UP TOWN OIL FACTORY

Up Town Oil Factory Process

Up Town Oil Factory Process

Introduction

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel engines that is gaining attention in the United States after reaching a considerable level of success in Europe. Its primary advantages are that it is one of the most renewable fuels currently available and it is also non-toxic and biodegradable. It can also be used directly in most diesel engines without requiring extensive engine modifications. The purpose of this book is to describe and explain the processes and issues involved in producing this new fuel. The most cursory look at the literature relating to bio diesel will soon reveal the following relationship for prediction of bio diesel from fats and oils (Brown, 2003, 15).

100 lbs of oil + 10 lbs of methanol ? 100 lbs of bio diesel + 10 lbs of glycerol

These chains are designated by two numbers separated by a colon. The first number designates the number of carbon atoms in the chain and the second number designates the number of double bonds. Note that the number of carbon atoms includes the carbon that is double bonded to the oxygen atom at one end of the fatty acid (called the carboxylic carbon). This is the end that the methanol attaches to when methyl esters are produced. Triolein is a triglyceride in which all three fatty acid chains are oleic acid. This is near the actual number of carbons and hydrogens and gives a molecular weight that is near the value for soybean oil.

Product Quality

The standard for bio diesel allows 0.24% total glycerol in the final product. What does this actually mean? It is clear that a molecule of a triglyceride can be considered to contain a molecule of glycerol, sometimes called the glycerol backbone. In the case of triolein, the mole of glycerol would weigh 92.10 g and the mole of triolein weighs 885.46 g. Therefore, triolein can be considered to consist of 92.10/885.46 = 0.104, or 10.4% glycerol. This glycerol is called bound glycerol because it is chemically bound to the triolein molecule. Bound glycerol can also be associated with monoglycerides and diglycerides, the partial reaction products of the conversion of triglycerides to alkyl esters.

Competing Reactions

It is common for oils and fats to contain small amounts of water and free fatty acids. Free fatty acids consist of the long carbon chains described that are disconnected from the glycerol backbone. The oleic group we have used earlier gives oleic acid, one of the free fatty acids that can be found in unrefined vegetable oils and animal fats. If an oil or fat containing a free fatty acid such as oleic acid is used to produce bio diesel, the alkali catalyst typically used to encourage the reaction will react with this acid to form soap.

Excessive soap in the products can inhibit later processing of the bio diesel, including glycerol separation and water washing. Water in the oil or fat can also be ...