Advanced Chemical Reactor Technologies for Biodiesel Production from Vegetable Oils - A Review

Biodiesel is an alternative biofuel that can replace diesel oil without requiring modifications to the engine and advantageously produces cleaner emissions. Biodiesel can be produced through transesterification process between oil or fat and alcohol to form esters and glycerol. The transesterification can be carried out with or without a catalyst. The catalyzed production of biodiesel can be performed by using homogeneous, heterogeneous and enzyme. Meanwhile, non-catalytic transesterification with supercritical alcohol provides a new way of producing biodiesel. Microwave and ultrasound assisted transesterification significantly can reduce reaction time as well as improve product yields. Another process, a plasma technology is promising for biodiesel synthesis from vegetable oils due to very short reaction time, no soap formation and no glycerol as a by-product. This paper reviews briefly the technologies on transesterification reaction for biodiesel production using homogeneous, heterogeneous, and enzyme catalysts, as well as advanced methods (supercritical, microwave, ultrasonic, and plasma technology). Advantages and disadvantages of each method were described comprehensively

Effects of Weight Hourly Space Velocity and Catalyst Diameter on Performance of Hybrid Catalytic-Plasma Reactor for Biodiesel Synthesis over Sulphated Zinc Oxide Acid Catalyst

Biodiesel synthesis through transesterification of soybean oil with methanol on hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor over sulphated zinc oxide (SO42-/ZnO) active acid catalyst was investigated. This research was aimed to study effects of Weight Hourly Space Velocity (WHSV) and the catalyst diameter on performance of the hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor for biodiesel synthesis. The amount (20.2 g) of active sulphated zinc oxide solid acid catalysts was loaded into discharge zone of the reactor. The WHSV and the catalyst diameter were varied between 0.89 to 1.55 min-1 and 3, 5, and 7 mm, respectively. The molar ratio of methanol to oil as reactants of 15:1 is fed to the reactor, while operating condition of the reactor was kept at reaction temperature of 65 oC and ambient pressure. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) component in biodiesel product was identified by Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the FAME yield decreases with increasing WHSV. It was found that the optimum FAME yield was achieved of 56.91 % at WHSV of 0.89 min-1 and catalyst diameter of 5 mm and reaction time of 1.25 min. It can be concluded that the biodiesel synthesis using the hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor system exhibited promising the FAME yield.

“PROGRAM INDONESIA PINTAR” IMPLEMENTATION FOR UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION IN MOJOKERTO

Education is one of the keys to success in effort to prepare quality resources for progress of the nation in the future. However, economic factor is one of the reasons for the high dropout rate in Indonesia. Therefore, the Government issued “Program Indonesia Pintar” Policy which aims to provide the widest opportunity for students from underpivilliged families to have access for education. The purpose of this study is to describe the inhibiting factors as well as the efforts made to overcome the problems of “Program Indonesia Pintar” implementation for the upper secondary education in Mojokerto. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of “Program Indonesia Pintar” at upper secondary level in Mojokerto encountered some obstacles seen from the policy implementation model of Van metter dan van Horn, namely the aspects of policy standards and objectives, policy sources, inter-organizational communication, characteristics of implementing agencies, socio-political economic conditios, executive dispositions. Then, the implementing agencies of “Program Indonesia Pintar” for upper secondary education in Mojokerto has sought various alternative solutions to deal with these obstacles

SERVANT HEARTS: VILLAGE CADRES’ PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION IN INDONESIA’S MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Background: Despite the growing interest in public service motivation (PSM) research, there is a lack of studies that specifically examine the PSM of individuals in nontraditional roles, such as village cadres, in the context of mental health care in low-resource settings. Aims: This study aimed to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how PSM influences the actions and choices of village cadres in providing care for people with mental illness in Indonesia. Methods: An instrumental case study approach was employed to gather data through in-depth interviews with 14 village actors across five regencies in East Java Province, Indonesia. Results: The study’s findings reveal the crucial role of PSM in inspiring village cadres to provide mental health care by showcasing their sense of duty toward the community, program dedication, and compassion for patients, highlighting the correlation between PSM and callings that focuses on serving others. Conclusion: This study provides empirical insights into the intricate ways PSM influences the behavior of village cadres toward people with mental illness in Indonesia, offering valuable knowledge about the motivations of this particular group of public service providers and informing policy decisions and future research in the field of public administration. Keywords: callings, Indonesia, mental health care, public service motivation, village cadre

