Heterogeneous Catalysis in Biodiesel Production

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2019) | Viewed by 11297

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Universidade do Porto, FEUP, DEMM, LEPABE, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Interests: Biodiesel Production, Bioethanol production, Biogas production, Fate of biofuels, Recycling of metal bearing wastes, Recycling of rubber and plastic by-products and wastes, Waste Management, Refuse Derived Fuel

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biodiesel production presents without a doubt a relevant role to replace non-renewable fuels in the transport sector; and, despite other scientific advances, the most commonly used technology in the market employs an homogeneous catalysed chemical process to sinthesise alkyl esters from fatty acids, vegetable oils or fats of various origins.

Such process has several drawbacks associated to the high purity required for the reactants and the environmental and economic costs of product purification; however, the process prevails due to the high efficiency and low cost of the materials.

Great advances have been made and continue to be welcome in the biodiesel research field to establish sustainable heterogeneous catalysts which might result in environmental and economic gains as well as increased product quality and process efficiency.

This special issue will cover scientific work dedicated to make a difference in this field of research, focusing on greener and low cost processes, including:

  • The use of various low cost materials for the production of heterogeneous catalysts aiming biodiesel production;
  • Recent developments on biodiesel production from waste and low cost materials using heterogeneous catalysed processes;
  • Production and use of chemical and biological catalysts for the conversion of lipids aiming biodiesel production;
  • Commercial applications of heterogeneous cataslysts aiming biodiesel production.

Prof. Joana Dias
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biodiesel
  • heterogeneous catalysts
  • biocatalysts
  • low cost catalysts
  • esterification
  • transesterification
  • waste conversion

Published Papers (3 papers)

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14 pages, 1676 KiB  
Article
Alternative Raw Materials to Produce Biodiesel through Alkaline Heterogeneous Catalysis
by Edgar M. Sánchez Faba, Gabriel O. Ferrero, Joana M. Dias and Griselda A. Eimer
Catalysts 2019, 9(8), 690; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal9080690 - 15 Aug 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3623
Abstract
Recent research focuses on new biodiesel production and purification technologies that seek a carbon-neutral footprint, as well as cheap, renewable and abundant raw materials that do not compete with the demand for food. Then, many attractive alternatives arise due to their availability or [...] Read more.
Recent research focuses on new biodiesel production and purification technologies that seek a carbon-neutral footprint, as well as cheap, renewable and abundant raw materials that do not compete with the demand for food. Then, many attractive alternatives arise due to their availability or low-cost, such as used cooking oil, Jatropha oil (non-edible) or byproducts of vegetable oil refineries. Due to their composition and the presence of moisture, these oils may need a pretreatment to reach the established conditions to be used in the biodiesel production process so that the final product complies with the international quality standards. In this work, a solid catalyst based on 10 wt % sodium oxide supported on mesoporous silica SBA-15, was employed in the transesterification of different feedstocks (commercial sunflower and soybean oil, used cooking oil, acid oil from soapstock and Jatropha hieronymi oil) with absolute methanol in the following reaction conditions—2–8 wt % catalyst, 14:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 60 °C, vigorous magnetic stirring and 5 h of reaction. In this way, first- and second-generation biodiesel was obtained through heterogeneous catalysis with methyl ester yields between 52 and 97 wt %, depending on the free fatty acid content and the moisture content of the oils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heterogeneous Catalysis in Biodiesel Production)
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12 pages, 2493 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Enzymatic Hydroesterification of Low-Cost Feedstocks by Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy
by Mariana Cruz, Manuel Fonseca Almeida, Maria da Conceição Alvim-Ferraz and Joana Maia Dias
Catalysts 2019, 9(6), 535; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal9060535 - 15 Jun 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3785
Abstract
Enzymatic hydroesterification is a heterogeneous catalyzed process suitable for the conversion of low-cost feedstocks in biodiesel production, namely, because of its tolerance to high free fatty acid contents. The current study describes the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to monitor biodiesel [...] Read more.
Enzymatic hydroesterification is a heterogeneous catalyzed process suitable for the conversion of low-cost feedstocks in biodiesel production, namely, because of its tolerance to high free fatty acid contents. The current study describes the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to monitor biodiesel production using enzymatic hydroesterification and, as raw materials, acid oil from soapstock and olive pomace oil. Acid oil (~34 wt.% FFA) and olive pomace oil (~50 wt.% FFA) were first hydrolyzed (35 °C, 24 h, 200 rpm, 3 wt.% of lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus, and 1:0.5 water:oil ratio, w:w), and then enzymatic esterification was performed (35 °C, 7 h, 200 rpm, 2 wt.% of lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus, and 2:1 molar ratio of methanol to acid). FTIR analyses were conducted on the products using a Jasco FT/IR-4100 with a scanning range of 4000–650 cm−1 at 4 cm−1 spectral resolution and 54 scans. For free fatty acid (FFA) quantification, the C=O band at 1708 cm–1 was used, corresponding to the carboxylic acid, whereas for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) quantification, the peak corresponding to C=O at 1746 cm−1 was considered, which corresponded to the ester. The results were calibrated using volumetric titration and gas chromatography analyses, concerning FFA and FAME quantification, respectively. The best conditions for analysis were determined, and a calibration method was established. FTIR has shown to be a simple, fast, and clean technique suitable to monitor hydroesterification of low-cost feedstocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heterogeneous Catalysis in Biodiesel Production)
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12 pages, 6876 KiB  
Article
Biocatalytic Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Lipase-Immobilized Carbon Nanotubes for Biodiesel Production
by Lihui Wang, Xinlong Liu, Yanjun Jiang, Liya Zhou, Li Ma, Ying He and Jing Gao
Catalysts 2018, 8(12), 587; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal8120587 - 27 Nov 2018
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3512
Abstract
Biodiesel is a promising renewable energy source that can replace fossil fuel, but its production is limited by a lack of high-efficiency catalysts for mass production and popularization. In this study, we developed a biocatalytic Pickering emulsion using multiwall carbon nanotube-immobilized Candida antarctica [...] Read more.
Biodiesel is a promising renewable energy source that can replace fossil fuel, but its production is limited by a lack of high-efficiency catalysts for mass production and popularization. In this study, we developed a biocatalytic Pickering emulsion using multiwall carbon nanotube-immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB@PE) to produce biodiesel, with J. curcas L. seed oil and methanol as substrates. The morphology of CALB@PE was characterized in detail. A central composite design of the response surface methodology (CCD-RSM) was used to study the effects of the parameters on biodiesel yield, namely the amount of J. curcas L. seed oil (1.5 g), molar ratio of methanol to oil (1:1–7:1), CALB@PE dosage (20–140 mg), temperature (30–50 °C), and reaction time (0–24 h). The experimental responses were fitted with a quadratic polynomial equation, and the optimum reaction conditions were the methanol/oil molar ratio of 4.64:1, CALB@PE dosage of 106.87 mg, and temperature of 34.9 °C, with a reaction time of 11.06 h. A yield of 95.2%, which was basically consistent with the predicted value of 95.53%, was obtained. CALB@PE could be reused up to 10 times without a substantial loss of activity. CALB@PE exhibited better reusability than that of Novozym 435 in the process of biodiesel production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heterogeneous Catalysis in Biodiesel Production)
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