Biodiesel

An Investigatory Project

HAFIZ MOHAMMED

Bonafide Certificate
This is certified that the record of work done by Master Hafiz
Mohammed of DPS - Modern Indian School during the
academic year 2015-16. He has performed this investigatory
project under the guidance of Mr. Jeyanth Robertson.
Signature of Teacher-in-charge
Date:

Submitted for All India Senior Secondary School Certificate.

Practical Examination held at DPS Modern Indian School on

EXAMINER (EXTERNAL)

EXAMINER (INTERNAL)

Signature:

Signature:

Name:

Name:

Designation:

Designation:

School:

1 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Acknowledgement

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my parents, for

continuously helping me throughout this project, and assisting
me in every step along the way.
I would also like to express my deepest thanks to my teacher
Mr. Jeyanth Robertson, for helping me so much in this project
and taking the pain to make corrections, and for being open to
all kinds of suggestions and ideas.
My school and my friends alike have been very instrumental in
completing this project.

2 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Biodiesel

AN INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

OBJECTIVE

Introduction

To learn and
understand
what Biodiesel
is, its merits
and demerits
and to
experiment its
making

Biodieselisadomesticallyproducedfuelthatismanufacturedfrom
vegetableoilsoranimalfatsforuseinvehicles.Biodiesel'sphysical
propertiesaresimilartothoseofpetroleumdiesel,butitismucha
cleanerburningalternative.
TheuseofBiodieselasafuelhastakenoffoverthelastcoupleofyears.
Initially,Biodieselwasviewedasafoolproofsolutiontotheimpending
energycrisis.Itisconsideredbymanytobecarbonneutralsincethe
plantstheyaremadefromgrowbytakingincarbondioxidefromtheair,
whichwhenemittedbyavehiclerunningonitwillbereabsorbedbythe
plantsinthenextcrop.Consumersandgovernmentsalikehaveboughtin
thebiofuelrevolution.
ThisreportprimarilydealswiththenecessityofBiodieselbeingamajor
energysourceandtheadvantages&disadvantagesofBiodieselagainst
conventionalfossilfuels.Alongwiththis,anextensiveanalysisof
Biodieselsbackground,currentproductiontrendsandindustrial
productionmethodshavealsobeendetailed.

3 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Table of Contents
1. Biodiesel........................................................................5
2. Features.........................................................................5
3. PreparingBiodiesel.......................................................6
4. Industrialproduction.....................................................8
5. Applications...................................................................9
6. Disadvantages...............................................................9
7. References...................................................................10

4 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Biodiesel

Biodieselreferstoanonpetroleumbaseddieselfuelconsistingoflong
chainalkyl(Methyl,EthylorPropyl)esters.Typically,Biodieselis
manufacturedbychemicallyreacting(transesterification)lipids[e.g.,
vegetableoil,soybeanoil,animalfat(tallow)]withanalcohol,producing
fattyacidesters.Biodieselhasbeenstandardizedasamonoalkylester,
andotherkindsofdieselgradefuelsofbiologicaloriginarenotincluded.
Ethyl stearate, an ethyl
ester produced from
soybean oil and ethanol

Blends of Biodiesel
Becauseoftheglobalfuelsbeingpetrolanddiesel,Biodieselcanbeonly
usedinspecificandcompatibleenginesandcannotbeusedinanyengine.
BlendsofBiodieselandconventionalhydrocarbonbaseddieselare
productsmostcommonlydistributedforuseintheretailfuelmarketplace.
MuchoftheworldusesasystemknownastheBFactortostatethe
amountofBiodieselinanyfuelmix:

B100100%Biodiesel
B2020%Biodiesel,80%Petrodiesel
B55%Biodiesel,95%Petrodiesel
B22%Biodiesel,98%Petrodiesel

Blendsof20%Biodieselandlowercanbeusedindieselequipmentwith
no,oronlyminormodifications.Biodieselcanalsobeusedinitspureform
(B100),butmayrequirecertainenginemodificationstoavoid
maintenanceandperformanceproblems.

