STTR Phase I: Low-Cost Biodiesel Production via Novel Esterification and Transesterification Catalysts

STTR 第一阶段：通过新型酯化和酯交换催化剂生产低成本生物柴油

• 批准号: 0711652
• 负责人: Rong Jiang
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Midwest Energy Group Incorporated
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-07-01 至 2008-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0711652&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Low; Cost; Biodiesel

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project develops methods for the use of novel esterification and transesterification catalysts to cut the cost of biodiesel production which have become a critical bottleneck for greater biodiesel use. At the current time, biodiesel is produced through a transesterification catalytic process and the catalyst employed is sensitive to water and free fatty acids (FFA). As a consequence, biodiesel producers have to purchase expensive equipments to remove water and FFA from the feedstocks which lowers the yields of biodiesel production. This research develops a novel transesterification catalyst that can tolerate water, FFA and a second esterification catalyst to directly convert unwanted FFA into biodiesel. The broader impacts of this work are: (1) cutting the cost of biodiesel production due to improved production yields and the adoption of high-volume, continuous production of biodiesel; (2) potentially expanding the range of biodiesel feedstock selections to allow much cheaper inedible animal fats and recycled cooking oils, all of which contain significant amounts of FFA; and (3) finally, enabling the wider use of biodiesel to reduce our reliance on crude oil imports, support local agricultural economies, and provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to non-renewable fossil-fuel energy sources.

这个小企业技术转让研究（STTR）第一阶段项目开发了使用新型酯化和酯交换催化剂的方法，以降低生物柴油生产的成本，这已经成为生物柴油使用的关键瓶颈。 目前，生物柴油是通过酯交换催化工艺生产的，所用催化剂对水和游离脂肪酸（FFA）敏感。 因此，生物柴油生产商不得不购买昂贵的设备来从原料中去除水和FFA，这降低了生物柴油生产的产率。 本研究开发了一种新型的酯交换催化剂，可以耐受水，FFA和第二酯化催化剂，直接将不需要的FFA转化为生物柴油。 这项工作的更广泛的影响是：（1）由于提高了产量和采用大批量连续生产生物柴油，降低了生物柴油生产的成本;（2）可能扩大生物柴油原料的选择范围，以允许更便宜的不可食用动物脂肪和回收食用油，所有这些都含有大量的FFA;最后，更广泛地使用生物柴油，以减少我们对原油进口的依赖，支持当地农业经济，并为不可再生的化石燃料能源提供更环保的替代品。