Development of high-efficiency acid-catalyzed process for biodiesel production from high free fatty acid feedstock

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Biodiesel is presently gaining a great deal of interest as an alternative to petroleum diesel since it is a renewableenergy source of which the combustion contributes to much less emissions of air pollutants. It can easily beused by itself or as a blend with petroleum diesel in unmodified diesel engines and in a variety of applications.Today, the production of biodiesel relies almost exclusively on the conversion of high quality and expensivefeedstock, such as virgin vegetable oil, thus leading to high price of biodiesel product. The high price ofbiodiesel could be reduced by using low quality feedstock that has high free fatty acid contents, such as wastecooking oil and animal fat. Such feedstock is typically much less expensive and its availability is not directlyaffected by crop growing variables, such as drought, early frost, poor harvest and biological pests. However,processing this feedstock does present a technical challenge since the free fatty acids must be removed orpreconditioned prior to the actual fuel production. The ultimate objective of this proposed research is todevelop high-efficiency and cost-effective technologies for biodiesel production from low-cost feedstock withhigh free fatty acid contents. The proposed research will alleviate or even eliminate shortcomings ofacid-catalyzed process currently used. Anticipated research outcomes are best practices for optimal design andoperation, an innovative high-efficiency reactor for biodiesel conversion, a new catalyst recovery process,guidelines on material selections and corrosion control, and energy saving strategy. These would make theacid-catalyzed biodiesel process technically and economically viable for high free fatty acid feedstock. Theresearch outcomes would benefit local community, the province of Saskatchewan and also Canada at large.They would help reduce risk to human health due to air pollution, build local expertise, increase highlyqualified personnel, create jobs, raise an awareness of waste recycle & utilization and renewable energyutilization, and ultimately help Canada to become more sustainable and less dependent on fossil fuels.