Biodiesel process analysis and quality contril by FTIR spectroscopy

在NSERC战略项目赠款计划的可持续能源系统的目标领域内，NSERC确定的优先事项之一是生物质转化和副产品优化研究。本申请中提出的研究旨在解决这一问题，重点是基于傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱的应用，开发生物柴油原料分析、过程监控和最终产品质量评估的方法。虽然生物柴油通常被认为是用废弃的烹饪油和植物油来驱动发动机，但这些油的粘度太高，大多数柴油喷射器系统无法有效地雾化。因此，生物柴油通常由脂肪酸甲酯组成，所述脂肪酸甲酯通过源自植物、动物或海洋来源的脂肪和油的三酰基甘油与甲醇的酯交换而产生。用于生物柴油生产的三酰甘油来源广泛，包括生物质、植物油、妥尔油、用过的食用油或提炼的脂肪。因此，生物柴油行业面临的挑战之一是将高度可变的原料转化为符合生物柴油性能标准的一致产品。在拟议的研究计划中，将与加拿大润滑油配方/技术公司（Thermal-Lube Inc.）和加拿大主要的生物柴油生产商（Rothsay），申请人开发的用于分析润滑油和食用油的FTIR方法将适用于评估生物柴油原料和产品的质量和物理化学特性，以及监测将一种转化为另一种的过程。这些新方法将在Thermal-Lube设计的自动化仪器上实施，并将在Rothsay的生物柴油生产设施中进行评估。该项目的成功完成将通过为监测生物柴油生产和产品质量控制提供快速、多功能和具有成本效益的分析工具，支持新兴生物柴油行业的发展。将向美国材料与试验协会提出所开发的FTIR方法，作为促进满足生物柴油标准的新程序。

Within the target area of Sustainable Energy Systems of the NSERC Strategic Project Grants program, one ofthe priorities that NSERC has identified is research on Biomass Conversion and Co-Product Optimization. Theresearch proposed in this application addresses this topic by focusing on the development of methodology forthe analysis of biodiesel feedstocks, process monitoring and quality assessment of end products based on theapplication of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Although biodiesel is commonly viewed asrunning engines on waste cooking and vegetable oils, the viscosity of such oils is too high for them to beeffectively atomized by most diesel injector systems. Thus, biodiesel generally consists of fatty acid methylesters produced by transesterification of triacylglycerols derived from fats and oils of plant, animal or marineorigin with methanol. A wide variety of sources of triacylglycerols are used for biodiesel production, includingbiomass, vegetable oil, tall oil, used cooking oils or rendered fats. Thus, one of the challenges to be met by thebiodiesel industry is to convert highly variable feedstocks into consistent products that meet the performancestandards for biodiesel. In the proposed research program, which will be undertaken in collaboration with aCanadian lubricant formulation/technology company (Thermal-Lube Inc.) and a major Canadian biodieselproducer (Rothsay), FTIR methods that the applicant has developed for the analysis of lubricants and edibleoils will be adapted to assess the quality and physicochemical characteristics of both biodiesel feedstocks andproducts as well as to monitor the processes that convert one into the other. These new methodologies will beimplemented on automated instrumentation designed by Thermal-Lube and will be evaluated in Rothsay'sbiodiesel production facility. The successful completion of this project will support the growth of the emergingbiodiesel sector by providing a rapid, versatile, and cost-effective analytical tool for monitoring biodieselproduction and for quality control of its products. The FTIR methods developed will be proposed to theAmerican Society of Testing and Materials as new procedures to facilitate meeting biodiesel standards.