Fatty-acids and their C-13 signatures in seep carbonates from hydrocarbon seeps on the upper (GC 185) and lower (AC 645) continental slope of the Gulf of Mexico

Here we reported the fatty-acids and their δ 13C values in seep carbonates collected from Green Canyon lease block 185 (GC 185; Sample GC-F) at upper continental slope (water depth: ∼540 m), and Alaminos Canyon lease block 645 (GC 645; Sample AC-E) at lower continental slope (water depth: ∼2200 m) of the Gulf of Mexico. More than thirty kinds of fatty acids were detected in both samples. These fatty acids are maximized at C16. There is a clear even-over-odd carbon number predominance in carbon number range. The fatty acids are mainly composed of n-fatty acids, iso-/anteiso-fatty acids and terminally branched odd-numbered fatty acids (iso/anteiso). The low δ 13C values (−39.99‰ to.32.36‰) of n-C12:0, n-C13:0, i-C14:0and n-C14:0 suggest that they may relate to the chemosynthetic communities at seep sites. The unsaturated fatty acids n-C18:2 and C18:1Δ9 have the same δ 13C values, they may originate from theBeggiatoa/Thioploca. Unlike other fatty acids, the terminally branched fatty acids (iso/anteiso) show lowerδ 13C values (as low as −63.95‰) suggesting a possible relationship to sulfate reducing bacteria, which is common during anaerobic oxidation of methane at seep sites.

Synthesis of biodiesel from waste cooking oil using immobilized lipase in fixed bed reactor

Waste cooking oil (WCO) is the residue from the kitchen, restaurants, food factories and even human and animal waste which not only harm people's health but also causes environmental pollution. The production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil to partially substitute petroleum diesel is one of the measures for solving the twin problems of environment pollution and energy shortage. In this project, synthesis of biodiesel was catalyzed by immobilized Candida lipase in a three-step fixed bed reactor. The reaction solution was a mixture of WCO, water, methanol and solvent (hexane). The main product was biodiesel consisted of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), of which methyl oleate was the main component. Effects of lipase, solvent, water, and temperature and flow of the reaction mixture on the synthesis of biodiesel were analyzed. The results indicate that a 91.08% of FAME can be achieved in the end product under optimal conditions. Most of the chemical and physical characters of the biodiesel were superior to the standards for 0(#)diesel (GB/T 19147) and biodiesel (DIN V51606 and ASTM D-6751).

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of biodiesel from acid oil in fixed bed reactor

Acid oil, which is a by-product in vegetable oil refining, mainly contains free fatty acids (FFAs) and acylglycerols and is a feedstock for production of biodiesel fuel now. The transesterification of acid oil and methanol to biodiesel was catalyzed by immobilized Candida lipase in fixed bed reactors. The reactant solution was a mixture of acid oil, water, methanol and solvent (hexane) and the main product was biodiesel composed of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) of which the main component was methyl oleate. The effects of lipase content, solvent content, water content temperature and flow velocity of the reactant on the reaction were analyzed. The experimental results indicate that a maximum FAME content of 90.18% can be obtained in the end product under optimum conditions. Most of the chemical and physical properties of the biodiesel were superior to the standards for 0(#) diesel (GB/T 19147) and biodiesel (DIN V51606 and ASTM D6751).

Production and characterization of biodiesel from tung oil

The feasibility of biodiesel production from tung oil was investigated. The esterification reaction of the free fatty acids of tung oil was performed using Amberlyst-15. Optimal molar ratio of methanol to oil was determined to be 7.5:1, and Amberlyst-15 was 20.8wt% of oil by response surface methodology. Under these reaction conditions, the acid value of tung oil was reduced to 0.72mg KOH/g. In the range of the molar equivalents of methanol to oil under 5, the esterification was strongly affected by the amount of methanol but not the catalyst. When the molar ratio of methanol to oil was 4.1:1 and Amberlyst-15 was 29.8wt% of the oil, the acid value decreased to 0.85mg KOH/g. After the transesterification reaction of pretreated tung oil, the purity of tung biodiesel was 90.2wt%. The high viscosity of crude tung oil decreased to 9.8mm(2)/s at 40 degrees C. Because of the presence of eleostearic acid, which is a main component of tung oil, the oxidation stability as determined by the Rancimat method was very low, 0.5h, but the cold filter plugging point, -11 degrees C, was good. The distillation process did not improve the fatty acid methyl ester content and the viscosity.

Conversion of Soybean oil to Biodiesel Fuel with Immobilized Candida Lipase on Textile Cloth

The characteristic of biodiesel fuel production from transesterification of soybean oil is studied. The reactant solution is the mixture of soybean oil, methanol, and solvent. A new lipase immobilization method, textile cloth immobilization, was developed in this study. Immobilized Candida lipase sp. 99-125 was applied as the enzyme catalyst. The effect of flow rate of reaction liquid, solvents, reaction time, and water content on the biodiesel yield is investigated. Products analysis shows that the main components in biodiesel are methyl sterate, methyl hexadecanoate, methyl oleate, methyl linoleate, and methyl linolenate. The test results indicate that the maximum yield of biodiesel of 92% was obtained at the conditions of hexane being the solvent, water content being 20 wt%, and reaction time being 24 h.

Upgrading bio-oil over different solid catalysts

Solid acid 40SiO(2)/TiO2-SO42- and solid base 30K(2)CO(3)/Al2O3-NaOH were prepared and compared with catalytic esterification activity according to the model reaction. Upgrading bio-oil by solid acid and solid base catalysts in the conditioned experiment was investigated, in which dynamic viscosities of bio-oil was lowered markedly, although 8 months of aging did not show much viscosity to improve its fluidity and enhance its stability positively. Even the dehydration by 3A molecular sieve still kept the fluidity well. The density of upgraded bio-oil was reduced from 1.24 to 0.96 kg/m(3), and the gross calorific value increased by 50.7 and 51.8%, respectively. The acidity of upgraded bio-oil was alleviated by the solid base catalyst but intensified by the solid acid catalyst for its strong acidification. The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the ester reaction in the bio-oil was promoted by both solid acid and solid base catalysts and that the solid acid catalyst converted volatile and nonvolatile organic acids into esters and raised their amount by 20-fold. Besides the catalytic esterification, the solid acid catalyst carried out the carbonyl addition of alcohol to acetals. Some components of bio-oil undertook the isomerization over the solid base catalyst.