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.     

Modification of egg shell and its application in biodiesel production

Egg shells were subjected to calcination–hydration–dehydration treatment to obtain CaO with high activity. The performance of CaO obtained from the calcination–hydration–dehydration treatment of egg shell and commercial CaO was tested for its catalytic activity via transesterification of waste frying oil (WFO). The results showed that the methyl ester conversion was 67.57% for commercial CaO and it was 94.52% for CaO obtained from the calcination–hydration–dehydration treatment of egg shell at a 5 wt% catalyst (based on oil weight), a methanol to oil ratio of 12:1, a reaction temperature of 65 °C and a reaction time of 1 h. The biodiesel conversion was determined by ¹H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (¹H NMR).     

Determination of the vapor pressure of ethyl esters by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (d.s.c.) was used to determine the vapor pressure of the following ethyl esters: ethyl laurate, ethyl myristate, ethyl palmitate, ethyl stearate, ethyl oleate and ethyl linoleate in the range from 1.33 to 9.33 kPa. These esters are the major constituents of the biodiesel obtained from the transesterification of some vegetable oils with ethanol. Samples of 2 to 5 mg were used in the analysis, with a heating rate of 25 °C · min^?1 and a pinhole with a diameter of 0.25 mm. The results showed that Differential Scanning Calorimetry was a suitable technique for measuring the vapor pressure of organic compounds like fatty esters. The constants of the Antoine equation were determined from the experimental data and the validity of this equation in representing the vapor pressure and vaporization enthalpy of the compounds under study was examined.     

Study of immobilized candida rugosa lipase for biodiesel fuel production from palm oil by flow microcalorimetry

Enzymatic transesterification of palm oil with methanol and ethanol was studied. Of the four lipases that were tested in the initial screening, lipase Candida Rugosa (CR) resulted in the highest yield of mono alkyl esters. Lipase CR was further investigated in immobilized form within an activated carbon as support. The activated carbon was prepared by activation physical. Using the immobilized lipase CR, the effects of water and alcohol concentration, enzyme loading and enzyme thermal stability in the transesterification reaction were investigated. The optimal conditions for processing 50 g of palm oil were: 37 °C, 1:14.5 oil/methanol molar ratio, 1.0 g water and 500 mg lipase for the reactions with methanol, 35 °C, 1:15.0 oil/ethanol molar ratio, 1.0 g water, 500 mg lipase for the reactions with ethanol, and 35 °C, 1:10.0 oil/n-butanol molar ratio, 1.0 g water, 500 mg lipase for the reactions with ethanol. Subject to the optimal conditions, methyl and ethyl esters formation of 70 and 85 mol% in 1 h of reaction were obtained for the immobilized enzyme reactions. The flow microcalorimetry is an important and novel techniques is used in evaluation of biodiesel production.     

(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium of systems involved in the stepwise ethanolysis of vegetable oils

Current concerns about adverse impacts to the environment and human health have encouraged the research and development of renewable fuels, such as biodiesel. The transesterification reaction is a three-stage reaction, which produces two intermediate products (diacylglycerols and monoacylglycerols). Accurate and proper knowledge of the phase equilibrium behaviour during the transesterification process is crucial for a better understanding of the reaction pathway, for the optimisation of reactors and the separation of the products. Thus, in order to thoroughly understand the entire transesterification system for biodiesel production, which consists of six different kinds of components, this study reports experimental results and the thermodynamic modelling of the (liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) of two systems composed by {vegetable oils (sunflower or high oleic sunflower oils) + monoacylglycerols + diacylglycerols (+ethyl esters + fatty acids) + ethanol} at T = (303.15 and 318.15) K, at atmospheric pressure. The LLE experimental values were used to estimate NRTL parameters and to evaluate the UNIFAC model, using its original version with two different set of parameters. Results showed that, due to differences in the number of polar groups, mono- and diacylglycerols behave in opposite ways regarding phase distribution. Experimental data were well correlated using NRTL, in which the maximum deviation value was 0.434%. As for UNIFAC, the model predicted the experimental data with deviations varying within the range of (1.80 to 9.24)%.     

