Detailed investigation of optimized alkali catalyzed transesterification of Jatropha oil for biodiesel production

The non-edible oils are believed to be one of the major feedstock for the production of biodiesel in future.In the present study,we investigated the production of Jatropha oil methyl esters（JOMEs） via alkali-catalyzed transesterification route.The biophysical characteristics of Jatropha oil were found within the optimal range in accordance with ASTM standards as a substitute diesel fuel.The chemical composition and production yield of as-synthesized biodiesel were confirmed by various analytical techniques such as FT-IR,1H NMR,13 C NMR and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.A high percentage conversion,～96.09%,of fatty acids into esters was achieved under optimized transesterification conditions with 6 ：1 oil to methanol ratio and 0.9 wt% Na OH for 50 min at ～60°C.Moreover,twelve fatty acids methyl esters（FAME） were quantified in the GC/MS analysis and it was interesting to note that the mass fragmentation pattern of saturated,monounsaturated and diunsaturated FAME was comparable with the literature reported values.

Efficient catalytic conversion of jatropha oil to high grade biofuel on Ni-Mo_(2)C/MCM-41 catalysts with tuned surface properties

The activity of Mo_(2) C-based catalyst on vegetable oil conversion into biofuel could be greatedly promoted by tuning the carbon content,while its modification mechanism on the surface properties remained elusive.Herein,the exposed active sites,the particle size and Lewis acid amount of Ni-Mo_(2) C/MCM-41 catalysts were regulated by varying CH_(4) content in carbonization gas.The activity of Ni-Mo_(2) C/MCM-41 catalysts in jatropha oil(JO)conversion showed a volcano-like trend over the catalysts with increasing CH_(4) content from 15%to 50%in the preparation process.The one prepared by 25%CH_(4) content(NiMo_(2) C(25)/MCM-41)exhibited the outstanding catalytic performance with 83.9 wt%biofuel yield and95.2%C_(15)-C_(18) selectivity.Such a variation of activity was ascribed to the most exposed active sites,the smallest particle size,and the lowest Lewis acid amount from Ni^(0) on the Ni-Mo_(2) C(25)/MCM-41 catalyst surface.Moreover,the Ni-Mo_(2) C(25)/MCM-41 catalyst could also effectively catalyze the conversion of crude waste cooking oil(WCO)into green diesel.This study offers an effective strategy to improve catalytic performance of molybdenum carbide catalyst on vegetable oil conversion.

Experimental Study on Performance and Combustion Analysis of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Diesel and Jatropha Oil Blended with Heptane

This work focuses on blending Jatropha oil with diesel fuel and heptane to improve its physico-chemical characteristics for production of blends and their use as fuel in a diesel engine. The influence of the heptane content was evaluated by comparing the results obtained from the engine (performance and combustion parameters) with those of the diesel fuel and straight Jatropha oil. The results obtained show an improvement in engine performance especially at low loads. Specifically, a reduction in the specific fuel consumption of the engine is obtained when the heptane content in the mixture is around 10% compared to that obtained with pure Jatropha oil. The best results were obtained with the blend containing 70% Jatropha oil, 20% diesel fuel and 10% heptane (J70G20H10). Overall engine efficiency and exhaust gas temperatures are comparable for all fuels tested. Engine combustion parameters are improved with J70G20H10. The results obtained with J70G20H10 are close to those of the engine operating on diesel fuel. The cyclic dispersion is low with coefficients of variation of the indicated mean effective pressure (COVIMEP) whose values are less than 10%. The lowest values of the COVIMEP are obtained with the blend J70G20H10.

