Synthesis of epoxidized palm oil-based trimethylolpropane ester by in situ epoxidation method

Palm oil-based Trimethylolpropane ester (TMP ester), with an iodine value of 66.4 g/100g, was epoxidized to produce epoxidized TMP esters. In situ epoxidation method was used with peracetic acid to eliminate fatty acid double bonds in palm oil-based TMP ester and change it into oxirane ring. This was done to improve the oxidative stability of trimethylolpropane ester which is a key concern limiting the useful service life in lubricants. The epoxidation was performed by reacting acetic acid as active oxygen carrier with concentrated hydrogen peroxide as oxygen donor and a small amount of homogeneous catalyst (sulphuric acid). The effects of various parameters on the rate of epoxidation (such as the ratio of mole acetic acid to ethylenic unsaturation, hydrogen peroxide to ethylenic unsaturation and acetic acid mole ratio, and amount of catalyst) were studied. The rate of oxidation was investigated by the percentage of oxirane oxygen analysis and iodine value

A review of biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas L. oil

The demand for petroleum has risen rapidly due to increasing industrialization and modernization of the world. This economic development has led to a huge demand for energy, where the major part of that energy is derived from fossil sources such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. However, the limited reserve of fossil fuel has drawn the attention of many researchers to look for alternative fuels which can be produced from renewable feedstock. Biodiesel has become more attractive because of its environmental benefits and it is obtained from renewable resources. There are four primary methods to make biodiesel: blending, microemulsion, pyrolysis and transesterification. The most commonly used method is the transesterification of triglycerides (vegetable oil and animal fats) with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. There is a growing interest in using Jatropha curcas L. oil as the feedstock for biodiesel production because it is non-edible and thus does not compromise the edible oils, which are mainly used for food consumption. Non-edible oils are not suitable for human consumption because of the presence of toxic components. Further, J. curcas L. seed has a high content of oil and the biodiesel produced has similar properties to that of petroleum-based diesel. In this paper, an attempt has been made to review the different approaches and techniques used to generate biodiesel from Jatropha curcas oil. The main factors affecting the biodiesel yield, for example the molar ratio of alcohol to oil, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time are discussed. Lastly, the environmental considerations and economic aspects of biodiesel are also addressed

Bioenergy II: production of biodegradable lubricant from Jatropha curcas and trimethylolpropane

Jatropha oil has good potential as the renewable energy as well as lubricant feedstock. Production of Jatropha oil based lubricant was performed via a two-step process; (i) the transesterification of Jatropha oil to produce Jatropha Methyl Ester (JME) and, (ii) transesterification of JME with trimethylolpropane (TMP) under the presence of alkaline based catalyst. Transesterification of Jatropha oil was carried out at 65°C for 1 hour by using 1-2% NaOH as catalyst. While, the transesterification of JME was carried out at 150°C with pressure kept at 10mbar. The conversion of JME to jatropha biolubricant was found to be more than 80%. However, to maintain forward reaction, the amount of JME was maintained at about 4:1 ratios to TMP. The basic properties of jatropha biolubricant are found comparable to other plant based biolubricant

Batch and semi-continuous biogas production from cattle manure

Anaerobic digestion of cattle manure was investigated to estimate the volume and the quality of biogas produced for both batch and semi-continuous system. The process was performed in a lab scale bioreactor at 55oC; the semi-continuous experiment was conducted at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.7 kg VS m-3 day-1 equivalent to hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 20 days. The volatile solid-based biogas and methane yield were observed to be averagely 0.346 m3 kg -1 VS added and 0.19 m3 kg -1 VS added respectively. The average methane content was 55% from the cattle manure during the anaerobic digestion process. Overall, the result of this study indicates that the quality of biogas obtained from the cattle wastes can be used for heat and power productio

Synthesis of Jatropha curcas-based methyl ester and ethyl ester as biodiesel feedstocks

Research on the use of Jatropha curcas triglycerides as biodiesel feedstock has received worldwide attention due to its inherent characteristics. Unlike palm oil, J. curcas oil is not edible, and thus, it will not disturb the food supply. However, to the researcher's experiences with the synthesis of J. curcas, oil-based biodiesel has shown that the fuel characteristics depend largely on the type of alcohol used as the excess reactants. Transesterification reaction is chosen for this process with sodium methoxide as the catalyst. Comparison studies on the yield of esters using methanol and ethanol, as well as the impacts on the reaction rate are discussed. The effects of reaction time and molar ratio on the reaction conversion are also examined. The determination of reaction yield is based on the conversion of triglycerides into alkyl esters as the main product. The findings are described as follows: the highest percentage yield of product is attained at 96% for methanol as an excess reactant, and this is 90% when ethanol is used. The optimum conditions of parameters are achieved at 6:1 molar ratio of alcohol to triglycerides, 50 min of reaction time and reaction temperature of 65°C for methanol and 75°C for ethanol. The biodiesel properties of both ester fuels were determined according to the existing standards for biodiesel and compared to the characteristics of diesel fuel

