Prospects of non-catalytic supercritical methyl acetate process in biodiesel production

Conventional biodiesel production methods utilize alcohol as acyl acceptor and produces glycerol as side product. Hence, with escalating production of biodiesel throughout the world, it leads to oversupply of glycerol and subsequently causes devaluation in the market. In this study, methyl acetate was employed as acyl acceptor in non-catalytic supercritical methyl acetate (SCMA) process to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and side product of triacetin, a valuable fuel additive instead of glycerol. Consequently, the properties of biodiesel produced (FAME and triacetin) are superior compared to conventional biodiesel method (FAME only). In this research, the effects of reaction temperature, reaction time and molar ratio of methyl acetate to oil on the yield of biodiesel were investigated. Apart from that, the influence of impurities commonly found in waste oils/fats such as free fatty acids and water were studied as well and compared with methanol-based reactions of supercritical and heterogeneous catalysis. Results show that biodiesel yields in SCMA process could achieve 99 wt.% when the operating conditions were fixed at 400 °C/220 bar for reaction temperature, methyl acetate/oil molar ratio of 30:1 and 60 min of reaction time. Furthermore, SCMA did not suffer from adverse effect with the presence of impurities, proving that SCMA has a high tolerance towards contamination which is crucial to allow the utilization of inexpensive waste oils/fats as biodiesel feedstock.     

A new process for catalyst-free production of biodiesel using supercritical methyl acetate

Production of glycerol is unavoidable in the conventional processes for biodiesel fuel (BDF) production. In this research, therefore, we investigated conversion of rapeseed oil to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and triacetin (TA) by processing of supercritical methyl acetate. As a result, it was discovered that the trans-esterification reaction of triglycerides with methyl acetate can proceed without catalyst under supercritical conditions, generating FAME and triacetin. In order to study the effect of the triacetin addition to FAME, its effect was investigated on various fuel characteristics. It was, consequently, discovered that there were no adverse effects on the main fuel characteristics when the molar ratio of methyl oleate to triacetin was 3:1, corresponding to the theoretically derived mole ratio from the trans-esterification reaction of rapeseed oil with methyl acetate. Moreover, the addition of triacetin to methyl oleate improved the pour point and triacetin has high oxidation stability. Therefore, by defining BDF as a mixture of methyl oleate with triacetin, we can obtain an improved yield of 105% of BDF by the supercritical methyl acetate, in excess of the yield of the conventional process.     

Non-catalytic biodiesel process with adsorption-based refining

Different feedstocks of varying acidity ranks and water contents were subjected to a series of discontinuous steps that simulated a biodiesel production process. The three steps comprised: (i) the non-catalytic transesterification with supercritical methanol at 280 °C; (ii) the distillation of the unreacted methanol, water and volatile products; and (iii) the adsorption of the impurities with adequate adsorbents. Refined soy oil, chicken oil and waste cooking oil were subjected to the same simple procedure. The process produced biodiesel complying with the water, acid, glycerides and methyl esters content specifications of the EN 14214 standard.Biodiesel production by the reaction of oils in supercritical methanol at 280 °C and methanol-to-oil molar ratios of 15 and 20 produced amounts of glycerol as small as 0.02%. This simplified the subsequent refining of the biodiesel and is considered an advantage over the classic alkali-catalyzed process (that produces 10% of glycerol by-product) because washing steps can be spared.The contents of methyl esters, water and free fatty acids showed a volcano pattern when plotted as a function of the reaction time. In the case of the free fatty acids this was attributed to the initial reaction of water and triglycerides to form acids and glycerol that increased the acidity of the product mixture. At longer reaction times these acids were likely transformed into methyl esters or were decarboxylated to hydrocarbons and CO₂. Water formation was attributed to glycerol decomposition and esterification of free fatty acids.The design of a simple process for biodiesel production using a single reaction step with negligible glycerol production and an adsorption-based refining step was thus studied. A possible scheme integrating reaction, methanol recycling, biodiesel purification and heat recovery was discussed. Advantages and disadvantages of process units were analyzed on terms of operating cost and simplicity.     