Features

Biodieselhasmanypromisingfeaturesoverconventionaldiesel.Ithas
excellentlubricatingpropertiesandcetaneratingscomparedtodiesel
fuels.
ThecolorofBiodieselrangesfromgoldenanddarkbrown,dependingon
theproductionmethod.Itisslightlymisciblewithwater,hasahighboiling
pointandlowvaporpressure.Theflashpoint1ofBiodiesel(>130C)is
5 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

1. Flash Point
The lowest
temperature at
which a volatile
substance can
vaporize to form an
ignitable mixture in
air

significantlyhigherthanthatofpetroleumdiesel(64C).Biodieselhasa
higherdensitythanPetrodiesel.

Advantages over Petro-diesel

Power
ThecalorificvalueofBiodieselis9%lowerthanPetrodiesel.Ithasalmost
thesameMPGratingasPetrodieselandistheonlyalternativefuelblend
(B20)thatcanbeusedinheavyweightvehicleswithnoextramodifications
Storage
ReadilyblendsandstaysblendedwithPetrodieselsoitcanbestored&
dispensedwhereverdieselissold

Combustion&Safety
Biodieselundergoesmorecompletecombustion,thusincreasingthe
engineenergyoutput.Biodieselhasaveryhighflashpoint(300F)making
itoneofthesafestofallalternativefuels
2. ULSD
Ultra Low
Sulphur Diesel

Lubricity
Biodieselcontainsvirtuallynosulfur,anditisoftenusedasanadditiveto
ULSD2fueltoaidwithlubrication,asthesulfurcompoundsinPetrodiesel
providemuchofthelubricity.Itistheonlyalternativefuelthatcanextend
enginelifebecauseofitssuperiorcleaningproperties

EnvironmentalImpact
Biodieselistheonlyrenewablealternativedieselfuelthatreducesmajor
greenhousegascomponentsintheatmosphere.TheuseofBiodieselwill
alsoreducethefollowing:Carbonmonoxide(50%),Ozoneforming
Hydrocarbons(50%),andhazardousDieselParticulate(93%).NoSulphur
productsareemitted,whichhavethepotentialofcausingacidrain

Preparing Biodiesel

Principle

Vegetableoiliscomposedoftriglycerides,whicharetriestersofglycerol.
Thetriglyceridesarereactedwithanalcohol(methanol/ethanol).Itisthen
deprotonatedwithabase(catalyst)tomakeitastrongernucleophile.

6 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Reaction

Triglycerides(1)arereactedwithanalcoholsuchasEthanol(2)togive
Ethylestersoffattyacids(3)andGlycerol(4).Thereactionwillbe
extremelyslowunlesscatalystslikeSodium/Potassiummethoxidesare
used

Equipment Required
Vegetableoil,Antifreeze(Methanol),NaOH,Blender,Scales,Plastic
containers,Funnels,Plasticbottlewithlid,Ducttape,Thermometer

Catalyst

Measure200mlofAntifreezeandputitinaplasticcontainer
AddinNaOHsothattheantifreezeisabsorbed
Coverthecontainerandmixwellbyshakingit.Itwillbemixed
whenitbecomeswarmandfoamy
ThemixturehasnowbecomeSodiummethoxide

TheSodiumhydroxideactsasabase,removingaprotonfromthe
methanoltoformSodiummethoxide.

Procedure
1. Blend1literofvegetableoilwiththeSodiummethoxideina
blenderfor20minutes
2. Pourthemixtureintoabottleandwaitfor8hoursuntilthe
byproduct,glycerin,separatesfromtheBiodiesel.Theglycerinwill
havesettledatthebottom
3. SeparateouttheBiodieselbypouringitintoaglassbottle
4. Prepareawashbottlebypokingasmallholeatabottomcorner
andcoveringitwithducttape
5. WashtheBiodieselbypouringitintothewashbottleandaddingin
aliterofwater.Rollthebottlearoundtomixitandthenremove
theducttapeanddrainthewater
6. Repeatthisprocessseveraltimesoverthecourseofaweekuntil
theBiodieselisclear.StoretheBiodieselinaglasscontainer

Biodiesel (top layer) and

Glycerin (bottom layer)
produced in the
laboratory

7 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Industrial Production

Biodieseliscommonlyproducedbytransesterificationofvegetableoil,
wastegrease(fromrestaurants)oranimalfatfeedstock.

