What technology is used to produce the biodiesel?
Transesterification of oils
Transesterification of oils. The most common technology of biodiesel production is transesterification of oils (triglycerides) with alcohol which gives biodiesel (fatty acid alkyl esters, FAAE) as main product and glycerin as by product.
How do you process biodiesel?
Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products – methyl esters and glycerin. Methyl esters is the chemical name for biodiesel and glycerin is used in a variety of products, including soap.
Does transesterification need heat?
Transesterification can be catalyzed by acids catalysts, preferably by sulfonic and sulfuric acids. These catalysts give very high yields in alkyl esters but these reactions are slow, requiring typically temperature above 100 °C and more than 3 h to complete the conversion [23].
What is transesterification of biodiesel?
Biodiesel produced by the process of transesterification has a much lower viscosity, making it capable of replacing petroleum diesel in diesel engines. The biodiesel production method applied worldwide at industrial level is the alkoolysis (transesterification) of triglycerides which are the main component of vegetable oils and animal fats.
What is the process behind conventional biodiesel?
The transesterification of vegetable oils, animal fats or waste cooking oils is the process behind conventional biodiesel. In the transesterification process a glyceride reacts with an alcohol (typically methanol or ethanol) in the presence of a catalyst forming fatty acid alkyl esters and an alcohol.
What is transesterification and how does it work?
Transesterification is a chemical reaction used for the conversion of triglycerides (fats) contained in oils, (Feedstocks) into usable biodiesel. Biodiesel produced by the process of transesterification has a much lower viscosity, making it capable of replacing petroleum diesel in diesel engines.
What is the catalyst used in transesterification?
A strong base or a strong acid can be used as a catalyst. At the industrial scale, mostly sodium or potassium methanolate is used. The end products of the transesterification process are raw biodiesel and raw glycerol.