Optimizing mixture properties of biodiesel production using genetic algorithm-based evolutionary support vector machine

Nowadays, biodiesel is used as one of the alternative renewable energy due to the increasing energy demand. However, optimum production of biodiesel still requires a huge number of expensive and time-consuming laboratory tests. To address the problem, this research develops a novel Genetic Algorithm-based Evolutionary Support Vector Machine (GA-ESIM). The GA-ESIM is an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based tool that combines K-means Chaotic Genetic Algorithm (KCGA) and Evolutionary Support Vector Machine Inference Model (ESIM). The ESIM is utilized as a supervised learning technique to establish a highly accurate prediction model between the input--output of biodiesel mixture properties; and the KCGA is used to perform the simulation to obtain the optimum mixture properties based on the prediction model. A real biodiesel experimental data is provided to validate the GA-ESIM performance. Our simulation results demonstrate that the GA-ESIM establishes a prediction model with better accuracy than other AI-based tool and thus obtains the mixture properties with the biodiesel yield of 99.9%, higher than the best experimental data record, 97.4%

Catalyst free production of partial glycerides: acetone as solvent

Glycerolysis of sunflower oil was studied using acetone as the solvent. Reactions were carried out at 200 to 250 �C without the need of conventional catalyst. The use of acetone in glycerolysis of oil allowed the reaction to be carried out at 250 �C and 1.8 MPa, resulting in a product that comprises 4.5% solketal, 5.8% FFA, 49.2% MG, 33.5% DG and 7% TG in 2 h. The important parameters investigated in this study were acetone addition, stirring and reactor loading. This new approach in the synthesis of partial glycerides (monoglycerides and diglycerides) avoids the use of chemical catalyst, thus avoiding unnecessary wastewater production. The partial glycerides produced may be utilized in may areas of food and pharmaceutical industries. Moreover the use of acetone as solvent allows the process to be carried out at lower operating pressures compared to other non-catalytic glycerolysis and at the same time co-produces solketal, having a wide application in fuels, pharmaceuticals and chemical synthesi

Taguchi Method and Grey Relational Analysis to Improve in Situ Production of FAME from Sunflower and Jatropha curcas Kernelswith Subcritical Solvent Mixture

This study investigates the possibility of employing in situ (trans)esterification (ISTE) under the subcritical condition (200–250 °C) of the solvent mixture (methanol + acetic acid) with a high solid loading and a low solvent to solid ratio (SSR). The Taguchi method together with grey relational analysis was used to improve both FAME yield and productivity. It was found that temperature reaction time and SSR were factors which contributed the most in obtaining high FAME yields. In addition to the above-mentioned factors the addition of acetic acid also significantly improved the productivity. Employing the following conditions: 250 °C; 8.8 MPa; 3–7 mL/g SSR; 10 % acetic acid was found to provide an improved FAME yield and productivity. A confirmatory test resulted in a FAME yield of 87.5–92.7 % for sunflower kernels and 88.2–97.22 % for Jatropha curcas L. kernels and productivity up to 37.5 kg/m 3 /h can be obtained with good repeatability. Furthermore, the process developed in this study can tolerate moisture and a free fatty acid content of up to 25 %. The direct application of the method using whole kernels was also investigated

A new approach in maximizing and direct utilization of whole Jatropha curcas L. kernels in biodiesel production – technological improvement

The direct (trans)esterification of whole Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) kernels in subcritical solvent mixture of water, methanol and acetic acid was explored. A high fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of 96.56% could be achieved at a solvent (water: acetic acid: methanol ¼ 1:5:15, v/v/v) to solid ratio of 7 cm3 g�1. The reaction mixture was pressurize with carbon dioxide and reacted for 1 h at 523 K and 12.5 MPa. Qualitative tests on the recovered polar fractions of the product were found to have radical scavenging activities. The characteristics of the spent kernel residues were also studied. The method employed in this study provides an alternative approach to better utilize JCL kernels and cut down the number of production steps

Subcritical water and dilute acid pretreatments for bioethanol production from Melaleuca leucadendron shedding bark

Subcritical water and dilute acid pretreatments for bioethanol production from Melaleuca leucadendron shedding bar

Transesterification of soybean oil with menthanol and acetic acid at lower reaction severity under subcritical conditions