Kinetics of hydrolysis and methyl esterification for biodiesel production in two-step supercritical methanol process

For high-quality biodiesel fuel production from oils/fats, the catalyst-free two-step supercritical methanol process has been developed in a previous work, which consists of hydrolysis of triglycerides to fatty acids in subcritical water and subsequent methyl esterification of fatty acids to their methyl esters in supercritical methanol. In this paper, therefore, kinetics in hydrolysis and subsequent methyl esterification was studied to elucidate reaction mechanism. As a result, fatty acid was found to act as acid catalyst, and simple mathematical models were proposed in which regression curves can fit well with experimental results. Fatty acid was, thus, concluded to play an important role in the two-step supercritical methanol process.     

Production of biodiesel with glycerol carbonate by non‐catalytic supercritical dimethyl carbonate

New biodiesel production processes comprising one‐step and two‐step supercritical dimethyl carbonate methods have been pioneered. The use of dimethyl carbonate allows the reaction conditions to be mild and thus avoid unwanted deterioration of substrates during reaction. In this process, without any catalyst applied, supercritical dimethyl carbonate converts triglycerides (rapeseed oil) into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) along with glycerol carbonate as a value‐added by‐product, instead of glycerol. Free fatty acids could be also converted into FAME so that the total yield of biodiesel for both methods resulted in over 96 wt%. In addition, the produced FAME satisfy the fuel requirements for the international standards of biodiesel specification.     

Use of the Product from Low Pressure Extraction (Crambe Seed Oil and Methyl Acetate) for Synthesis of Methyl Esters and Triacetin Under Supercritical Conditions

Methyl esters (ME) and triacetin production from the supercritical interesterification of the product from low pressure extraction (crambe seed oil and methyl acetate) are evaluated. Reactions are conducted at 300–375 °C for different residence times, at 20 MPa, and under these conditions the thermal stability of triacetin is evaluated. The effect of the free fatty acid (FFA) concentration (in oil) is determined. An increase in temperature favors the formation of ME and triacetin at shorter reaction times. At 375 °C, after 15 min a drop in the ME yield is observed and triacetin is not detected. A reduction in the triacetin concentration (reaching ≈99%) is observed at 375 °C. High FFA concentration (in oil) initially provided higher product generation, however, after 15 min no influence is observed. The highest ME yield (≈60%) is obtained at 300 °C, along with 1.22 wt% triacetin and ≈5.0 wt% unreacted compounds. Practical Applications: This paper reports new experimental data on an integrated process for the production of methyl esters from low pressure extraction (crambe seeds and methyl acetate) and supercritical reaction of the extraction mixture. The technique used allows the removal of a high quantity of oil from good quality crambe seeds. The viability of applying the integrated process to obtain oils with a high content of free fatty acids is verified, promoting the obtainment of relatively simple methyl esters. The procedure does not require oil purification and solvent recovery prior to the reaction.     

Production of biodiesel fuel from tall oil fatty acids via high temperature methanol reaction

Tall oil fatty acids are a byproduct of the paper industry and consist predominantly of free-fatty acids (FFAs). Although this feedstock is ideal for biodiesel production, there has been relatively little study of its conversion to biodiesel. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the high temperature reaction of methanol with tall oil at subcritical and supercritical pressures to produce fatty acid methyl esters. This study investigates the effects of mixing, pressure, temperature, and methanol to oil molecular ratio in order to determine the potential use of tall oil as a biodiesel feedstock. In this work, tall oil fatty acids were successfully reacted with supercritical and subcritical methanol in a continuous tubular reactor, resulting in a reaction that is primarily temperature dependent. Conversions at subcritical pressures of 4.2 MPa and 6.6 MPa were 81% and 75%, respectively. Pressure seemed to have little correlation to conversion in both regimes, and conversions were comparable between the two. Additionally, it was found that tall oil fatty acids react well with methanol to give comparable conversions at the relatively low molecular flow ratio of 5:1 methanol to tall oil. Both of these observations suggest that hydrolyzed triglycerides or free fatty acid feedstocks would make the primary high temperature biodiesel reaction and the subsequent separation and purification operations less expensive than was previously believed.     

