Biodiesel production from palm oil technology.

This study focuses on the production of biodiesel from palm oil technology which is applied in Indonesia. The concentration of palm biodiesel used in the test was ranged from B0 (pure petrodiesel), B10, B20, B30, B50 and B100 (pure biodiesel). The engine performance was evaluated through torque, power, and specific fuel consumption, while the emission was evaluated through carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), and NOx pollutants. The result shows that higher content of palm biodiesel can reduce the emission of CO, HC, PM, and CO2. It was found that the addition of biodiesel could increase the power and torque. Further more, NOx also decreased when the content of palm biodiesel increases, which is in contrast with those generally found in the previous non palm biodiesel studies. Keyword: palm oil biodiesel, petro-diesel, CO), hydrocarbon (HC), particulate matter, O2, and NOx pollutants INTRODUCTION Due to unstable oil price situation in the world market, many countries have been looking for alternative energy sources to substitute for petroleum. Vegetable oil is one of the alternatives which can be used as fuel in automotive engines either in the form of straight vegetable oil, or in the form of ethyl or methyl ester. Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) has recently become a main feedstock for biodiesel production. There is a need to assess and compare the technical, environmental, and economic efficiency of biodiesel feedstock production. The model of biodiesel production is divided into 3 stages: palm oil farming, palm oil production and transesterification into biodiesel. Relevant data for resource consumption and emissions to air, water and soil have to collect for all stages. Vegetable oil is one of the alternatives which can be used as fuel in automotive engines either in the form of straight vegetable oil, or in the form of ethyl or methyl ester. Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis) has recently become a main feedstock for biodiesel production. There is a need to assess and compare the technical, environmental, and economic efficiency of biodiesel feedstock production. The model of biodiesel production is divided into 3 stages: palm oil farming, palm oil production and transesterification into biodiesel. Fresh fruit bunch of palm oil (FFB) Milling is an integral part of the process to convert FFB into separated crude palm oil, palm kernel oil and by-products or waste. Power is required at several stages for various purposes. It may be used to produce steam for sterilization and processing, to drive the extraction and separation equipment, and to provide processing water (1.2 tons of water per ton FFB). Electricity is needed for ancillary farm and domestic purposes. The palm oil mill processes 40 t FFB per hour, which is equivalent to a mill processing about 120 000 – 150 000 t FFB per year (IOPRI, 2006). For oil extraction there are two main sources of energy input: production waste for generating steam for mill machinery and kernel crushing, and diesel fuel for engine start-up. For the calculations regarding the CPO production stage, we considered for input FFB, water, steam produced from production waste, diesel fuel for on-site electricity generation, and for Research Journal of Agricultural Science, 43 (4), 2011 81 output fiber, shells, decanter cake, empty fruit bunches (EFB), ash, palm oil mill effluent (POME), emissions to air, crude palm oil (CPO) and kernel oil. Transesterification For the transesterification of palm oil the two components methanol and sodium hydroxide are required, as well as electricity for shaking the oil and the components to produce biodiesel. The reactor considered in our calculations for producing biodiesel from palm oil is a 20 000 liter batch-type reactor operating at a maximum of three batches per day with a reactor time of 8 hours per batch (PLEANJAI et al. 2004). The operating temperature is 50-60 C. The biodiesel production rate is around 16 t per batch. Transesterification of the oil produces a mixture of methyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerol. The biodiesel is separated from the glycerol by gravity, then the remaining mixture is washed with water and acetic acid until the washing water is neutral. The methyl ester is then dried by heating. The biodiesel yield is around 87 % of the crude palm oil processed. The percentage of yield for biodiesel production can be calculated based on a stoichiometric material balance. Glycerol is a by-product that can be used to produce soap or other materials. For the transesterification stage we included the inputs of CPO, water, grid electricity, methanol and sodium hydroxide, and the outputs methyl ester, glycerol in our calculation. OBJECTIVES Purpose the study is to review and evaluate oil palm plantation, property of palm oil, conversion process to biodiesel, suitable available land, biodiesel quality, environmental impacts, engine test performance, and benefit to the country from using biodiesel. