Efficiency Evaluation on the Influence of Washing Methods for Biodiesel Produced from High Free Fatty Acid Waste Vegetable Oils through Selected Quality Parameters

Abstract

The increasing use of alternative energy sources has brought benefits like the recycling of waste vegetable oils (WVO) for biodiesel production; however, this practice presents challenges derived from a highly variable raw matter. Our research focused on the washing techniques usually employed by small to medium scale producers which may lack the infrastructure to perform high-grade purification and often relay on the employment of “artisanal” technology. We report biodiesel production from pure canola oil (C1) and a mix of soybean/canola oil (C2) as well as WVO from sample C2 with high free fatty acid content (2.7 FFA %) oil. We selected seven quality tests: pH determination, cloud, pour and flash point, acid number (AN), water/sediments and soap content considering the most commonly failed checkpoints in biodiesel production. From the use of four washing techniques, we determined that the sawdust filtration had the highest recovering yield with 89%. The majority of the washed biodiesel met the America Society of Testing Material (ASTM) standard limits for the tests selected. Biodiesel stability was tested from week 0 to week 6, determining a shelf life of three weeks in optimal conditions without the addition of antioxidants or specific storage conditions.

Biodiesel from high‐acid‐value grease trap waste: process optimization and purification using bio‐based adsorbent

“…From the study conducted by Sandouqa et al 52 . and Ortiz‐Lechuga et al 57 . using the same type of feedstock, the yields of purification differed from one another.…”

“…56 In comparison with other studies, as shown in Table 3, the purification yields of biodiesel varied depending on the feedstock used and the bio-based adsorbent used. From the study conducted by Sandouqa et al 52 and Ortiz-Lechuga et al 57 using the same type of feedstock, the yields of purification differed from one another. This demonstrated that bio-based adsorbent from delignified olive cake had better adsorption in reducing the acid value of biodiesel as compared with sawdust.…”

Influences of Cosolvents and Antifreeze Additives Derived from Glycerol through Esterification on Fuel Properties of Biodiesel

“…Free fatty acid is produced from the hydrolysis reaction between fatty acid methyl esters and water, increasing biodiesel's acid value [29]. Water in the hydrolysis reaction divides the reacted compound into two parts.…”