Thermal stability of biodiesel in supercritical methanol

Non-catalytic biodiesel production technologies from oils/fats in plants and animals have been developed in our laboratory employing supercritical methanol. Due to conditions in high temperature and high pressure of the supercritical fluid, thermal stability of fatty acid methyl esters and actual biodiesel prepared from various plant oils was studied in supercritical methanol over a range of its condition between 270 °C/17 MPa and 380 °C/56 MPa. In addition, the effect of thermal degradation on cold flow properties was studied. As a result, it was found that all fatty acid methyl esters including poly-unsaturated ones were stable at 270 °C/17 MPa, but at 350 °C/43 MPa, they were partly decomposed to reduce the yield with isomerization from cis-type to trans-type. These behaviors were also observed for actual biodiesel prepared from linseed oil, safflower oil, which are high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids. Cold flow properties of actual biodiesel, however, remained almost unchanged after supercritical methanol exposure at 270 °C/17 MPa and 350 °C/43 MPa. For the latter condition, however, poly-unsaturated fatty acids were sacrificed to be decomposed and reduced in yield. From these results, it was clarified that reaction temperature in supercritical methanol process should be lower than 300 °C, preferably 270 °C with a supercritical pressure higher than 8.09 MPa, in terms of thermal stabilization for high-quality biodiesel production.     

Palm fatty acid biodiesel: process optimization and study of reaction kinetics

The relatively high cost of refined oils render the resulting fuels unable to compete with petroleum derived fuel. In this study, biodiesel is prepared from palm fatty acid (PFA) which is a by-product of palm oil refinery. The process conditions were optimized for production of palm fatty acid methyl esters. A maximum conversion of 94.4% was obtained using two step trans-esterification with 1:10 molar ratio of oil to methanol at 65°C. Sulfuric acid and Sodium hydroxide were used as acid and base catalyst respectively. The composition of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) obtained was similar to that of palm oil. The biodiesel produced met the established specifications of biodiesel of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The kinetics of the trans-esterification reaction was also studied and the data reveals that the reaction is of first order in fatty acid and methanol (MeOH) and over all the reaction is of second order.     

Synthesis of biodiesel from edible,non-edible and waste cooking oils via supercritical methyl acetate transesterification

The use of methyl acetate instead of methanol for supercritical synthesis of glycerol-free biodiesel from vegetable oils is a new process and its study is very limited in the literature. In this work, it has been tested for the first time on three edible and non-edible oils with different fatty acid composition. The process was also applied to waste oil with higher free fatty acid (FFA) content. The results demonstrate that the oil composition does not significantly influence the biodiesel yield.The influence of temperature, pressure and molar ratio of reactants was studied. All the oils achieved complete conversion after 50 min at 345 °C, 20 MPa with methyl acetate:oil molar ratio equal to 42:1. The obtained data also allowed calculating the apparent rate coefficients and activation energies.Eventually, some new information on the process was obtained. Thermal degradation of triacetin, which substitutes glycerol as the by-product of the transesterification reaction, was observed. Some indicative experiments were performed to understand the role of the acetic acid produced by FFA esterification.     

Biodiesel production from highly unsaturated feedstock via simultaneous transesterification and partial hydrogenation in supercritical methanol

In this study, a supercritical one-pot process combining transesterification and partial hydrogenation was proposed to test its technical feasibility. Simultaneous transesterification of soybean oil and partial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated compounds over Cu catalyst in supercritical methanol was performed at 320 °C and 20 MPa. Hydrogenation proceeded simultaneously during the transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical methanol, and hydrogenation occurred during the reaction despite the absence of hydrogen gas. The polyunsaturated methyl esters obtained in the biodiesel were mainly converted to monounsaturated methyl esters by partial hydrogenation. Key properties of the partially hydrogenated methyl esters were improved and complied with standard specifications for biodiesel.     

