Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil: 1. Process design and technological assessment.
Four different continuous process flowsheets for biodiesel production from virgin vegetable oil or waste cooking oil under alkaline or acidic conditions on a commercial scale were developed. Detailed operating conditions and equipment designs for each process were obtained. A technological assessment of these four processes was carried out to evaluate their technical benefits and limitations. Analysis showed that the alkali-catalyzed process using virgin vegetable oil as the raw material required the fewest and smallest process equipment units but at a higher raw material cost than the other processes. The use of waste cooking oil to produce biodiesel reduced the raw material cost. The acid-catalyzed process using waste cooking oil proved to be technically feasible with less complexity than the alkali-catalyzed process using waste cooking oil, thereby making it a competitive alternative to commercial biodiesel production by the alkali-catalyzed process.
Zhang
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Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ont. K1N 6N5, Canada.
Dubé
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MA
McLean
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Kates
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D002384:Catalysis; D003296:Cooking; D004951:Esterification; D005742:Gasoline / Q000191:economics; D005990:Glycerol; D006586:Hexanes; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D000432:Methanol; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000191:economics; D013672:Technology / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D014866:Waste Products / Q000191:economics; D014867:Water
D005742:Gasoline; D006586:Hexanes; D010938:Plant Oils; D014866:Waste Products; D014867:Water; D005990:Glycerol; D000432:Methanol