title: Biofuel production from palm oil with supercritical alcohols: effects of the alcohol to oil molar ratios on the biofuel chemical composition and properties.
abstract: Biofuel production from palm oil with supercritical methanol (SCM) and supercritical ethanol (SCE) at 400 °C and 15 MPa were evaluated. At the optimal alcohol to oil molar ratios of 12:1 and 18:1 for the SCM and SCE processes, respectively, the biofuel samples were synthesized in a 1.2-L reactor and the resulting biofuel was analyzed for the key properties including those for the diesel and biodiesel standard specifications. Biofuel samples derived from both the SCM and SCE processes could be used as an alternative fuel after slight improvement in their acid value and free glycerol content. The remarkable advantages of this novel process were: the additional fuel yield of approximately of 5% and 10% for SCM and SCE, respectively; the lower energy consumption for alcohol preheating, pumping and recovering than the biodiesel production with supercritical alcohols that use a high alcohol to oil molar ratio of 42:1.
authors.affiliation: Fuels Research Center, Department of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
authors.forename: Ruengwit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sawangkeaw
authors.forename: Sunsanee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teeravitud
authors.forename: Kunchana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bunyakiat
authors.forename: Somkiat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ngamprasertsith
mesh_terms: D000438:Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000032:analysis*; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry; D000073878:Palm Oil; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013696:Temperature; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D056804:Biofuels; D004952:Esters; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010938:Plant Oils; D014280:Triglycerides; D000431:Ethanol; D000073878:Palm Oil; D000432:Methanol