Performance Assessment of a Box Type Solar Cooker Using Jatropha Oil as a Heat Storage Material

Solar cookers are a good option in developing countries with high solar potential for environmentally friendly cooking and reduced pressure on forests. However, they are still affected by the intermittency of the sun. In order to overcome this problem, in this work, a box type solar cooker integrated Jatropha oil as a heat storage material is fabricated and experimented with. The design was examined with a maximum stagnation temperature of 157.7°C. The recorded cooking power vanished between 78.4 and 103.6 W, while thermal efficiency varied from 41.26% to 58.78%. The energy transfer cycle test, including charge and discharge revealed that 91.18% of the heat lost through the cooker could be recovered by the heat storage unit and a large amount is restored to the system during cloudiness or a temperature perturbation.

Pure Jatropha Oil for Power Generation on Floreana IslandlGalapagos： Four Years Experience on Engine Operation and Fuel Quality

In the small country of Ecuador, all environmental risks of the production and consumption of fossil fuels can be observed by damages through oil exploration in the amazonite rainforest and two tank ship accidents close by Galapagos Islands causing death of 10,000 marine iguanas and other species. Now Ecuador plans to replace all environmentally dangerous diesel generators from all four inhabited Galapagos Islands by a hybrid system using 100% renewable energy for electricity production. Since 2010 a hybrid system of two Jatropha oil generators with an electrical power of 69 kW （kWel） and a photovoltaic plant with an electrical peak power of 21 kW （kWpeak） is successfully providing electricity from renewable energy for inhabitants and tourists of Floreana Island. After more than 15.000 engine operation hours of each engine there is no engine defect. For fuel supply, the so-called ＂Living Fence＂ concept collecting Jatropha seeds by farmers and families from already existing 6,000 km hedges on Ecuadorian mainland was chosen to comply with highest biofuel sustainability standards. The Jatropha oil is produced in a decentralized so-called CompacTropha oil mill container following the ambitious German fuel quality standard DIN51605. Since 2010 Floreana project successfully demonstrates that it is possible to replace diesel gen sets by generators fueled with pure Jatropha oil from decentralized sustainable production.

Effects of Molar Ratio, Alkali Catalyst Concentration and Temperature on Transesterification of Jatropha Oil with Methanol under Ultrasonic Irradiation

For transesterification of Jatropha oil into biodiesel, ultrasound assisted transesterification seems to be promising in terms of reduction in process time and stages of operation. Effects of process variables such as the catalyst loading, the molar ratio of methanol to oil, reaction temperature and the reaction time were investigated on the conversion of Jatropha oil to biodiesel. The conversion was above 93% under the conditions of 50?C, methanol to oil molar ratio of 9:1, reaction time 30 min and catalyst amount (catalyst/oil) of 1% wt%. A kinetic study of transesterification of Jatropha oil based on ultrasound assisted synthesis is presented in this paper. Rate equation obtained is also presented.

Modelling the Kinetics of Jatropha Oil Transesterification

Kinetics of a chemical reaction provides an important means of determining the extent of the reaction and in reactor designs. Transesterification of jatropha oil with methanol and sodium hydroxide as a catalyst was conducted in a well mixed reactor at different agitation speeds between 600 and 800 rpm and temperature range between 35°C and 65°C. The effect of variation of temperature and mixing intensity on rate constants were studied. The initial mass transfer controlled stage was considered negligible using the above impeller speeds and second order mechanism was considered for the chemically controlled kinetic stage. Samples were collected from the reaction mixture at specified time intervals and quenched in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and sulphuric acid. The mixture was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 15 minutes and the methyl ester was separated from the glycerol. The ester was washed with warm water (50°C), dried and analysed using gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector (GC/FID) to determine free and total glycerine and methyl ester. A mathematical model was fitted using second order rate law. High temperature and high mixing intensity increased reaction rates. The model fitted well with a high correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.999.

