2019•American Society of Civil Engineers eBooksRequires access
Biodiesel Production by Transesterification
Xiaofang Zhang, Shuli Yan, Rashmi Tyagi, Rao Y. Surampalli
Open publisher page 5 citations
Abstract
Several technologies have been developed to produce biodiesel, including pyrolysis, microemulsions, and transesterification. This chapter addresses biodiesel production by transesterification. It discusses parameters affecting transesterification. The chapter reviews the new technologies and their applications in transesterification. Transesterification is known as the most popular approach for biodiesel manufacture. It uses oil and/or fat to produce fatty acid methyl esters and glycerol by reacting with alcohols. Among all alcohols, methanol is preferable because of cost considerations. Catalyst type, alcohol type, oil type, alcohol to oil ratio, and assistance technology addition are significant parameters of transesterification. The general transesterification is to convert oil and/or fat to biodiesel. Directly transferring oil-bearing substance to biodiesel without the step of oil separation and/or extraction from the substance has been studied. The process is also called in situ transesterification. The technology becomes promising because it avoids oil extraction, which is a high-energy and high-cost process.