SBIR Phase I: Novel Desulfur Processes for Producing Biodiesel from Grease Trap Waste

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将针对脂肪、油和油脂(棕色油脂)。从餐厅油污拦截器收集的废水中回收。它们含有游离脂肪酸(？FFA？)、甘油酯和相当数量的硫化物(肥皂、洗涤剂等)。因此，从下水道棕色润滑脂生产的粗制生物柴油的总硫浓度可能超过10000ppm？远高于生物柴油ASTM标准中规定的15ppm的限制。建议研究降低生物柴油中硫含量以达到ASTM标准的新的、经济的策略：(1)金属吸着剂吸附：使用金属吸着剂选择性地脱除生物柴油中的硫；(2)氧化-吸附：将硫化物氧化成可被粘土或二氧化硅轻松清除的亚砜和砜；以及(3)结合这两种方法进行深度降硫。这项研究的更广泛的商业影响是对废油脂流的有效修复。据估计，每年有超过40亿磅的棕色油脂被掩埋在垃圾填埋场或倾倒在废水处理厂--相当于5亿加仑的生物柴油。对废油脂流进行有效修复可产生年市场价值超过20亿美元的生物质增值供应，用于能源转换。将下水道棕色油脂转化为生物柴油，不仅可以减少环境污染，还可以创造就业机会，减少对外国石油的依赖。使用来自下水道棕色油脂的低硫生物柴油将减少SOx和温室气体排放。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will address fat, oil, and grease (?brown grease?) reclaimed out of the wastewater collected from restaurant grease interceptors. These contain free fatty acids (?FFA?), glycerides and a significant amount of sulfur compounds (soaps, detergents, etc.). Thus, crude biodiesel produced from sewer brown grease may have a total sulfur concentration greater than 10,000 ppm?well above the 15 ppm limit specified in the biodiesel ASTM standard. It is proposed to examine novel and economical strategies for reducing sulfur in crude biodiesel to meet its ASTM standard: (1) metal sorbent adsorption: using a metal sorbent for selective removal of sulfur out of biodiesel, (2) oxidation-adsorption: oxidizing sulfides to sulfoxides and sulfones, which could be facilely scavenged by clay or silica; and (3) the combination of these two methods for deep sulfur reduction.The broader/commercial impacts of this research are effective remediation of waste grease streams. It is estimated that each year, over 4 billion pounds of brown grease are buried at the landfill sites or dumped at wastewater treatment plants?which could equate to 500 million gallons of biodiesel. Effective remediation of waste grease streams could produce a value-added supply of biomass for energy conversion with an annual market value over $2 billion. Converting sewer brown grease into biodiesel will not only reduce environmental pollutions, but also create jobs and reduce reliance on foreign oils. The use of low-sulfur biodiesel from sewer brown grease will reduce SOx and greenhouse gas emissions.