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Biodiesel Production from Recycled Grease Trap Waste: A Case Study in South Australia. Part 2: Optimization of The Transesterification Process
Author(s) -
Tran Nghiep N.,
McMurchie Edward J.,
Ngothai Yung
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemistryselect
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 34
ISSN - 2365-6549
DOI - 10.1002/slct.201800064
Subject(s) - transesterification , response surface methodology , biodiesel , grease , biodiesel production , central composite design , yield (engineering) , catalysis , ethanol , chemistry , materials science , methanol , organic chemistry , pulp and paper industry , nuclear chemistry , waste management , chemical engineering , chromatography , composite material , engineering
This study aimed to investigate the conversion of the pre‐treated oil, which was originally extracted from grease trap waste (GTW), to biodiesel via a transesterification reaction. The pre‐treated oil, which consists of approximately 80% free fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and 18% of glycerides, was obtained through the esterification of GTW reported in a previous study. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Central Composite Design (CCD) was applied to determine the optimum conditions for the transesterification reaction through four process variables, these being: the molar ratio of ethanol to oil, reaction time, reaction temperature, and base catalyst loading. A set of 30 experiments were conducted in duplicate to study the interactive effects of the above parameters on the ester yield. A maximum ester yield of 96.7% was obtained at the optimum conditions, which were: 4:1 ethanol to oil molar ratio, 1 hr reaction time, 65 °C reaction temperature, and 1 wt% KOH loading per oil weight. In order to reduce the excess ethanol used, a modification was applied to the experimental design of the transesterification reaction, resulting in a 30% reduction in ethanol used, while the same ester yield could be obtained.