FUEL

FUEL (incl. Biogas, Biodiesel, Biomass

energy, Ethanol etc.)
NPARR 3(3), 2012-0272, Efficacy of gossypol as
an antioxidant additive in biodiesel
The efficacy of gossypol as an antioxidant
additive in fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs)
prepared from soybean oil (SME), waste cooking
oil (WCME) and technical grade methyl oleate
(MO) was investigated. Gossypol is a naturally
occurring polyphenolic aldehyde with antioxidant
properties isolated from cottonseed that is toxic
to humans and animals. At treatment levels of
250 and 500 ppm, gossypol exhibited statistically
significant improvements in the induction periods
(IPs; EN 14112) of SME, WCME and MO.
Efficacy was most pronounced in SME, which
was due to its higher concentration of
endogenous tocopherols (757 ppm) versus
WCME (60 ppm) and MO (0 ppm). A
comparison of antioxidant efficacy was made
with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and tocopherol. For FAMEs with low concentrations
of endogenous tocopherols (WCME and MO), tocopherol exhibited the greatest efficacy,
although treatments employing BHT and
gossypol also yielded statistically significant
improvements to oxidative stability. In summary,
gossypol was effective as an exogenous
antioxidant for FAMEs investigated herein. In
particular, FAMEs containing a comparatively
high percentage of endogenous tocopherols were
especially suited to gossypol as an antioxidant
additive [Bryan R. Moser* (Bio-Oils Research
Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization
Research, Agricultural Research Service, United
States Department of Agriculture, 1815 N.
University St., Peoria, IL 61604, USA),
Renewable Energy, 2012, 40(1), 65-70].
NPARR 3(3), 2012-0273, Potential of five plants
growing on unproductive agricultural lands as
biodiesel resources
due

Fossil fuels are being heavily depleted

to increasing anthropogenic activities

151

worldwide, and burning them contributes to

global climate warming and air pollution.
Vegetable oils are one of the main feedstocks for
biodiesel: they are non-toxic and environmentally
friendly. Rising global population, decreasing
arable lands and a decline in crop yields from
desertification and salinization demands that
biodiesel feedstock be grown on unproductive
agricultural lands. To estimate whether five
plants growing on such land in China could be
used as energy plants, we determined their seed
oil content (SOC) and relative fatty acid content,
and estimated the cetane number (CN) of the
biodiesel produced from these plant oils by a
fitted regression between different C18 fatty
acids and CN. Results showed that four plants
can be developed as energy plants, including
Datura candida (SOC=22.9%, CN=0.8),
Xanthium sibiricum (SOC=41.9%, CN=46.5),
Kosteletzkya
pentacarpos
(SOC=18.6%,
CN=45.9) and Hibiscus trionum (SOC=17.5%,
CN=46.9). The fifth plant, Rhus typhina, was not
adapted as an energy plant because of its low
SOC, 9.7%. Our data provide a scientific basis
for growing energy plants in unproductive
agricultural lands as biodiesel resources [ChengJiang Ruan*, Wei-He Xing and Jaime A. Teixeira
da Silva (Key Laboratory of Biotechnology &
Resources Utilization, Dalian Nationalities
University, Dalian 116600, China), Renewable
Energy, 2012, 41, 191-199].
NPARR 3(3), 2012-0274, Production potential
of biogas in sugar and ethanol plants for use in
urban buses in Brazil
Brazil is one of the major producers of
ethanol and sugar in the world. Ethanol has been
used as a renewable fuel in passenger vehicles,
decreasing the levels of pollution in big cities like
So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. On the other hand,
sugarcane ethanol plants produce a waste of
vinasse, which is used as organic fertilizer in
cane plantations which causes soil and water
contamination. The anaerobic digestion treatment

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NAT PROD RESOUR REPOS, VOL. 3, NO. 3, 2012

can be used to reduce the pollution vinasse and,

concomitantly, to increase the production of
biogas. This essay intended to reflect/discuss
about the potential of biogas production from the
anaerobic digestion of vinasse in Brazil, and the
availability of its use in urban buses as gas fuel.
Brazilian urban buses are using natural gas as
fuel in big cities like Rio de Janeiro, but diesel
prevails in most of the cities, and biogas can be
important to reduce the dependence of a
nonrenewable fuel in the country. The national
potential for biogas production from vinasse

could replace 50% of the urban bus fleet in

Brazil. A big ethanol production plant has
autonomy to supply 788 buses per day [Samuel
Nelson Melegari de Souza*, Augustinho Borsoi,
Reginaldo Ferreira Santos, Deonir Secco,
Elisandro Pires Frigo and Marcelo Jos da Silva
(State University of West of Paran - Graduate
Program, Master Energy in Agriculture. Rua
Universitria, 2069, CEP 85.819- 130, Bairro
Faculdade, Cascavel, PR, Brazil), Journal of
Food, Agriculture & Environment, 2012, 10(1),
908-910].