Optimization of biodiesel production from trap grease via acid catalysis

As a kind of waste collected from restaurants, trap grease is a chemically challenging feedstock for biodiesel production for its high free fatty acid (FFA) content. A central composite design was used to evaluate the effect of methanol quantity, acid concentration and reaction time on the synthesis of biodiesel from the trap grease with 50% free fatty acid, while the reaction temperature was selected at 95 degrees C. Using response surface methodology, a quadratic polynomial equation was obtained for ester content by multiple regression analysis. Verification experiments confirmed the validity of the predicted model. To achieve the highest ester content of crude biodiesel (89.67%), the critical values of the three variables were 35.00 (methanol-to-oil molar ratio), 11.27 wt% (catalyst concentration based on trap grease) and 4.59 h (reaction time). The crude biodiesel could be purified by a second distillation to meet the requirement of biodiesel specification of Korea.

Species transformation of trace elements and their distribution prediction in dyestuff residue incineration

The release of heavy metals from the combustion of hazardous wastes is an environmental issue of increasing concern. The species transformation characteristics of toxic heavy metals and their distribution are considered to be a complex problem of mechanism. The behavior of hazardous dyestuff residue is investigated in a tubular furnace under the general condition of hazardous waste pyrolysis and gasfication. Data interpretation has been aided by parallel theoretical study based on a thermodynamic equilibrium model based on the principle of Gibbs free energy minimization. The results show that Ni, Zn, Mn, and Cr are more enriched in dyestuff residue incineration than other heavy metals (Hg, As, and Se) subjected to volatilization. The thermodynamic model calculation is used for explaining the experiment data at 800 degrees C and analyzing species transformation of heavy metals. These results of species transformation are used to predict the distribution and emission characteristics of trace elements. Although most trace element predictions are validated by the measurements, cautions are in order due to the complexity of incineration systems.

Study on the kinetics of hydrate formation in a bubble column

Gas hydrate formation experiments were performed using methane in the presence of tetrahydrofuran (THF) in aqueous solution in a transparent bubble column in which a single pipe or a sintered plate was used to produce bubbles. The mole fraction of THF in aqueous solution was fixed at 6%. The hydrate formation kinetic behaviors on the surface of the rising bubble, the mechanical stability of hydrate shell formed on the surface of the bubble, the interactions among the bubbles with hydrate shell were observed and investigated morphologically. The rise velocities of individual bubbles with hydrate shells of different thickness and the consumption rates of methane gas were measured. A kinetic model was developed to correlate the experimentally measured gas consumption rate data. It was found that the hydrate formation rate on the surface of the moving bubble was high, but the formed hydrate shell was not very easy to be broken up. The bubbles with hydrate shells tended to agglomerate rather than merge into bigger bubble. This kind of characteristic of hydrate shell hindered the further formation of hydrate and led to the lower consumption rate of methane. The consumption rate of methane was found to increase with the decrease of temperature or increase of pressure. The increase of gas flux led to a linear increase in consumption rate of methane. It was demonstrated that the developed kinetic model could be used to correlate the consumption rate satisfyingly.

Novel biodiesel production technology from soybean soapstock

This paper describes an attractive method to make biodiesel from soybean soapstock (SS). A novel recovery technology of acid oil (AO) from SS has been developed with only sulfuric acid solution under the ambient temperature (25 +/- 2 degrees C). After drying, AO contained 50.0% FFA, 15.5% TAG 6.9% DAG 3.1% MAG 0.8% water and other inert materials. The recovery yield of AO was about 97% (w/w) based on the total fatty acids of the SS. The acid oil could be directly converted into biodiesel at 95 degrees C in a pressurized reactor within 5 hours. Optimal esterification conditions were determined to be a weight ratio of 1 : 1.5 : 0.1 of AO/methanol/sulfuric acid. Higher reaction temperature helps to shorten the reaction time and requires less catalyst and methanol. Ester content of the biodiesel derived from AO through one-step acid catalyzed reaction is around 92%. After distillation, the purity of the biodiesel produced from AO is 97.6% which meets the Biodiesel Specification of Korea. The yield of purified biodiesel was 94% (w/w) based on the total fatty acids of the soapstock.