Production Methods
Thereareseveralmethodsforcarryingoutthistransesterification
reaction:

SupercriticalProcess
Analternative,catalystfreemethodthatusessupercritical
methanolathightemperaturesandpressuresinacontinuous
process

UltraShearInlineandBatchReactors
Allowproductionofbiodieselcontinuously,semicontinuously,
andinbatchmode.Thisdrasticallyreducesproductiontimeand
increasesproductionvolume

UltrasonicReactorMethod
Inthismethod,theultrasonicwavescausethereactionmixtureto
produceandcollapsebubblesconstantly,simultaneouslycarrying
outtransesterification.Allowsfortheindustrialscaleprocessingof
severalthousandbarrelsperday

60 gallon Biodiesel
Batch Reactor: allow
rapid Biodiesel
production

LipaseCatalyzedMethod
Researchershavefoundthatverygoodyieldscouldbeobtained
fromcrudeandusedoilsusingtheenzymelipase

Production Trends
In2007,biodieselproductionwasgrowingrapidly,withanaverageannual
growthratefrom200206ofover40%.Fortheyear2006,thetotalworld
biodieselproductionwasabout56milliontons,withEuropebeingthe
largestproducer.Productionincreased10%in2014despiteadeclinein
productionfromNorthAmerica.Biodieselconsumptionisrisingsteadily
andispoisedtobecomeamajorenergysource.

8 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Applications

Biodiesel,beingarenewableandmuchlesspollutingfuelthanPetro
diesel,findsusesinnumerousplaces.

Vehicles
Biodieselisblendedinmanyformsandisusedinautomobilesandtrains.
Comparatively,Biodieselproduceslesssoot,carbonmonoxide,unburned
hydrocarbons,andsulfurdioxide.Theabsenceofsulfurin100%Biodiesel
shouldextendthelifeofcatalyticconverters
Diesel-hydraulic
locomotive, powered by
biodiesel (B20)

Heating
Biodieselfuelcanbeusedincombinationwithheatingoiltoheat
residentialandindustrialbuildings.Thiscanreducedependenceonnon
renewableandincreasinglyexpensiveheatingoil

Oil Spills
Biodieselhasdisplayeditscapacitytosignificantlydissolvecrudeoildueto
itsmethylestercomponent.Thisisexploitedforcleaningupoilspills

Power
TheuseofB100generatorsinresidentialareasaroundschools,hospitals,
andthegeneralpublicresultinsubstantialreductionsinpoisonousgases
andparticulatematter

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power

Amicroreactorhasbeendevelopedtoconvertbiodieselintohydrogen
steamtopowerfuelcells

Disadvantages

AlthoughBiodieselhasalotofadvantagesoverPetrodiesel,thereare
someveryseriousandunavoidabledemeritsthatlimititspotentialto
replacepetroleumfuels.Givenbelowareafewofthem:

9 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project

Biodiesel can contribute to

rising food prices

Atpresent,Biodieselfuelisaboutoneandahalftimesmore
expensivethanPetrodiesel
HigherBiodieselblendslikeB100failtoworkincoldweather
Biodieselcanharmrubberhosesinsomeengines
ThereisahighchanceofBiodieselbeingcontaminatedbywater,
whichwillleadtoaseriesofotherproblems
AsBiodieselcleansthedirtfromtheengine,thedirtcanthenget
collectedinthefuelfilter,thuscloggingit
Biodieselfueldistributioninfrastructureneedsmajorimprovement
Alargeamountofenergyisneededtoforsowing,fertilizing,
harvestingandproducingBiodieselfromsoycrops
Biodieselalsohasthepotentialtocontributetorisingfoodprices,
becauseofthelandusageinvolved

References

AllinformationinthisprojecthasbeengatheredfromtheInternet.

en.wikipedia.org
www.berkeleybiodiesel.org
www.bp.com
www.instituteforenergyresearch.org
www.rsc.org
projects.icbse.com
www.projectsyapa.com
www.fueleconomy.gov

10 Biodiesel An Investigatory Project