Recovery of oil from palm oil mill effluent using polypropylene micro/nanofiber

Residual palm oil that goes into the river untreated can become detrimental to the environment. Residual oil discharge during milling process into palm oil mill effluent (POME) is unavoidable. About 1 wt% of residual oil in POME causes major problems to the mills, in terms of environment, wastewater treatment and economy losses. This paper reports the recovery of residual oil from POME by adsorption on polypropylene micro/nanofiber (PP-MNF) and desorption of oil by hands pressing, and oil extraction from the PP-MNF using solvent and supercritical-CO2 extraction techniques. The characterization of the PP-MNF and the quality of oil extracted were analyzed using analytical instruments. The reusability of the PP-MNF was also investigated. The experimental results showed the adsorption capacity of the PP-MNF was 28.65 g of oil/g of PP-MNF on average using refined palm oil, whilst recovery of oil from POME was 10.93 g of oil/g of PP-MNF. The extraction yield of oil from PP-MNF using hand pressing was 89.62%. The extraction of residual oil from the pressed PP-MNF showed comparable yield between solvent and supercritical CO2 techniques. The quality of recovered oil was similar with the quality of the crude oil, and no trace of polypropylene contamination was detected in the oil recovered. The PP-MNF showed no significant physical change after the extraction process. In conclusion, the PP-MNF has great potential to be used commercially in residual oil recovery from POME

Esterification of residual palm oil using solid acid catalyst derived from rice husk

In this study, carbon-silica based acid catalysts derived from rice husks (RH) were successfully synthesised using microwave (MW) technology. The results showed that MW sulphonation produced Sulphur (S) content of 17.2–18.5 times higher than in raw RH. Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) showed peak at 1035 cm−1 which corresponded to O˭S˭O stretching of sulphonic (-SO3H) group. XRD showed sulfonated RH catalysts (SRHCs) have amorphous structure, and through SEM, broadening of the RH voids and also formation of pores is observed. RH600 had the highest surface area of 14.52 m2/g. SRHCs showed high catalytic activity for esterification of oleic acid with methanol with RH600 had the highest initial formation rate (6.33 mmol L−1 min−1) and yield (97%). The reusability of the catalyst showed gradually dropped yield of product for every recycle, which might be due to leaching of –SO3H. Finally, esterification of oil recovered from palm oil mill effluent (POME) with methanol achieved a conversion of 87.3% free fatty acids (FFA) into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)

Production of soap from sesamum indicum (sesame seed)

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seed is the oldest oil seed crop and the highest content of fats and oils among other seeds oil. The fats and oils of sesame contain good proteins and vitamins for body health and food. This research presents the study of soap from undehulled (coated) and dehulled sesame seed oil which derived from a soxhlet extraction method. Different treats of sesame seed were exposed to experiment that determine the value of physiochemical, such as saponification value (SV), acid value (AV), iodine value (IV), free fatty acid value (FFA) and peroxide value (PV). Sesame oils were saponified with two types of alkali which sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) to give a solid and liquid soap, respectively. The analysis of the soap was carried out to determine the pH value, foam height, colour in solution, and solubility in water and foam structure. Further analysis of the soap was testing with a dirty cloth, hand washing and laboratory glassware. Results from the analysis were exposed that sesame seed can produce either solid or liquid soap with high of conditioning agent. Dehulled oil has saponification value of 186.5 mg KOH/ g, acid value of 109.4 g I2/100g, peroxide value of 14.8 meq H2O2/g, and free fatty acid value of 49.3 % (oleic) and undehulled seed oil has values 210.4 mg KOH/ g, 1.34 g I2/100g, 106.3 meq H2O2/g, 8 and 39.48 % (Oleic), respectively. In conclusion, the objective of this study is achieved where sesame seed soap can be established, whether from undehulled or dehulled oil. In future, sesame oil is potentially to use as an oil foundation in making soa

EFFECT OF PROCESS PARAMETERS ON REMOVAL OF OIL FROM POME USING POLYPROPYLENE MICRO/NANOFIBER

In the present study, the effectiveness of the micro/nanofiber to adsorb oil was evaluated by varying the process parameters such as oil concentration, time, weight of micro/nanofiber and temperature. The reusability of the micro/nanofiber was also studied. The results showed that the oil adsorption capacity of the micro/nanofiber using refined palm oil was 29.4. The oil adsorption process found that increasing on oil concentration, weight of micro/nanofiber and contact time showed increasing in oil removal (%), but increasing in temperature showed reduction in oil removal (%). The performance of micro/nanofiber in oil removal after pressing technique were decreased. However, solvent washing helps to regenerate the micro/nanofiber and increased the oil removal performance. Therefore, it was concluded that the polypropylene micro/nanofiber had been demonstrated to be effective in removing oil from POME

RECOVERY OF RESIDUAL OIL FROM PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT USING POLYPROPYLENE NANOFIBER: A FIELD TRIAL

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is an inevitable by-product of palm oil industry that challenges the engineering solutions for its complexity and recalcitrance in nature. This paper reports a new approach to solve the POME pollution, through the recovery of residual oil as opposed to the elimination approach. A field trial of this approach was successfully carried out in a local palm oil mill in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. The recovery of oil was done using novel polypropylene nanofiber (NF) placed in a sludge pit before the treatment pond. NF was packed in flat sheets of wire mesh and bulk bundles, submerged in the POME stream with 5, 6, 7, 15 hours contact times. Saturated NF was removed from pit and oil was desorbed by manual roller press. It recovered 12.19 g of oil/ g NF in 33.75 hours cycle. The recovered oil contained 77% oil content and FFA of 25.05. GC-FID study of the recovered oil indicated no trace of polypropylene contamination. The NF exhibited oil recovery efficiency of 0.06% using 6.7kg of NF. The efficiency is expected to be significantly enhanced if the POME-NF contact is improved as well as the pressing technique. It can fundamentally change the landscape of POME treatment into sustainable, profitable and economical one