossil fuels. Contaminants such as aldehydes and ketones in bioethanol, free fatty acids and glycerol in biodiesel, and sulfur and nitrogen organic compounds in gasoline and diesel fuel, and additives such as colour markers and antioxidants added to fuels were determined by electroanalytical methods. Special focus is given to electrodes, electrochemical techniques, and sample preparation strategies. Future directions of research on electroanalysis of liquid fuels are presented.     

Thermal investigation of biodiesel blends derived from rapeseed oil

Over the last few years, the production of biodiesel from vegetable oil has significantly increased in Romania due to its obligatory use in the composition of diesel fuel. In this study, biodiesel from rapeseed oil was produced using methanol and a base catalyst. Four samples of biodiesel/diesel blends were prepared for analysis to determine the main thermal decomposition processes and calorimetric events. The thermal profiles were compared to reference diesel. The data obtained on the Thermogravimetry/Differential thermogravimetry and DTA curves show the quality of biodiesel/diesel blends and the possibility that the fuel be used in diesel engines. It was found that biodiesel blends with higher percentage of biodiesel in their compositions were more thermally stable than diesel fuel.     

Comparison of Chromatographic Methods for the Determination of Bound Glycerol in Biodiesel

An important fuel criterion for biodiesel is bound glycerol, which is a function of the residual amount of triglycerides and partial glycerides in the biodiesel. Either high-temperature gas chromatography or high performance liquid chromatography can be used for determining these minor but important components in biodiesel. In this paper we have conducted a statistical study on the accuracy of the two methods for ascertaining the bound glycerol in biodiesel fuels obtained from different feedstocks. Analysis of variance showed that with one exception, namely diacylglycerols in some soy oil based biodiesel, there was no statistical difference in bound glycerol for the biodiesel samples analyzed or a difference between methods. Operationally, the high performance liquid chromatographic method is superior to the high temperature gas chromatographic method in that it requires no sample derivatization, has shorter analysis times, and is directly applicable to most biodiesel fuels.     

Soybean biodiesel methyl esters,free glycerin and acid number quantification by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Production of alternative fuels, such as biodiesel, from transesterification of vegetable oil driven by heterogeneous catalysts is a promising alternative to fossil diesel. However, achieving a successful substitution for a new renewable fuel depends on several quality parameters. ¹H NMR spectroscopy was used to determine the amount of methyl esters, free glycerin and acid number in the transesterification of soybean oil with methanol in the presence of hydrotalcite‐type catalyst to produce biodiesel. Reaction parameters, such as temperature and time, were used to evaluate soybean oil methyl esters rate conversion. Temperatures of 100 to 180 °C and times of 20 to 240 min were tested on a 1 : 12 molar ratio soybean oil/methanol reaction. At 180 °C/240 min conditions, a rate of 94.5 wt% of methyl esters was obtained, where free glycerin and free fatty acids were not detected. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Production of Tung Oil Biodiesel and Variation of Fuel Properties During Storage

The crude Tung oil with 4.72?mg KOH/g of acid value (AV) was converted by direct transesterification, and the reaction mixture was quantified. The phase distribution data showed that 38.24% of excess methanol, 11.76% of KOH, 10.13% of soap and 4.36% of glycerol were in the biodiesel phase; 0.35% of biodiesel dissolved in the glycerol phase. Tung oil biodiesel as well as its blends with 0(#) diesel was investigated under different storage conditions. The results indicated that higher temperature greatly influenced the storage stability, especially when the volume fraction of Tung oil biodiesel is increased in the blends.     

SECM Studies on the Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Glycerol at Copper Electrodes in Alkaline Medium

This study aims at analyzing the reaction mechanism of the electrooxidation of glycerol at copper surfaces in NaOH solutions using Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) in the substrate generation/tip collection (SG/TC) mode. Experiments showed the dependence of the current at the tip on the distance between generator and tip, as well as on the concentration of the NaOH solution. The current at the tip decreased significantly after addition of glycerol, as a result of the competition between diffusion of the free‐soluble Cu(III) species and its consumption during the diffusion in the solution. The determination of the analyte in a castor biodiesel sample employing a single copper microelectrode was carried out.