Biodiesel:

Methods and energy processing

Daniel Geller – UGA Engineering Outreach
http://www.engr.uga.edu/service/outreach
Biodiesel – an established technology

• Studied since 1980s – solved issue of oil viscosity

reduction in oils.
• Established production methods and
standardization ASTM D 6751 (2001).
 Biodiesel Production
Simple to make right - Biodiesel is made by the
Difficult
transesterification of vegetable oils

O O
C R1 and OILS
C OFATS Me O C R C OH
BIODIESEL
1
O catalyst O +
+ KOH
C O C R2 + 3MeOH Me O C R2 + C OH
ALCOHOL GLYCEROL
O O
C O C R3 Me O C R3 C OH
Triglyceride Methanol Methyl Ester Glycerol
(fats and oils) (alcohol) (Biodiesel)
 Biodiesel Production
Simple to make

Tank 1 mix Tank 2 add Allow tank to Tank 3 wash

alcohol and tank 1 settle, decant with water
catalyst mixture to oil. bottom settle, decant
Mix and heat glycerol layer bottom water
layer - repeat
 Biodiesel Production
Simple to make, difficult to make right
Reversible?

SOAP?

How Much? How Long? Centrifuge?

How Many
Tank 1 mix Tank 2 add Allow tank to Tank 3 wash Times?
alcohol and tank 1 settle, decant with water
catalyst mixture to oil. bottom settle, decant
Mix and heat glycerol layer bottom water
How Much? layer - repeat
How Fast? How Hot? How Long? Adsorbent?
 Petroleum vs. Soybean Oil 2007-2008

Soybean Oil Price 3X

Petroleum Price 2X
 Used oils = Low Quality Oils
Used oils have been exposed to
degrading conditions
ƒ Contaminants
ƒ Water
ƒ Heat Cycling
Such conditions result in low
quality oils
ƒ Contamination
ƒ Increased water content
ƒ Increased free fatty acid
content
 Used vs. Virgin Oil
Used oil advantages
ƒ Technology exists to
convert low quality oils to
some extent.
ƒ Feedstock is less
expensive than refined,
virgin oils.
ƒ Feedstock can be 70-85% of
production cost.
ƒ Can collect small amounts
locally at low cost.
Used oil disadvantages
ƒ Capital costs can be
around 2X cost of virgin oil
systems
ƒ Feedstock requires
expensive clean-up and
pre-treatment.
ƒ Can be >2X cost of normal
conversion
ƒ Competition from local
renderers.
 Viable Systems
Municipal Production
ƒ Municipal oil collection combined with on-site production
of biodiesel from used oil
ƒ Reduces incidence of sanitary sewer overflows (SSO)
ƒ Example: Hoover, AL

On-site Food Processing Facility Production

ƒ Food processing operations can collect oil before it has
been degraded or sold to renderer
ƒ On-site collection, conversion, utilization
 US Petroleum Consumption vs.
Possible Oilseed Oil Production
350 317.81

300
Billion Gallons per Year

250

200

150

100
63.85

50
5.14 0.29
0
Petroleum Diesel Possible Soybean Possible Peanut
Consumption Consumption Oil Production Oil Production
Data from: USDA (http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/field/pcp-bban/cropan05.txt)
DOE - Energy Information Administration (http://www.eia.doe.gov)
 Other Possible Feedstocks

Tropical: Southeast:
• Palm • Poultry Fat
• Jatropha • Peanuts
Emerging: • Oilseed Radish
• Sunflower Unique:
• Mustard • Cupeha
• Camelina • Castor
Algae - Potential
• High oil yield potential
• Over 50% oil by mass
• Predicted oil yields of
5000-20000 gal/acre
• Soy only 50-100
gal/acre
• Photosynthetic: Only
needs light and CO2
for oil production
 Algae – Obstacles: Growth
• Must stress algae for
max oil output
• Limitations in
space/light/doubling
time
• 1000s of species:
Optimum oil producers
are not always optimal
for growth
Algae – Obstacles: Extraction
• Unique Cell Wall –
must be disrupted
• Immersion in water,
complicates oil
extraction
• Traditional extraction
methods do not work
 Algae – Obstacles: Conversion
• Secondary
metabolites from
stressed growth inhibit
transesterification
• Oil soluble proteins
precipitate with
addition of MeOH
 Oilseed Radish
(Raphinus sativus)

– Cool season cover crop

– Traditionally used to protect
and enhance soil
– Low-input crop;
drought/disease resistant
– Normally plowed under at
the end of cool season with
no seed collection
 Oilseed Radish
Renewable feedstock
potential
9Very low input: high oil
yield/dollar ratio
9Replaces Carbon in Soil
9Biodiesel has + energy
balance
9Grown on marginal land
9Non-food crop
 Oilseed Radish
Other Benefits
9Agronomic Benefits
ƒ Pathogen Control
ƒ Erosion Control

9Economic Enhancement
ƒ Possibility to get two
crops/year in GA plus
primary cash crop
ƒ Secondary income
source; not primary cash
crop
 Oilseed Radish:
State of Research
– Seed has been obtained
and crushed using
inexpensive extruder
– Cold crush yielded 30% oil
without solvent
– Oil fuel properties analyzed
– Oil converted to Biodiesel
– Meal evaluated as animal
feed
 Oilseed Radish:
Economics
– Currently growing oilseed
radish in Dawson, GA.
– Current stands thriving with
only fertilizer+seed+labor
inputs
– Added economic benefits:
nematode control, erosion
control, nitrogen scavenging
– Non-edible oil (high erucic
acid) may keep oil out of
commodity markets
 Poultry Fat
– Southeast is large producer
of poultry
– Historically, value of poultry
fat is quite low ~$.12/lb
– 2003: UGA researchers
examine fuel properties of
poultry fat
– Poultry fat developed as
boiler fuel at UGA
– US Biofuels in Rome, GA
successfully utilizes poultry
fat as Biodiesel feedstock
 Poultry Fat -
Sustainability

9By-product
• reduced cost
• land use = N/A
• Low quality oils ≠ Food

9Energy Balance = ?
9Carbon Balance = ?
Poultry Fat - Research
– Development of simple
screening methods for the
identification of potential fuel
feedstock streams
– Development of advanced
mechanical methods for the
recovery of fats from waste
streams
– Use of recovered waste
streams as boiler fuel and
Biodiesel feedstocks
 Poultry Fat - Research

– Development of multi-phase
processing techniques to
treat high FFA materials (in
conjunction with GA Tech)
– Development of solid state
acidic and basic catalyst
systems to develop semi-
continuous conversion
system
 Expansion to Food
Processing Industry
– Methods developed for
poultry industry can be
applied to any producer of
waste fats and greases
– Current screening of multiple
food processing facility
waste streams in Georgia
– Development of the Georgia
Biofuel feedstock database
 Expansion to Food
Processing Industry
– Food processing streams
reveal relatively high quality
oil streams going to by-
products (pet food, etc.)
– Capture of waste streams
proving to be relatively easy
as in house aggregation is
common
 Glycerine – Potential Uses

• Animal Feed
• Boiler Fuel
• Feedstock for
chemical
Production
- Propylene Glycol
 Daniel Geller
dgeller@engr.uga.edu
http://www.engr.uga.edu/service/outreach