UNS: RUI: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Intermediates in Hydrocarbon Fuel Oil Produced from Brown Grease: Important Information for Scale Up to Commercial Production.

棕脂是脂肪、油和润滑脂的半固体混合物，在污水系统和污水处理厂中收集，必须收集和清除，以防止堵塞、溢出和设备损坏。每年大约有10亿到20亿加仑的垃圾，足以考虑将其回收为液体运输燃料，而不是将其焚烧，因为焚烧会产生温室气体。这个项目的目标是开发一种将棕色油脂转化为类似煤油的燃料的过程，使用一种称为低温热解的过程，在没有空气的情况下加热棕色油脂。研究表明，存在于棕色油脂中的微量金属，如铁，可能会促进反应过程，因此研究计划将侧重于确定整个过程中的哪些反应步骤是由这些金属催化的。拟议的研究将由纽约城市大学（CUNY）的Medgar Evers学院的一组本科生进行，这是一所少数民族服务机构。这项研究的好处包括增加非化石燃料的供应，减少温室气体排放，消除棕色油脂处理问题，以及在化学，能源和环境科学方面培训代表性不足的少数民族学生。该项目还有来自马来西亚和越南的国际合作者，他们有兴趣利用新技术解决各自国家类似的废气问题。与从植物油中提取的甘油三酯不同，棕色油脂主要是游离脂肪酸，因此不能进行均匀酯交换生成生物柴油。本研究的总体目标是对棕脂低温热解制线性烃的反应机理有一个基本的认识。据推测，该反应方案通过两步过程进行，即废液中的脂肪酸脱羧为酮中间体，然后脱氧为碳氢化合物。此外，假设存在于废基质中的可溶性铁或铜催化了其中一些反应。研究计划有三个目标。第一个目标是阐明从棕色油脂和废物基质模型混合物到碳氢化合物产品的主要反应途径。第二个目标是确定在棕色油脂中发现的主要金属如何催化这些反应。第三个目标是开发一个连续的反应过程，并评估基于棕色油脂的回收和转化为燃料的可持续能源概念所投资的能源的能源回报。实验方法将采用气相色谱-质谱法（GC-MS）、差示扫描量热法（DSC）和热重分析来表征反应体系。计算量子化学也将用于阐明反应机制，并帮助确定在反应混合物中观察到的某些化合物是副产物还是中间体。虽然研究的重点是棕色油脂，但研究成果有可能为游离脂肪酸化学转化为燃料开辟新的途径和基础认识。拟议的研究将由纽约城市大学（CUNY）的Medgar Evers学院的一组本科生进行，这是一所少数民族服务机构。

PI: Lawrence M. PrattProposal Number: 1507069Brown grease is a semi-solid mixture of fats, oils, and greases that collect in the sewage system and sewage treatment plants, and which must be collected and removed to prevent blockages, overflows, and damage to equipment. The volume of this waste, somewhere between one and two billion gallons per year, is sufficient to consider its recycling into liquid transportation fuel as opposed to incinerating it, which produces greenhouse gases. This goal of this project is develop a process to convert brown grease into a fuel similar to kerosene using a process called low-temperature pyrolysis, where the brown grease is heated up in absence of air. The research suggests that trace metals such as iron that are present in brown grease may promote the reaction process, and so the research plan will focus on determining which reaction steps in the overall process are catalyzed by these metals. The proposed research will be carried out by a team of undergraduate students at the Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (CUNY), which is a minority serving institution. Benefits of this research include increasing the supply of non-fossil fuels, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, elimination of brown grease disposal problems, and training of underrepresented minority students in chemistry, energy, and environmental science. This project also has international collaborators from Malaysia and Vietnam that are interested in using the new technology to solve similar waste steam problems in their respective countries.Unlike triglycerides extracted from vegetable oils, brown grease is predominantly free fatty acids, and so cannot undergo the homogeneous transesterification to biodiesel. The overall goal of the proposed research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the reaction mechanisms for the low-temperature pyrolysis of brown grease to linear hydrocarbons. It is hypothesized that the reaction scheme proceeds by a two-step process were fatty acids in the waste stream are decarboxylated to ketone intermediates and then deoxygenated to hydrocarbons. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that soluble iron or copper present in the waste matrix catalyzes some of these reactions. The research plan has three objectives. The first objective is to elucidate the major reaction pathways from brown grease and model mixtures of the waste matrix to hydrocarbon products. The second objective is to determine how the principal metals found in brown grease catalyze these reactions. The third objective is to develop a continuous reaction process and assess the energy return on energy invested for sustainable energy concepts based on recovery and conversion of brown grease to fuel. The experimental approach will employ gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis to characterize the reaction system. Computational quantum chemistry will also be used to elucidate the reaction mechanisms and to help determine whether some compounds observed in the reaction mixture are byproducts or intermediates. Although the research focuses on brown grease, the research outcomes have potential to develop new routes and fundamental understanding for the chemical conversion of free fatty acids to fuel. The proposed research will be carried out by a team of undergraduate students at the Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (CUNY), which is a minority serving institution.