Vapor–liquid equilibrium of fatty acid ethyl esters determined using DSC

The vapor–liquid equilibrium data for the systems: ethyl palmitate + ethyl stearate at 5332.9 Pa, ethyl palmitate + ethyl oleate at 5332.9 Pa and 9332.6 Pa and ethyl palmitate + ethyl linoleate at 9332.6 Pa were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The esters used in this study are the major components of biodiesel obtained from the transesterification of soybean oil with ethanol. According to the results, DSC is appropriate for determining the vapor–liquid equilibrium of binary systems. The binary interaction parameters of the models Wilson, NRTL and UNIQUAC were fitted to the experimental data obtained in this study.     

A novel method for the synthesis of biodiesel from soybean oil and urea

The increasing demand for energy has encouraged the development of renewable resources and environmentally benign fuel such as biodiesel. In this study, ethyl fatty esters (EFEs), a major component of biodiesel fuel, were synthesized from soybean oil using sodium ethoxide as a catalyst. By-products were glycerol and difatty acyl urea (DFAU), which has biological characteristics, as antibiotics and antifungal medications. Both EFEs and DFAU have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. The optimum conditions were studied as a function of reaction time, reactant molar ratios, catalyst percentage and the effect of organic solvents. The conversion ratio of soybean oil into pure EFEs was 76% after 10 h of reaction. The highest conversion yield of EFEs is obtained when the urea/soybean oil ratio was from 6.2 mmol to 1 mmol, while the highest production of DFAU is obtained when the ethoxide (as a catalyst)/soybean oil ratio is from 6.4 mmol to 1 mmol in hexane as the reaction medium.     

On the polymerisation of the epoxidised biodiesel: The importance of the epoxy rings position,the process and the products

Polyesters were prepared using epoxidised methyl esters of oleic acid (EP_OAME) and epoxidised biodiesel (mixture of methyl esters) from sunflower oil (EP_SOME) and linseed oil (EP_LOME) with cis-1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic anhydride and triethylamine. The kinetic of partial processes involved in the polymerisation were elucidated and related to epoxy rings position in the fatty acid chain. The activation energies (E_a) for the epoxy ring opening by the catalyst are 298, 216 and 136 kJ/mol for EP_OAME, EP_SOME and EP_LOME respectively. The reactions of the epoxy rings in the positions C9–C10, C12–C13 and C15–C16 with anhydride require average activation energies of 116, 32 and 22 kJ/mol, respectively. The compensation effect between activation energy and pre-exponential factor is observed. The polymerisation enthalpy, molecular weight, glass transition temperature and electrical properties were determined. The polyesters studied show promising properties for use in various technological applications.     

Phase equilibrium data and thermodynamic modeling of the system (CO2 + biodiesel + methanol) at high pressures

The main objective of this work was to investigate the high pressure phase behavior of the binary systems {CO₂(1) + methanol(2)} and {CO₂(1) + soybean methyl esters (biodiesel)(2)} and the ternary system {CO₂(1) + biodiesel(2) + methanol(3)} were determined. Biodiesel was produced from soybean oil, purified, characterized and used in this work. The static synthetic method, using a variable-volume view cell, was employed to obtain the experimental data in the temperature range of (303.15 to 343.15) K and pressures up to 21 MPa. The mole fractions of carbon dioxide were varied according to the systems as follows: (0.2383 to 0.8666) for the binary system {CO₂(1) + methanol(2)}; (0.4201 to 0.9931) for the binary system {CO₂(1) + biodiesel(2)}; (0.4864 to 0.9767) for the ternary system {CO₂(1) + biodiesel(2) + methanol(3)} with a biodiesel to methanol molar ratio of (1:3); and (0.3732 to 0.9630) for the system {CO₂ + biodiesel + methanol} with a biodiesel to methanol molar ratio of (8:1). For these systems, (vapor + liquid), (liquid + liquid), (vapor + liquid + liquid) transitions were observed. The phase equilibrium data obtained for the systems were modeled using the Peng–Robinson equation of state with the classical van der Waals (PR-vdW2) and Wong-Sandler (PR–WS) mixing rules. Both thermodynamic models were able to satisfactorily correlate the phase behavior of the systems investigated and the PR–WS presented the best performance.     