Preliminary Testing of Hybrid Catalytic-Plasma Reactor for Biodiesel Production Using Modified-Carbon Catalyst

Preliminary testing of hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor for biodiesel production through transesterification of soybean oil with methanol over modified-carbon catalyst was investigated. This research focused on synergetic roles of non-thermal plasma and catalysis in the transesterification process. The amount of modified-carbon catalyst with grain size of 1.75 mm was placed into fixed tubular reactor within discharge zone. The discharge zone of the hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor was defined in the volume area between high voltage and ground electrodes. Weight Hourly Space Velocity (WHSV) of 1.85 h-1 of reactant feed was studied at reaction temperature of 65 oC and at ambient pressure. The modified-carbon catalyst was prepared by impregnation of active carbon within H2SO4 solution followed by drying at 100 oC for overnight and calcining at 300 oC for 3 h. It was found that biodiesel yield obtained using the hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor was 92.39% and 73.91% when using active carbon and modified-carbon catalysts, respectively better than without plasma. Therefore, there were synergetic effects of non-thermal plasma and catalysis roles for driving the transesterification process. Copyright © 2016 BCREC GROUP. All rights reserved Received: 10th November 2015; Revised: 16th January 2016; Accepted: 16th January 2016 How to Cite: Buchori, L., Istadi, I., Purwanto, P., Kurniawan, A., Maulana, T.I. (2016). Preliminary Testing of Hybrid Catalytic-Plasma Reactor for Biodiesel Production Using Modified-Carbon Catalyst. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 11 (1): 59-65. (doi:10.9767/bcrec.11.1.416.59-65) Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.11.1.416.59-6

SYNTHESIS OF BIODIESEL ON A HYBRID CATALYTIC-PLASMA REACTOR OVER K2O/CaO-ZnO CATALYST

This paper aimed to study the synergistic effects of dielectric barrier discharge plasma and 5 % K2O/CaO-ZnO catalyst on biodiesel synthesis. The catalyst was prepared using co-precipitation followed by impregnation method. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, while the catalyst basicity was tested by titration method. The effects of voltage, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), and catalyst pellet diameter on the yield of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and biodiesel were studied. The transesterification process within and without plasma environment was investigated to find synergistic effect between the role of high energetic electrons from the plasma through the catalytic reaction zone and the role of basicity in the catalyst. From the results, an applied voltage of 5 kV, a WHSV of 1.186 min-1, and a catalyst diameter of 5 mm gave the better FAME yield of 77.19 %. The reaction time required was only 1.25 minutes at a discharge power of 530 W. This result proved that the plasma environment has a significant effect on performance of the hybrid catalytic-plasma reactor for biodiesel production

Roles of K

This research aimed to study the effect of K2O impregnation on the basicity of the CaO-ZnO catalyst and its effect on biodiesel production. The effect of mole ratio of CaO to ZnO catalyst and %wt K2O were also studied. The mole ratio of CaO to ZnO catalyst was varied at 1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:3, and 3:1, while the %wt K2O was varied at 1, 3, and 5 %. The catalyst basicity was determined by titration method. The basicity of the catalyst increased after the CaO-ZnO catalyst was impregnated with K2O in all mole ratios of CaO-ZnO catalyst. The addition of K2O as a promoter also increase the basicity. The highest basicity was obtained at the CaO-ZnO mole ratio of 3:1 and 5%wt K2O. The tranesterification process was carried out in a batch reactor at a methanol to oil mole ratio of 15:1, a reaction temperature of 60°C, a reaction time of 4 h, and a catalyst loading of 5%wt oil. The FAME yields obtained were 41.33%. These results proved that K2O plays a role in enhancing the catalyst basicity. In addition, K2O also serves as a binding agent to improve the mechanical properties of the catalyst