Conversion of waste cooking oil to biodiesel using ferric sulfate and supercritical methanol processes

In this comparative study, conversion of waste cooking oil to methyl esters was carried out using the ferric sulfate and the supercritical methanol processes. A two-step transesterification process was used to remove the high free fatty acid contents in the waste cooking oil (WCO). This process resulted in a feedstock to biodiesel conversion yield of about 85-96% using a ferric sulfate catalyst. In the supercritical methanol transesterification method, the yield of biodiesel was about 50-65% in only 15 min of reaction time. The test results revealed that supercritical process method is probably a promising alternative method to the traditional two-step transesterification process using a ferric sulfate catalyst for waste cooking oil conversion. The important variables affecting the methyl ester yield during the transesterification reaction are the molar ratio of alcohol to oil, the catalyst amount and the reaction temperature. The analysis of oil properties, fuel properties and process parameter optimization for the waste cooking oil conversion are also presented.     

Transesterification Catalysts from Iron Doped Hydrotalcite-like Precursors: Solid Bases for Biodiesel Production

Abstract Described are new solid base catalysts for transesterification of seed oil triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters, a key step in biodiesel production. These were prepared by substituting Fe3+ ions substitute for a fraction of the Al3+ ions in the Mg/Al layered double hydroxide lattices of hydrotalcites (HTC) and calcining to give porous metal oxides (PMOs). These iron-doped PMOs are much stronger bases than those derived from undoped or Ga3+ doped HTCs and are effective catalysts for the methanol transesterification of triacetin (glycerol triacetate) and of soybean oil. Graphical Abstract New solid base catalysts for transesterification of seed oil triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters, a key step in biodiesel production, were prepared by substituting Fe³⁺ for Al³⁺ cations in hydrotalcite (HTC) structures and calcining to give porous metal oxides.      

Biodiesel production using supercritical methanol/carbon dioxide mixtures in a continuous reactor

Fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) were produced by the transesterification of triglycerides with compressed methanol (critical point at 240 °C and 81 bar) in the presence of solid acids as heterogeneous catalyst (SAC-13). Addition of a co-solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide (critical point at 31 °C and 73 bar), increased the rate of the supercritical alcohols transesterification, making it possible to obtain high biodiesel yields at mild temperature conditions. Experiments were carried out in a fixed bed reactor, and reactions were studied at 150-205 °C, mass flow rate 6-24 ml/min at a pressure of 250 bar. The molar ratio of methanol to oil, and catalyst amount were kept constant (9 g). The reaction temperature and space time were investigated to determine the best way for producing biodiesel. The results obtained show that the observed reaction rate is 20 time faster than conventional biodiesel production processes. The temperature of 200 °C with a reaction time of 2 min were found to be optimal for the maximum (88%) conversion to methyl ester and the free glycerol content was found below the specification limits.     

Evidence of thermal decomposition of fatty acid methyl esters during the synthesis of biodiesel with supercritical methanol

New evidence on the thermal decomposition of fatty acid methyl esters during biodiesel synthesis in supercritical conditions is presented. Thermal decomposition products were detected chromatographically, by applying the UNE-EN 14105:2003 standard, as a broad single peak during the determination of glycerides in the reaction samples. These degradation products could be quantified chromatographically by the above standard because the area of the peak was proportional to the disappearance of the polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl esters, which contain two or more double bonds (methyl linoleate and linolenate), generated during biodiesel synthesis from soybean oil. In the experimental conditions tested, thermal decomposition reactions of these unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters began to appear at 300 °C/26 MPa, and were more intense as the temperature rose. For its part, the main saturated fatty acid methyl ester (methyl palmitate) generated during the reaction was hardly decomposed at all in the experimental conditions tested and only began to disappear at 350 °C/43 MPa.     