Determination of External Mass Transfer Model for Hydrolysis of Jatropha Oil Using Immobilized Lipase in Recirculated Packed-Bed Reactor

In this study, a simple and effective technique for establishing an external mass transfer model in a recirculated packed-bed batch reactor (RPBBR) with an immobilized lipase enzyme and Jatropha oil system is presented. The external mass transfer effect can be represented with a model in the form of Colburn factor JD = K Re-(1–n). The value of K and n were derived from experimental data at different mass flow rates.The experiment shows an average increment of 1.51% FFA for calcium alginate and 1.62% FFA for carrageenan after the hydrolysis took place. Based on different biopolymer material used in immobilized beads, JD = 1.674 Re-0.4 for calcium alginate and JD = 1.881 Re-0.3 for k-carrageenan were found to be adequate to predict the experimental data for external mass transfer in the reactor in the Reynolds number range of 0.2 to 1.2. The purposed model can be used for the design of industrial bioreactor and scale up. Besides, the external mass transfer coefficients for the hydrolysis of Jatropha oil reaction and the entrapment efficiency for the two biopolymer materials used were also investigated.

Application of different molecular sieves in photothermal catalysis of Jatropha oil

The preparation of green and economical bio-aviation fuel is a priority for the sustainable development industry.In this study,Jatropha oil was used as a raw material to catalyze the conversion of raw material to aviation kerosene fraction by photothermal coupling under the conditions of light and low temperature.The correlations among conversion rate,target alkane selectivity,composition distribution,and catalyst microstructure were investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD),high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM),nitrogen(N2)adsorption and desorption,X-ray fluorescence(XRF),ammoniatemperature programmed desorption(NH3-TPD),ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry(UV-Vis),and other characterization.The correlation between conversion and target alkane selectivity and composition distribution and catalyst microstructure was investigated,and different modification methods and different molecular sieve materials were selected.The results showed that the molecular sieves modified with the solid dispersion method could retain the structural stability of titanium dioxide(TiO2)and molecular sieves to a great extent while slightly enhancing the pore capacity and pore size of the catalyst to make it easier to adsorb reactants;the introduction of active metal platinum(Pt)could reduce the forbidden bandwidth of the catalyst,increase the weak acid amount of the catalyst,improve the adsorption capacity of hydrogen(H2),and thus improve the catalytic ability,resulting in a suitable catalyst for this study:P-21.The photothermal catalytic reaction of Jatropha oil using P-21 catalyst obtained 97.21%conversion and 74.99%selectivity of the target alkanes under the optimal process parameters.The results of this study provide effective catalyst parameters for research in the field of clean energy.

Development and Characterization of Eco-Friendly Non-Isocyanate Urethane Monomer from Jatropha curcas Oil for Wood Composite Applications

The aim of this research work was to evaluate the potential of using renewable natural feedstock,i.e.,Jatropha curcas oil(JCO)for the synthesis of non-isocyanate polyurethane(NIPU)resin for wood composite applications.Commercial polyurethane(PU)is synthesized through a polycondensation reaction between isocyanate and poly-ol.However,utilizing toxic and unsustainable isocyanates for obtaining PU could contribute to negative impacts on the environment and human health.Therefore,the development of PU from eco-friendly and sustainable resources without the isocyanate route is required.In this work,tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide was used as the activator to open the epoxy ring with 3-Aminopropyltriethoxisylane as a catalyst to yield urethane of JCO(UJCO).The UJCO were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy(FTIR)and their oxirane,and hydroxyl values were measured.The result showed that a decrease in oxirane value was found while the hydroxyl value was increased during the time,confirming that the urethane group was formed.The presence of functional groups in FTIR spectra at wave numbers 1732.08,1562.34,and 3348.42 cm^(−1) indicates the functional groups of C=O(urethane carbonyl),–NH,and–OH,respectively confirmed this finding.The potential applications of NIPU in the wood composite were also outlined.

