title: Biodiesel production from wet municipal sludge: evaluation of in situ transesterification using xylene as a cosolvent.
abstract: This study proposes a method to produce biodiesel from wet wastewater sludge. Xylene was used as an alternative cosolvent to hexane for transesterification in order to enhance the biodiesel yield from wet wastewater sludge. The water present in the sludge could be separated during transesterification by employing xylene, which has a higher boiling point than water. Xylene enhanced the biodiesel yield up to 8.12%, which was 2.5 times higher than hexane. It was comparable to the maximum biodiesel yield of 9.68% obtained from dried sludge. Xylene could reduce either the reaction time or methanol consumption, when compared to hexane for a similar yield. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) content of the biodiesel increased approximately two fold by changing the cosolvent from hexane to xylene. The transesterification method using xylene as a cosolvent can be applied effectively and economically for biodiesel recovery from wet wastewater sludge without drying process.
authors.affiliation: Program in Environmental Technology and Policy, Korea University, Sejong 339-700, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: O K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Korea University, Sejong 339-700, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Program in Environmental Technology and Policy, Korea University, Sejong 339-700, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Korea University, Sejong 339-700, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jaewoo@korea.ac.kr.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D056804:Biofuels / Q000032:analysis*; D004951:Esterification; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014992:Xylenes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012722:Sewage; D012997:Solvents; D014992:Xylenes
keywords: Biodiesel; Cosolvent; In situ transesterification; Wet wastewater sludge; Xylene