Simple, high-efficiency synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters from soapstock

We report a simple method that efficiently esterifies the fatty acids in soapstock, an inexpensive, lipid-rich by-product of edible oil production. The process involves (i) alkaline hydrolysis of all lipid-linked fatty acid ester bonds and (ii) acid-catalyzed esterification of the resulting fatty acid sodium salts. Step (i) completely saponified all glycerides and phosphoglycerides in the soapstock. Following water removal, the resulting free fatty acid sodium salts were rapidly and quantitatively converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) by incubation with methanol and sulfuric acid at 35°C and ambient pressure. Minimum molar reactant ratios for full esterification were fatty acids/methanol/sulfuric acid of 1∶30∶5. The esterification reaction was substantially complete within 10 min and was not inhibited by residual water contents up to ca. 10% in the saponified soapstock. The product FAME contained >99% fatty acid esters, 0% triglycerides, <0.05% diglycerides, <0.1% monoglycerides, and <0.8% free fatty acids. Free fatty acid levels were further reduced by washing with dilute sodium hydroxide. Free and total glycerol were <0.01 and <0.015%, respectively. The water content was <0.04%. These values meet the current specifications for biodiesel, a renewable substitute for petroleum-derived diesel fuel. The identities and proportions of fatty acid esters in the FAME reflected the fatty acid content of soybean lipids. Solids formed during the reaction contained 69.1% ash and 0.8% protein. Their sodium content indicated that sodium sulfate was the prime inorganic component. Carbohydrate was the predominant organic constituent of the solid.     

Sources of Methyl Ester Yield Reduction in Methanolysis of Recycled Vegetable Oil

Recycled vegetable oil (RVO) is a relatively cheap raw material for biodiesel production, but biodiesel grade methyl ester yields from RVO were found to be considerably lower than those from pure plant oil. The present paper investigates sources of yield loss during methanolysis of RVOs with free fatty acids (FFA) contents of 0.4–3.3%, and makes suggestions for the improvement of methyl ester yields. Data presented here indicated that yield losses of methyl esters during methanolysis were due to triglyceride and methyl ester hydrolysis and to the dissolution of methyl esters in the glycerol phase. Hydrolysis of triglycerides and methyl esters seemed to be the only side reaction causing yield losses, and the amount of fatty acids from hydrolysis increased with concentration of the potassium hydroxide catalyst. Dissolution of methyl esters in the glycerol phase was probably caused by the detergent effect of potassium salts of fatty acids originating from FFA in the RVO and from triglyceride hydrolysis, and the amount of dissolved methyl esters increased with FFA content of the RVO. The FFA content of the RVO had no effect on hydrolysis, and the amount of triglycerides and methyl esters hydrolysed during methanolysis remained constant with increasing FFA content of the RVO.     

Synthesis of biodiesel from soybean oil using supercritical methanol in a one-step catalyst-free process in batch reactor

The transesterification of soybean oil with supercritical methanol in a batch reactor with no added catalyst was investigated, studying the evolution of intermediate products (monoglycerides and diglycerides) as well as the conversion of triglycerides and the yield of fatty acid methyl esters and glycerol. Experiments were carried out in a temperature range of 250–350 °C (12–43 MPa) at reaction times of between 15 and 90 min for a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 43:1. The best reaction conditions in this one-step supercritical process (325 °C/35 MPa and 60 min), in which triglyceride conversion was practically total, led to a maximum yield of fatty acid methyl esters of 84%. In these conditions an 8.1 wt% of monoglycerides and diglycerides remained in the medium. Although the use of more severe reaction conditions (longer reaction times and higher temperatures) reduced the content of these glycerides, the yield of methyl esters decreased due to their thermal decomposition.     

Preparation of biodiesel from soybean oil using supercritical methanol and co-solvent

Transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical methanol has been carried out in the absence of catalyst. A co-solvent was added to the reaction mixture in order to decrease the operating temperature, pressure and molar ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil. With propane as co-solvent in the reaction system, there was a significant decrease in the severity of the conditions required for supercritical reaction, which makes the production of biodiesel using supercritical methanol viable as an industrial process. A high yield of methyl esters (biodiesel) was observed and the production process is environmentally friendly. Furthermore the co-solvent can be reused after suitable pretreatment.