Overview of Feedstocks for Biodiesel Production. Over the last few years, there has been increasing amounts of research and interest in the

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1 Overview of Feedstocks for Biodiesel Production Over the last few years, there has been increasing amounts of research and interest in the different feedstocks that can be used to make biodiesel and the effects of the different feedstocks on the quality of the biodiesel. Depending on which feedstock is used, the process of making the biodiesel, as well as the quality of biodiesel produced, can change. Through this report, one will be able to see many of the different feedstocks that can be used to make biodiesel and the implications of using certain feedstocks. Some of the most common oils used for biodiesel production here in America are canola oil, WVO (waste vegetable oil), corn oil, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil. All of these oils are easily available here in the United States. The problem with some of these oils, especially corn oil and soybean oil, is the fact that the amount of oil we get from one acre of these crops is fairly low. For corn oil, the yield per acre of corn is about 18 gal/acre and for soybean oil, it is about 48 gal/acre (journeytoforever.org). Although the yield of oil per acre of crop is fairly low for these crops, they are still readily used here in the US to make biodiesel mostly because of their availability. One oil that is not readily used here in the US to make biodiesel, and is becoming popular in Malaysia and Indonesia, is palm oil. Palm oil has the highest yield per acre of the common oils used for biodiesel production and is a very good choice when looking at different feedstocks for biodiesel. Recent research by the School of Chemical Engineering at Universiti Sains Malaysia revealed that, the conversion of palm oil to biodiesel can reach up to 78.7% using the following reaction conditions: reaction temperature of 155 C, reaction period of 120 min, ratio of methanol/oil at 10:1 mol mol -1 and amount of catalyst at 4 wt %. From this study, it was shown that montmorillonite KSF catalyst can be used as a solid catalyst for biodiesel production

Depending on which feedstock is used, the process of making the biodiesel, as well as the quality of biodiesel produced, can change.

2 from palm oil (Chemical Engineering & Technology). With the yield of palm oil per acre at 635 gal/acre and the conversion of palm oil to biodiesel at 78.7% yield, this makes palm oil an excellent choice for a feedstock to make biodiesel. Another oil that is not readily used here in the United States, but which is being researched for its capabilities of being a feedstock for biodiesel, is pumpkin seed oil. Research done on pumpkin seeds showed that the oil content found in a pumpkin seed is about 45% and that when put through the process of transesterfication, the yield was 97.5 wt%. Although this oil looks very promising to be a great feedstock for biodiesel, especially in Europe, since it is cheaper than some of the more common oils used in biodiesel production, it seems somewhat unlikely that it will ever reach large scale production due to the fact that it is not as readily available as other oils are (Biomass and Bioenergy). Algae is another plant in which research is being done to see if the oil extracted from it will work as a good feedstock for making biodiesel. Tests done by the University of Mayla revealed that biodiesel can indeed be produced from macroalgae though it does have a lower lipid content than other common feedstocks (American Journal of Biochemistry & Biotechnology). From the amount of research being done on this possible feedstock, as well as its possible availability, this seems like it may be a viable source as a feedstock for producing biodiesel in the future. As for right now, it appears as though there is still a lot of research that needs to be done before the possibility of full scale production of biodiesel from algae oil is attainable. Besides all of the plant oils that can be used to make biodiesel, animal fat works well as a biodiesel feedstock. In research conducted by the Chemical Engineering Department of Gazi University, they found that, the maximum yield of 89% was obtained in two steps with total

Another oil that is not readily used here in the United States, but which is being researched for its capabilities of being a feedstock for biodiesel, is pumpkin seed oil.