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, there are several journal of biodiesel production from palm oil is presented are used for reviewing the palm oil biodiesel production and its application for the engine performance. Test Vehicle The performance and emission tests were conducted at the Thermodynamics and Propulsion Engine Research Center, which focuses its work on diesel engine bench and non-stationary operation tests for performance and emissions of fuels, including biodiesel. The facility consists of 3 rooms, namely the control and data management room, vehicle test room and the emission analysis room. The control and data management room is used for controlling all testing activities including collecting testing data, ventilation system, Constant Volume Sampling (CVS) System, hydrocarbon and particulate sampling system and emission analysis facilities. The test vehicle was a 2004 built passenger car with direct injection, automatic transmission, and a 2500 cc capacity diesel engine. The engine was as it is with slight modification in its fuel delivery system for convenience of fuels changing between test runs. The chassis dynamometer (CD) which is located in the vehicle test room consists of a pair of 48 inch in diameter steel roll. The roll was connected to a DC motor. The specification of CD is as follows: Maximum speed: 200 km/h Maximum power: 150 kW Inertia could be tested: 454 – 2722 kg Room testing temperature: 5 – 40C BIODIESEL TECHNOLOGY Palm Oil processing Currently, Indonesia is known as the largest producer of palm oil in the world with a total CPO production of 15 ton per year. Domestic consumption of CPO is about half of the total production leaving the rest for export. With the price fluctuation of Research Journal of Agricultural Science, 43 (4), 2011 82 CPO in the last few years, and the increase production in the near future, it is important too find other uses of CPO such as for palm oil biodiesel. Substitution of petroleum diesel with palm oil biodiesel should be done gradually by producing a blend of bio-petrodiesel. Palm oil biodiesel technology Biodiesel is chemically defined as a methyl ester derived from natural oils such as vegetable oils, animal fats or used frying oils. Biodiesel is a clean-burning, renewable, non-toxic and bio-degradable fuel that can be used alone or in blends with petroleum-derived diesel. Chemically, biodiesel is a mono alkyl ester or methyl ester with C chain between 12 to 20. The length of the C chain differentiates biodiesel from petrodiesel. Biodiesel has similar physical properties to petrodiesel so that it can be either mixed with petrodiesel or directly used for diesel engines. Although it is similar to petrodiesel, biodiesel has a higher flash point that makes it less flammable, contains no sulfur and benzene which are carcinogenic that makes biodiesel cleaner, saver and easier to handle than petrodiesel. Basically biodiesel is made through transesterifation of palm oil with methanol. Such process is accomplished in batch or continuer at 50-70 C. The products are biodiesel and glycerine. *Biodiesel Quality and Standard Because of the fact that biodiesel is produced in quite differently scaled plants from vegetable oils of varying origin and quality, it was necessary to install a standardization of fuel quality to guarantee engine performance without any difficulties. Generally, the parameters which are selected and established to define the quality of biodiesel can be classified into two groups. Table 1 German biodiesel standard E DIN 51606 (KNOTHE ANDDUNN, 2001) Fuel properties Unit Test method Limit (min) Limit (max) Density g/ml DIN EN ISO 3675 0.875 0.900 Kinematic viscosity mm/s DIN EN ISO 3104 3.5 5.0 Flash point C DIN EN ISO 22719 110 Cetane number DIN 51773 49 Carbon residue wt.% DIN EN ISO 10370 0.05 Sulfur content wt.% DIN EN ISO 24260 0.01 Table 2 Selected fuel properties for diesel and biodiesel fuels (TYSON, 2001) Fuel properties Unit Diesel Biodiesel Fuel Standard ASTM D975 ASTM PS 121 Fuel composition C10-C21 HC C12-C22 FAME Pour point C 35 to -15 -15 to 10 Cetane number 40-55 46-65 Flash point C 60-80 100-170 Boiling point C 188-343 182-338 Water content (%) 0.05 Density gr/l 7.079 7.328 Special gravity kg/l 0.85 0.88 Viscosity (mms) 1.3 – 1.4 1.9 – 6.0