Jatropha oil methyl ester and its blends used as an alternative fuel in diesel engine

Biomass derived vegetable oils are quite promising alternative fuels for agricultural diesel engines.Use of vegetable oils in diesel engines leads to slightly inferior performance and higher smoke emissions due to their high viscosity.The performance of vegetable oils can be improved by modifying them through the transesterification process.In this present work,the performance of single cylinder water-cooled diesel engine using methyl-ester of Jatropha oil as the fuel was evaluated for its performance and exhaust emissions.The fuel properties of biodiesel such as kinematic viscosity,calorific value,flash point,carbon residue and specific gravity were found.Results indicate that B25 has closer performance to diesel and B100 has lower brake thermal efficiency mainly due to its high viscosity compared to diesel.The brake thermal efficiency for biodiesel and its blends was found to be slightly higher than that of diesel fuel at tested load conditions and there was no difference of efficiency between the biodiesel and its blended fuels.For Jatropha biodiesel and its blended fuels,the exhaust gas temperature increased with the increase of power and amount of biodiesel.However,its diesel blends showed reasonable efficiencies,lower smoke,CO_(2),CO and HC emissions.

Optimization of pretreatment of Jatropha oil with high free fatty acids for biodiesel production

A central composite rotatable design and response surface methodology were used in order to investigate the individual and combined effects of the ethanol-to-oil ratio, H2SO4 concentration, temperature and time of reaction on the reduction of free fatty acid （FFA） in jatropha oil. A quadratic polynomial model relating the reaction variables with FFA reduction was developed, presenting a good coefficient of determination （R2= 0.893）. For reducing FFA to less than 1%, the optimal combination was found to be 0.62 v.v^-1 ethanol-to-oil ratio （14.9 v.v^-1 ethanol-to-FFA ratio）, 1.7% v.vI H2SO4 concentration, and 79 rain reaction time at a reaction temperature of 54℃. These results are of great relevance to maximize methyl esters formation by transesterification using an alkaline catalyst.

Biodiesel Production from Crude Jatropha curcas L.Oil with Trace Acid Catalyst

Biodiesel produced from crude Jatropha curcas L.oil with trace sulfuric acid catalyst(0.02%-0.08% oil) was investigated at 135-184 ℃.Both esterification and transesterification can be well carried out simultane-ously.Factors affecting the process were investigated,which included the reaction temperature,reaction time,the molar ratio of alcohol to oil,catalyst amount,water content,free fatty acid(FFA) and fatty acid methyl ester(FAME) content.Under the conditions at 165 ℃,0.06%(by mass) H2SO4 of the oil mass,1.6 MPa and 20:1 methanol/oil ratio,the yield of glycerol reached 84.8% in 2 hours.FFA and FAME showed positive effect on the transesterification in certain extent.The water mass content below 1.0% did not show a noticeable effect on trans-esterification.Reaction kinetics in the range of 155 ℃ to 175 ℃ was also measured.

Development of a New Bio-Based Insulating Fluid from <i>Jatropha curcas</i>Oil for Power Transformers

The present work aims to develop a new vegetable insulating fluid for power transformers based on Jatropha curcas oil. Besides its technical benefits, Jatropha curcas oil has a socio-economic role by promoting income to rural families, contributing to the countryside development and avoiding rural exodus. Thus, the entire transformer oil production (extraction, processing, characterization and accelerated aging) was covered and a new process was developed. For oil extraction, the most suitable process was the solvent extraction (5 mL of hexane per gram of crushed non-peeled seeds during 30 minutes) with an oil yield of 32%. In raw oil processing stage, the degumming, with 0.4 g of phosphoric acid per 100 g of oil, at 70°C, was used to remove phosphatides. Then, free fatty acids were 96% neutralized with a sodium hydroxide solution (0.5% w/w) at room temperature. For the oil clarification, the combination of 5% w/woil of activated carbon and 1% w/woil of MgO resulted in a bright, odorless and clear oil with an acid number of 0.04 mgKOH·g﹣1. The oil drying in a vacuum rotary evaporator, at 70°C, for 2 hours reduced the water content to 177 ppm. The processed oil was characterized following ASTM D6871 methods. This oil presented higher dielectric breakdown voltage (55 kV) than commercial transformer fluids (BIOTEMP?, EnvirotempFR3?, and Bivolt?), which increases transformer safety, capacity and lifetime. In addition, the processed oil has a lower viscosity than BIOTEMP? fluid, which can enhance the heat dissipation efficiency in the transformer. Moreover, the processed oil flash and fire points of 310°C and >340°C, respectively, confirm the great security of vegetable insulating fluids. The analyzed properties of the processed oil fulfill all the ASTM D6871, ABNT NBR 15422 and IEC 62770 specifications. Therefore, Jatropha curcas oil is a potential substitute formineral insulating fluids.