Soybean oil (56–80 g) was reacted with methanol (40–106 mL) to produce fatty acid methyl ester in the presence of 1–6% acetic acid under subcritical condition at 250 _C. Stirring and loading of the reaction system affected the yield and severity of the process. The presence of acetic acid improved the yield of FAME from 32.1% to 89.5% at a methanol to oil molar ratio of 20 mL/g. Acetic acid was found to act strongly as an acid catalyst and to some extent improved the solubility between oil and methanol. Reaction pressure higher than the supercritical pressure of methanol (7.85 MPa) was not required to achieve high FAME yield (89.5–94.8%) in short time (30–60 min)

Biodiesel production under subcritical solvent condition using subcritical water treated whole Jatropha curcas seed kernels and possible use of hydrolysates to grow Yarrowia lipolytica

In this work, whole Japropha curcas L. seed kernels were firstly treated in subcritical water (448 K, 2.0 MPa initial N2, 15 min, kernel to water ratio 0.5 g g 1) and then the treated kernels were used in the in situ production of biodiesel using a solvent mixture of 75% methanol and 25% acetic acid. It was found that hydrolysate collected from subcritical water treatment of seed kernels contained reducing sugars and can be used to grow Yarrowia lipolytica without the need of detoxification. The in-situ (trans)esterification was successfully optimized using Taguchi design of experiments and a high yield of 101.7 and 65.1 g FAME per 100 g of extractable lipid and dry kernel, respectively could be achieved under optimized conditions (523 K, 3.0 MPa initial CO2 and 7.5 cm3g1 solvent to solid ratio). The devel-oped process can tolerate high FFA and moisture content in feedstoc

In situ transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. seeds in subcritical solvent system

Jatropha curcas L. seed is widely studied for the production of biodiesel. A major drawback is the presence of excess free fatty acid in its seeds. The fatty acids make it unsuitable as feedstock oil in the conventional base-catalyzed process for biodiesel production. In this study, in situ transesterification of seed oil was studied with the aim to reduce production steps. A mixture of methanol, acetic acid and water under subcritical conditions was employed for the in situ transesterification of J. curcas L. seed kernel to produce biodiesel under less severe operating conditions as compared to supercritical methanol technologies. A yield of 94–98% was obtained, based on extractable lipids (54–56% based on dry kernel). The process investigated is capable of tolerating the presence of moisture (up to 10%) and free fatty acid (up to 5%), eliminating the need for pre-treatment steps

Developments in in-situ (trans) esterification for biodiesel production: A Critical review

Biodiesel is a biofuel used as an alternative for petroleum diesel. The main obstacle in the widespread use of biodiesel lies mainly on its cost and current state of the technology to process a wide array of feed- stock. The cost of biodiesel production is still high compared to that of petroleum based diesel fuel. The decrease of production cost can be achieved through the utilization of cheap, low quality feedstock and the development of simpler production process. In-situ (trans) esterification (ISTE) is an alternative route in synthesizing or producing biodiesel. ISTE involves lesser steps as it eliminates the need for lipid or oil extraction prior to (trans) esterification. A detailed comparison of the various strategies, mechanism involved and technologies developed since 1985 on ISTE processes is described in this review. This review tackles several technological gaps needing to be bridged and addressed in future studies. Furthermore, future prospects and possible developments in ISTE is also looked int

Developments in in-situ (trans) esterification for biodiesel production: A Critical review

Biodiesel is a biofuel used as an alternative for petroleum diesel. The main obstacle in the widespread use of biodiesel lies mainly on its cost and current state of the technology to process a wide array of feed- stock. The cost of biodiesel production is still high compared to that of petroleum based diesel fuel. The decrease of production cost can be achieved through the utilization of cheap, low quality feedstock and the development of simpler production process. In-situ (trans) esterification (ISTE) is an alternative route in synthesizing or producing biodiesel. ISTE involves lesser steps as it eliminates the need for lipid or oil extraction prior to (trans) esterification. A detailed comparison of the various strategies, mechanism involved and technologies developed since 1985 on ISTE processes is described in this review. This review tackles several technological gaps needing to be bridged and addressed in future studies. Furthermore, future prospects and possible developments in ISTE is also looked int