Thermophysical properties of biodiesel and related systems: (Liquid + liquid) equilibrium data for soybean biodiesel

This work reports (liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data for the systems of interest in soybean biodiesel production. Numerical data for LLE were obtained for binary, ternary and quaternary systems comprising fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from soybean oil, water, glycerol, methanol, and ethanol at temperatures of (303.15, 318.15, and 333.15) K. Quantification of compounds in equilibrium in both phases was determined by analytical methods whereas solubility curves (binodal) were obtained by the cloud-point method. For all systems investigated, good alignments were obtained between phase compositions and the initial as well as overall compositions hence indicating low deviations from the mass balance. Experimental results were correlated using the UNIQUAC model with satisfactory agreement between experiment and theory.     

Resolution of non-protein amino acids via Carica papaya lipase-catalyzed enantioselective transesterification

Carica papaya lipase-catalyzed transesterification of the 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl esters of N-benzyloxycarbonylated dl-amino acids carrying aliphatic side chains proceeded smoothly and, in almost all the cases, enantiospecifically (E = >200), affording the l-methyl esters and leaving the d-trifluoroethyl esters intact.     

Transformation of South African coal fly ash into ZSM-5 zeolite and its application as an MTO catalyst

This study presents a way of using South African coal fly ash by extracting metals such as Al and Fe with concentrated sulphuric acid, and then using the solid residue as a feedstock for the synthesis of ZSM-5 zeolite. The percentage of aluminium and iron oxides decreased from 28.0 ± 0.2% and 5.0 ± 0.1% in coal fly ash to 24.6 ± 0.1% and 1.6 ± 0.01% in the acid treated coal fly ash respectively. The fly ash-based zeolite ZSM-5 sample synthesised from the solid residue after extraction of Al and Fe, contained 62% of ZSM-5 zeolite pure phase with a number of Brønsted acid site density of 0.61 mmol per g_zeolite.By properly treating the as-prepared coal fly ash-based ZSM-5 zeolite, an active and selective methanol-to-olefins acid catalyst could be designed, leading to full methanol conversion during 15 h on stream. The optimised catalyst exhibited a cumulative methanol conversion capacity of 71 g(MeOH_converted)/g(catalyst) and a light olefin productivity of 21 g(C₂₌–C₄₌)/g(catalyst).     

Catalytic stepwise pyrolysis of packaging plastic waste

In this paper the combination of catalytic and stepwise pyrolysis is explored. A mixture of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), which resembles real municipal plastic waste, has been pyrolysed in a 3.5 dm³ semi-batch reactor at 440 °C for 30 min using a ZSM-5 zeolite as catalyst. A low temperature (300 °C) dechlorination step has been carried out both with and without catalyst. It has been proved that the application of such dechlorination step gives rise to a 75 wt% reduction of chlorine in the liquid fraction. However, such step has a negative influence on the catalyst, which loses some catalytic activity. The optimum procedure in terms of quality and chlorine content of the products is the combination of first a low temperature step without catalyst, and second the catalytic pyrolysis step.     

多频超声反应槽连续强化酸化油酯交换制备生物柴油研究

以平均酸值高达33.07 mgKOH/g不可食用的廉价酸化油为原料,利用自行设计的多频超声溢流槽连续强化酯交换反应生物柴油生产装置,先后经预酯化、酯交换两步反应,高效、低耗的制备生物柴油。主要考察了室温下物料流量(停留时间)、超声功率、超声频率及组合、KOH用量、醇油物质的量比对酯交换反应的影响及单位产品能耗。结果表明,多频组合超声辐射比单频更有利于生物柴油的制备;预酯化后的油料在流量为25 L/h(物料停留时间为54 min),催化剂(KOH)用量为1.2%(质量分数),醇油物质的量比为6∶1和各反应槽功率为200 W的条件下,甲酯产率达96.83%。50 L废弃酸化油能制得符合国标GB19147—2009的生物柴油48L,整个生物柴油制备过程总耗时和总耗电量仅为8.667 h、5.42 kWh。     

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.     

