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

由于生物柴油是一种可再生能源，燃烧产生的空气污染物排放量少得多，目前作为石油柴油的替代品正引起人们的极大兴趣。目前，生物柴油的生产几乎完全依赖于优质、昂贵的原料转化，如纯植物油，从而导致生物柴油产品的价格居高不下。生物柴油的高价格可以通过使用含有高游离脂肪酸的低质量原料来降低，如废弃的食用油和动物脂肪。这种原料的价格通常要低得多，其可获得性不受干旱、早霜、歉收和生物害虫等作物生长变量的直接影响。然而，加工这种原料确实带来了技术挑战，因为在实际生产燃料之前，必须去除或预处理游离脂肪酸。本研究的最终目的是开发利用低成本、高游离脂肪酸含量的原料生产生物柴油的高效、低成本技术。这项拟议的研究将缓解甚至消除目前使用的催化过程的缺点。预期的研究成果包括优化设计和操作的最佳实践、用于生物柴油转化的创新高效反应器、新的催化剂回收工艺、材料选择和腐蚀控制指南以及节能战略。这将使酸催化生物柴油工艺在技术上和经济上成为高游离脂肪酸原料的可行性。研究成果将使当地社区、萨斯喀彻温省乃至整个加拿大受益。它们将有助于降低空气污染对人类健康的风险，建立当地的专业知识，增加高素质的人员，创造就业机会，提高废物回收利用和可再生能源利用的意识，最终帮助加拿大变得更可持续，更少依赖化石燃料。

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.