Synthesis of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L. seed oil using artificial zeolites loaded with CH3COOK as a heterogeneous catalyst

An environmentally benign process was devel-oped for the transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seed oil with methanol using artificial zeolites loaded with potassium acetate as a heterogeneous catalyst. After calcination for 5 h at 823 K, the catalyst loaded with 47 wt.% CH3COOK exhibited the highest efficiency and best catalytic activity. The easily prepared cata-lysts were characterized by means of X-ray dif-fraction and IR spectroscopy, as well as Hammett indicator titration. The results revealed a strong dependence of catalytic activity on ba-sicity. The optimum reaction conditions for transesterification of J. curcas oil were also in-vestigated. The methyl ester content in the bio-diesel product exceeded 91% after 4h reaction at reflux temperature in the presence of 2% solid catalyst and no water washing process is needed during workup.

Exergetic Efficiencies Evaluation of Flows and Operations on the Mechanical Extraction Process of <i>Jatropha curcas</i>Oil

Jatropha curcas oil is one of the most promising renewable energy sources for rural areas due to its ease of production, which can be used as an alternative to diesel and fuel oil. The development of sustainable energy has been the issue of the discussion about biofuel production given the considerable consumption amount of fossil fuel during the transformation process. And any production process that consumes a lot of energy records a significant destruction of useful energy, which leads to thermodynamic inefficiencies of the process. Besides, the focus on environmental safety is gradually shifting towards energy efficiency in industrial processing. Exergetic analysis is an effective tool for measuring the performance of a production process since exergy is a quantity that measures energy quality. This study assesses the scale of resource degradation in Jatropha oil mechanical extraction processes and finds improving possible pretreatments options for more efficient production. Data from experiments combined with existing databases have permitted to establish the exergy flow balance at each stage of production. The process exergetic yield varies from 29.85% to 35.41% according to the chosen pretreatment process. Mass exergy accounts for 67% of incoming flows and, for outgoing flows, more than 60% is associated with the mass exergy generated by the process waste. The uncertainties analysis on the results was used to validate model results, and to visualize the minimum values for the most unfavorable cases and the maximum values when all the parameters are at their optimum values.

Pyrolysis Oil from the Fruit and Cake of Jatropha curcas Produced Using a Low Temperature Conversion (LTC) Process: Analysis of a Pyrolysis Oil-Diesel Blend

Background: The LTC process is a technique that consists of heating solid residues at a temperature of 380oC - 420oC in an inert atmosphere and their products are evaluated individually: these products include pyrolysis oil, pyrolytic char, gas and water. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of the use of oils obtained by pyrolysis of Jatropha curcas as an additive for diesel in different proportions. Results: A Low Temperature Conversion (LTC) process carried out on samples of Jatropha curcas fruit and generated pyrolysis oil, pyrolyic char, gas and aqueous fractions in relative amounts of 23, 37, 16 and 14% [w/w] respectively for Jatropha curcas fruit and 19, 47, 12 and 22% [w/w] respectively for Jatropha curcas cake. The oil fractions were analyzed by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, GCMS and physicochemical analysis. The pyrolysis oil was added to final concentrations of 2, 5, 10 and 20% [w/w] to commercial diesel fuel. The density, viscosity, sulfur content and flash point of the mixtures were determined. Conclusions: The results indicated that the addition of the pyrolysis oil maintained the mixtures within the standards of the diesel directive, National Petroleum Agency (ANP no 15, of 19. 7. 2006), with the exception of the viscosity of the mixtures containing 20% pyrolysis oil.