3 0.35 (w/w) methanol/fat, at 62 ± 1 C reaction temperature for 2 h reaction period and by catalysing with 0.08 (w/w) H 2 SO 4 /fat and 0.01 (w/w) NaOH/fat ratios (Energy Conversion and Management). Since animal fat is a waste product just like WVO, it is a fairly cheap feedstock to use in making biodiesel. It is also a great feedstock for large scale production since companies such as Tyson have lots of animal fats to dispose of each year and can turn their waste stream around and make it into a fuel. There are many other feedstocks (see table 1) besides the ones listed above, that can be used to make biodiesel. With ongoing research in the areas of biodiesel feedstocks, it seems likely that in the coming years there may be a trend away from the common oils used for commercially making biodiesel here in the United States (soybean, canola, rapeseed, corn) to other alternative plant oils (such as palm oil) that produce more oil/acre of plants. As for now, with the big farming co-ops here in the United States, it appears as though we will be using soybean oil as our main feedstock for biodiesel. Table 1 (List of all known feedstocks) Feedstock Yield (gal/acre) Availability Comments Corn 18 Good Common Feedstock Avocado 282 Cashew nut 19 Brazil nut 255 Oats 23 Calendula 33 Lupine 25 Camelina 62 Kenaf 29 Castor bean 151 Cotton 35 Cocoa 110 Hemp 39 Coconut 287 Soybean 48 Good Common Feedstock Coffee 49 Coriander 57

It is also a great feedstock for large scale production since companies such as Tyson have lots of animal fats to dispose of each year and can turn their waste stream around and make it into a fuel.

4 Linseed (flax) 51 Hazelnut 51 Euphorbia 56 Pumpkin seed 57 Possibly Experimental Mustard seed 61 Jatropa 202 Jojoba 194 Sesame 74 Safflower 83 Rice 88 Tung oil 100 Macadamia Nut 240 Sunflower 102 Good Peanut 113 Good Palm 635 Good Opium Poppy 124 Olive 129 Good Rapeseed/Canola 127 Good Common Feedstock Pecan Nut 191 Animal fats N/A Good Algae? Possibly Experimental WVO N/A Good (taken from:

113 Good Palm 635 Good Opium Poppy 124 Olive 129 Good Rapeseed/Canola 127 Good Common Feedstock Pecan

5 Bibliography Biodiesel feedstock types. < (accessed 28 February 2009). Guru, Metin, Artukoglu, Bursev Dogan; Keskin, Ali; Koca, Atilla. Biodiesel production from waste animal fat and improvement of its characteristics by synthesized nickel and magnesium additive. Energy Conversion and Management, v 50, n 3, March, 2009, p Hossain, A. B. M. Sharif, Salleh, Aishah; Boyce, Amru Nasrulhaq; Chowdhury, Partha; Naqiuddin, Mohd. Biodiesel fuel production from algae as renewable energy. American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, v 4, n 3, 2008, p J. Kansedo, K. T. Lee, S. Bhatia. Feasibility of Palm Oil as the Feedstock for Biodiesel Production via Heterogeneous Transesterification. Chemical Engineering and Technology, v 31, n 7, July, 2008, p Oil yields and characteristics. < (accessed 28 February 2009). P. Schinas, G. Karavalakis, C. Davaris, G. Anastopoulos, D. Karonis, F. Zannikos, S. Stournas, E. Lois. Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed oil as an alternative feedstock for the production of biodiesel in Greece. Biomass and Bioenergy, v 33, n 1, January, 2009, p

Hossain, A. B. M. Sharif, Salleh, Aishah; Boyce, Amru Nasrulhaq; Chowdhury, Partha; Naqiuddin, Mohd. Biodiesel fuel production from algae as renewable energy.

2002 - DarkStar VI 841 St Louis Rd., Collinsville, IL 62234 www.biodieselgear.com. Biodiesel Basics. By Phillip D. Hill (Updated August 16 th, 2002)

2002 - DarkStar VI 841 St Louis Rd., Collinsville, IL 62234 www.biodieselgear.com. Biodiesel Basics. By Phillip D. Hill (Updated August 16 th, 2002) Biodiesel Basics By Phillip D. Hill (Updated August 16 th, 2002) Page 1 Table of Contents Biodiesel Basics... 1 Table of Contents... 2 Biodiesel... 3 Properties of Various Oils... 4 The Process Overview...