Production and Evaluation of Biodiesel from Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvenseL.) Oil^†

Abstract

Field pennycress (Thlaspi arVense L.) oil is evaluated for the first time as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Biodiesel was obtained in 82 wt % yield by a standard transesterification procedure with methanol and sodium methoxide catalyst at 60 °C and an alcohol to oil molar ratio of 6:1. Acid-catalyzed pretreatment to reduce the acid value of crude field pennycress oil resulted in a yield after methanolysis of 94 wt %. Field pennycress oil had high contents of erucic (13(Z)-docosenoic; 32.8 wt %) and linoleic (9(Z),12(Z)-octadecadienoic; 22.4 wt %) acids with other unsaturated fatty acids comprising most of the remaining fatty acid profile. As a result, the methyl esters (biodiesel) obtained from this oil exhibited a high cetane number of 59.8 and excellent low temperature properties, as evidenced by cloud, pour, and cold filter plugging points of -10, -18, and -17 °C, respectively. The kinematic viscosity and oxidative stability (Rancimat method) of field pennycress oil methyl esters were 5.24 mm 2 /s (40 °C) and 4.4 h (110 °C), respectively. Other fuel properties such as acid value, lubricity, free and total glycerol content, surface tension, as well as sulfur and phosphorus contents were also determined and are discussed in light of biodiesel standards such as ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. Also reported for the first time are cetane numbers of methyl esters of erucic and gondoic (methyl 11(Z)-eicosenoate) acids, which were found to be 74.2 and 73.2, respectively. In summary, field pennycress oil appears to an acceptable feedstock for biodiesel production. † Disclaimer: Product names are necessary to report factually on available data; however, the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and the use of the name by USDA implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.

Sustainable commercialization of new crops for the agricultural bioeconomy

“…In the US Midwest, pennycress is being developed as a winter-hardy oilseed crop that can be double-and relay-cropped to diversify agroecological systems presently dominated by the summer-annual crops maize and soybean (Moser et al, 2009;Phippen and Phippen, 2012). Pennycress possesses many traits that can support its integration in existing maize-soybean agroecological systems.…”

“…Additionally, seedpods shatter only a few weeks after maturity, which results in a narrow harvesting window and can result in large yield losses. Finally, pennycress seed contains levels of glucosinolate compounds that may be harmful to livestock (Moser et al, 2009).…”

The biodiesel production from the cotton thistle seed oil (Onopordum acanthium L.)

“…Međutim, korišćenje jestivih ulja u procesima dobijanja biodizela ograničavaju njihova primarna primena u ljudskoj ishrani i visoka cena. S obzirom da u ukupnoj ceni proizvodnje biodizela uljne sirovine imaju najveći udeo [3,4], poslednjih godina pažnju istraživača privlači ispitivanje mogućnosti primene novih i jeftinijih ulja kao što su ulja dobijena iz semena različitih korovskih biljaka: etiopijska slačica (Brassica carinata) [5], kravlja trava (Thlaspi arvense L.) [6], bela slačica (Sinapis alba) [7], tatula (Datura stramonium) [8], konopljica (Euphorbia lathyris L.), pileće drvo (Sapium sebiferum L.) i barbadoski orah (Jatropha curcas L.) [9].…”

Improvement of fuel properties of cottonseed oil methyl esters with commercial additives

“…Homogenous base-catalyzed transesterification of CSO provided the methyl esters (CSME) in high yield (96 wt%) employing classic conditions described previously [8,13,[21][22][23][24][25]. The AV of crude CSO (2.71 mg KOH/g) was prohibitively high for direct methanolysis.…”

“…Free fatty acids react with homogenous base catalysts such as sodium methoxide to form soap (sodium salt of FA) and methanol (or water in the case of sodium hydroxide), thus irreversibly quenching the catalyst and reducing product yield [8,26]. Therefore, sulfuric acid-catalyzed pretreatment of crude CSO with methanol was conducted prior to base-catalyzed transesterification to reduce the AV to 0.53 mg KOH/g utilizing reaction conditions described previously [24,25]. Optimization of CSME yield using techniques such as response-surface methodology was considered beyond the scope of the current study, but is reported in refs.…”