Transesterification of Various Bio-oils: Application and Perspectives in Burkina Faso

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study and analyze the possibility of adapting the production of biodiesel in West African countries, in agreement with required standards, using local vegetable oils, for particular use in rural or remote regions. To achieve this study, an original approach based on Komers and Nourreddini theories is proposed, in order to identify the optimal conditions and parameters to produce high quality of biodiesel. Then, a pilot of transesterification is developed. The optimums obtained from theoretical simulations are used to synthetize biodiesels of various vegetable oils. Quantification in order to estimate the transesterification yield and the performance of the pilot is done. Different analytical methods for biodiesel characterization are used to determine main fuel properties including viscosity, density, water content, etc. The obtained values are then compared with international standards. This quality control is completed with gas chromatography for the quantification of tri-, di-, monoglycerides, free and total glycerol, which compose the final mixture of the various biodiesels produced. Good correlation between the results obtained and international standards values are found.