Small scale biodiesel synthesis from waste frying oil and crude methanol in Morocco

Biodiesel was produced at small scale by transesterification of used frying oil(UFO) recovered from Moroccan pastry shops and fish frying restaurants. Biodiesel was first synthesised at laboratory scale in order to optimize the transesterification parameters. The cost of the final product was also optimized using low-cost raw materials.The UFO and the produced biodiesel were characterized with several techniques including gas chromatography,1H NMR,13 C NMR, FTIR, and TGA–TDA techniques.1H NMR gas chromatographic analyses of the final product confirmed that the transesterification in the chosen experimental conditions was completed. These results were confirmed by TGA–TDA analysis used as new techniques to monitoring triglyceride conversion. The biodiesel did not contain any trace of glycerol, and it did meet the international standards. The transesterification at low cost in small scale conditions was performed at 60 °C using 1.2% of KOH and a methanol/oil molar ratio of 6:1. A yield of 80.8% was achieved. The properties of the produced biodiesel were found to be as good as those of biodiesels obeying to European standards. The biodiesel production was also performed at small-scale for individual utilisation. Thus, the product was tested in a kerosene stove for heating and non-modified commercial diesel engine producing electricity.

Valorization of a Good Bioceramic from Moroccan Waste Fish Bone by a Heat Treatment Method

A tricalcium phosphate(TCP)material was produced from sardine and mackerel waste using a heat treatment method after a Soxhlet extraction to obtain the non-soluble portion of fish waste.The bones were annealed at temperatures between 400℃ and 1200℃.The thermal analysis(TG-DTA)was carried out to investigate the thermal stability of TCP and to confirm the removal of organic matter from the raw fish.The calcined bones were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM).The calcium to phosphorous weight ratio was determined by ICP-AES.FT-IR and XRD confirmed the similarities to syntheticβ-TCP(JCPDS-09-169),FE-SEM results revealed the formation of nanostructured TCP.These results suggest that varying the isolation temperature between 600-1200℃ has tremendous impact on the production of TCP from fish bone waste with the required properties.