麻疯树油液滴微爆和蒸发特性试验

利用悬挂式液滴蒸发试验装置,结合高速背光成像技术,研究了麻疯树油液滴在高温环境(673、773、873、973和1073 K)下的微爆和蒸发特性,并对麻疯树油中的3种主要组分液滴的蒸发特性进行了分析.结果表明:麻疯树油液滴的微爆是由于内部组分的热解导致的,并且随环境温度的升高,其微爆强度增大.麻疯树油液滴在环境温度为673 K时,液滴稳定蒸发,蒸发过程包括初始膨胀阶段、平衡蒸发阶段和残留物蒸发阶段;在环境温度为773~1073 K时,液滴发生微爆,包含初始膨胀阶段、平衡蒸发阶段、微爆蒸发阶段和残留物蒸发阶段;当环境温度高于873 K时,首次观测到“蒸气羽流”和“蒸气云”现象,液滴蒸发速率大幅提高.

VKT多肽介导的固定化疏棉状嗜热丝孢菌脂肪酶催化制备生物柴油

生物柴油是一种环境友好的生物液体燃料,对于酶法生产生物柴油,迫切需要找到廉价和高效的固定化脂肪酶。本研究利用固体结合肽(SBPs)VKT,将其与疏棉状嗜热丝孢菌脂肪酶(Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase,TLL)融合构建融合脂肪酶,并将其固定化在硅基材料上,获得了一种新型的生物催化剂。在所测试的硅基材料(ZSM-5、Na-Y、SAR-100、MCM-41和SiO_(2)微粉)中,固定在ZSM-5沸石上的TLL-VKT(TLL-VKT@ZSM-5)表现出最佳的固定化效率和最大负载,且具有优异的pH、温度、储存和洗脱稳定性。以TLL-VKT@ZSM-5为生物催化剂,对麻疯树籽油进行转酯化反应,48h生物柴油得率即达到93.9%。此外,TLL-VKT@ZSM-5还表现出较高的重复使用性能,在7次重复使用后,生物柴油得率依然保持71.9%。本研究的酶固定化方法具有简单高效、稳定性高和重复使用性能高等优点。本研究显示VKT肽在酶蛋白固定化的应用方面具有较好前景。

温度和乙醇对麻风树油甲酯蒸发特性的影响

为了探究温度和乙醇对麻风树油甲酯(JME)液滴蒸发特性的影响,采用挂滴式实验方法,在973和1073 K的温度下,研究不同乙醇添加量(0%,10%,50%)的JME液滴(JME,JME-E10和JME-E50)的蒸发过程,分析了温度与乙醇含量对燃油单液滴蒸发归一化直径平方的影响。结果显示:973 K时的燃油液滴的蒸发特性与1073 K时的燃油液滴的蒸发特性有明显差异,蒸发特性曲线不能简单地分为瞬态加热阶段、波动蒸发阶段和平衡蒸发阶段这3个阶段。环境温度和乙醇添加量都会在一定程度上影响麻风树油甲酯生物油的蒸发。在高温条件下,液滴中含有的易挥发成分形成气泡使得液滴膨胀发生微爆,并且单液滴的环境温度越高,蒸发时间越短,这是因为在骤变之前液滴的膨胀速率大于蒸发速率。液滴内存在气泡,且不断变大,这是因为气泡因内部压力大于环境压力而向液滴表面移动,气泡达到最大时,发生微爆。在973和1073 K时,JME有一段时间处于平衡蒸发,符合D^(2)定律,而JME-E10和JME-E50则不同,其在蒸发阶段液滴直径波动很大且蒸发过程中还发生了聚合反应。液滴随着温度增加平均蒸发速率变大,JME-E50在1073 K时,蒸发速率最大。3种燃油在不同温度下蒸发,最终都有少许残渣,这是因为不饱和组分发生聚合反应生成了高分子聚合物。