H2 enriched fuels from co-pyrolysis of crude glycerol with biomass

Pyrolysis of glycerol has been identified as a possible route for producing high added value fuels like renewable hydrogen (H₂). Crude glycerol (CG) is the main byproduct of biodiesel industry and without purification it is a low added value material due to the presence of impurities. Co-pyrolysis of CG with biomass may improve the efficiency of the process and as a primary step of gasification give important information concerning the maximization of H₂ concentration in the produced gas. Moreover, the thermochemical treatment of crude glycerol–biomass mixtures may offer several economic and environmental advantages in biodiesel industry and reduce the cost of biodiesel production. A mixture of CG with olive kernel (OK) was used as pyrolysis feed material. Pyrolysis of a 25 wt% mixture of CG with OK at high temperature (T = 720 °C) seemed to promote steam reforming reactions leading to an increase of H₂ concentration of 11.6 vv% in the pyrolysis gas in comparison to H₂ in gas obtained by low temperature pyrolysis (T = 520 °C).     

Platinum nanoparticles supported on nitrobenzene-functionalised graphene nanosheets as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

A systematic study on the electrocatalytic properties of Pt nanoparticles supported on nitrobenzene-modified graphene (Pt-NB/G) as catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solution was performed. Graphene nanosheets were spontaneously grafted with nitrophenyl groups using 4-nitrobenzenediazonium salt. The electrocatalytic activity towards the ORR and stability of the prepared catalysts in 0.1 M KOH solution have been studied and compared with that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The results obtained show that the NB-modified graphene nanosheets can be good Pt catalyst support with high stability and excellent electrocatalytic properties. The specific activity of Pt-NB/G for O₂ reduction was 0.184 mA cm⁻², which is very close to that obtained for commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst (0.214 mA cm⁻²) at 0.9 V vs. RHE. The Pt-NB/G hybrid material promotes a four-electron reduction of oxygen and can be used as a promising cathode catalyst in alkaline fuel cells.     

双核碱性离子液体催化棉籽油酯交换制备生物柴油

采用两步法制备了五种新型咪唑类碱性双核功能化离子液体化合物,并考察了对棉籽油酯交换制备生物柴油的催化性能。结果表明,咪唑类碱性双核功能化离子液体具有很好的催化活性,其催化活性与阳离子中碳链长度有关。其中,双-(3-甲基-1-咪唑)亚乙基双氢氧化物离子液体的催化活性最好。催化剂量、反应时间、反应温度及醇油比对生物柴油中脂肪酸甲酯含量及选择性影响的研究发现,在催化剂用量为0.4%(质量分数),醇油摩尔比为12,反应温度为55℃,反应时间为4 h时,脂肪酸甲酯的含量和选择性分别达98.5%和99.9%。催化剂7次循环后,产物中脂肪酸甲酯含量仍达到96.2%,单甘酯和双甘酯的含量很少,表明该催化剂重复使用良好。     

The microwave influence on the electrolytic decomposition of KOH water solution

The effect of microwaves (MW) on the electrolytic process of 6 M KOH water solutions was investigated in the temperature range from 291 K to 337 K. At lower temperatures, microwaves facilitated electrolytic process, whereas the effect is reversed at higher temperatures.     

FeAgMo2O8 — A novel oxygen evolution catalyst material for alkaline metal–air batteries

This paper reports about FeAgMo₂O₈ — a novel oxygen evolution catalyst material for secondary (rechargeable) metal–air batteries. Bifunctional air electrodes were made using FeAgMo₂O₈ as a charging catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and silverized carbon black (Ag/C) was employed as a discharging catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Corresponding air electrodes were investigated using 10 M KOH as an electrolyte. At current densities between 20 and 50 mA per cm² we observed discharging and charging voltages of 1.20 to 1.15 V and 1.96 to 2.05 V, respectively.