Anaerobic digestion of cattle manure: influence of inoculum concentration

This study evaluated the performance of anaerobic treatment of cattle manure (CM) with palm oil mill effluent (POME) inoculum in terms of biogas production and volatile solid (VS) reduction. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of substrate to (POME) ratio used as inoculum on digester performance. The study was conducted in a 10-L lab-scale bioreactor operated at thermophilic (53oC) temperature. The result from the study showed that anaerobic digestion of cattle manure with POME inoculum can be done successfully in batch and semi-continuous mode. Biogas production was observed to commence immediately and the POME inoculum shown a strong influence on the initial biogas production rate. Average biogas yield was estimated to be about 0.346 and 0.299 m3 kg-1 VS added for the CM(5) : POME(1.5) and CM(5) : POME(1) respectively. However, nearly similar chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 33% and 30% with volatile solids (VS) removal of 58.6% and 52% for the CM(5):P0ME(1.5) and CM(5):POME(1), respectively was achieved. These results are hopeful for the treatment of cattle wastes and POME mass available in Malaysia

Fe-doped TiO2 Nanoparticles Produced via MOCVD: Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Activity.

Iron (Fe)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were produced via the metallorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) method at 700∘C. Different amounts of ferrocene as the Fe dopant source (0.001–0.05 g) were introduced inside the reactor together with the titanium precursor in order to synthesize different Fe dopant concentrations of TiO2 nanoparticles. Nitrogen (N2) adsorption results showed that increasing the Fe dopant concentration caused a slight increase in the surface area of the nanoparticles due to the decrease in nanoparticle size. The UV-diffuse reflectance spectra demonstrated an absorption shift in Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles to longer wavelengths, thus showing an enhancement of the absorption in the visible spectrum. Bandgap energy values determined from the UV-diffuse reflectance spectra data decreased with an increase in the Fe dopant concentrations. The photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped TiO2 nanoparticles was investigated via degradation of methylene blue under UV and fluorescent light. It was found that Fe doping reduced the photocatalytic activity of the samples. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results, it is believed that this is due to the unfavourable location of Fe3+ inside the interior matrix of the TiO2 nanoparticles rather than on the exterior surface, which would affect photocatalytic behaviour

Immobilisation of titanium dioxide onto supporting materials in heterogeneous photocatalysis: a review

The aim of this review is to offer an overview of the evolution in the use of different anchors (supports) for the immobilisation of a semiconductor photocatalyst, which is titanium dioxide (TiO2). Several supports and immobilisation techniques that are commonly used for the removal of contaminants in wastewater are discussed. Generally, the immobilisation of a photocatalyst onto supporting material has largely been carried out via one of two major routes; physical (the thermal treatment method) route or chemical (the sol–gel method, chemical vapour deposition, electrodeposition, etc.) route. The benefits and drawbacks of various immobilisation techniques to obtain a high surface area TiO2 support are also discussed

Effect of Postdeposition Heat Treatment on the Crystallinity, Size, and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were produced using chemical vapour deposition (CVD) at different deposition temperatures (300–700°C). All the samples were heat treated at their respective deposition temperatures and at a fixed temperature of 400°C. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the nanoparticles in terms of size and crystallinity. The photocatalytic activity was investigated via degradation of methylene blue under UV light. The effects of post deposition heat treatment are discussed in terms of crystallinity, nanoparticle size as well as photocatalytic activity. Crystallinity was found to have a much larger impact on photocatalytic activity compared to nanoparticle size. Samples having a higher degree of crystallinity were more photocatalytically active despite being relatively larger in size. Surprisingly, the photocatalytic activity of the samples reduced when heat treated at temperatures lower than the deposition temperature despite showing an improvement in crystallinity

Effect of carbon to nitrogen ratio of food waste on biogas methane production in a batch mesophilic anaerobic digester

Food waste mixture at carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio 17 was combined with meat, fruits and vegetable wastes to increase its C/N ratio to 26 and 30 before anaerobic digestion. Results showed that biogas methane yield obtained during the digestion increased from 0.352L/gVS, 0.447L/gVS and finally to a maximum yield of 0.679 L/gVS at C/N ratio of 17, 26 and 30, respectively. A maximum food waste treatment efficiency of 85% was obtained at C/N ratio 30. Generally, increase in C/N ratio through co-digestion resulted in a more stable pH and better methanogenic activity due to enhanced buffering effect of the digestion medium