Journal article
Two-step microalgal biodiesel production using acidic catalyst generated from pyrolysis-derived bio-char
Energy conversion and management, Vol.105, pp.1389-1396
11/15/2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/109026
Abstract
•Highly active catalyst was prepared using bio-char co-produced in Auger pyrolysis.•Catalyst inhibitors in crude oil were effectively removed by a practical refinery process.•Free fatty acids (FFA) content in refined microalgal oil was reduced to less than 0.5%.•A total fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of 99% was obtained via a two-step process.•The inexpensive bio-char catalyst is superior to Amberlyst-15 in pre-esterification.
An efficient process for biodiesel production from fast-refined microalgal oil was demonstrated. A low cost catalyst prepared from pyrolysis-derived bio-char, was applied in pre-esterification to reduce free fatty acid (FFA) content. Results showed that the bio-char catalyst was highly active in esterification; however, the performance of the catalyst significantly reduced when crude microalgal oil was used as feedstock. To solve the problem caused by catalyst-fouling, a fast and scalable crude oil refinery procedure was carried out to remove chlorophyll and phospholipids that might degrade the catalyst and the quality of biodiesel. The activity and reusability of bio-char catalyst were remarkably improved in the fast-refined oil. FFA content in the refined microalgal oil was reduced to less than 0.5% after pre-esterification. The bio-char catalyst could be reused for 10 cycles without dramatic loss in activity. The pre-esterification fits the first-order kinetic reaction with activation energy of 42.16kJ/mol. The activity of bio-char catalyst was superior to commercial Amberlyst-15 under the same reaction condition. A total fatty acid methyl ester (FAME, namely biodiesel) yield of 99% was obtained following the second-step CaO-catalyzed transesterification. The cost-effective bio-char catalyst has great potential for biodiesel production using feedstocks having high FFA content.
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Details
- Title
- Two-step microalgal biodiesel production using acidic catalyst generated from pyrolysis-derived bio-char
- Creators
- Tao Dong - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USADifeng Gao - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAChao Miao - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAXiaochen Yu - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USACharles Degan - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAManuel Garcia-Pérez - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USABarbara Rasco - School of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAShyam S Sablani - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USAShulin Chen - Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
- Publication Details
- Energy conversion and management, Vol.105, pp.1389-1396
- Academic Unit
- Biological Systems Engineering, Department of
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Identifiers
- 99900582333601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article