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The current research proposed the work on the consumption of waste cooking oil (WCO) as a valuable resource for the production of biodiesel. This study focuses on maximizing output yield by employing composite heterogeneous catalysts, namely calcinated calcium oxide with aluminum oxide (CaO/Al2O3) and calcium oxide with titanium oxide (CaO/TiO2). The calcination process was adopted for the catalysts at 600°C for 5 h to improve catalytic activities and to increase surface area. XRD and TGA were implemented to analyze the crystal structure and thermal stability of these heterogeneous catalysts. Experimentation was planned by implementing the response surface methodology (RSM) approach in combination with the BoxBehnken design. The optimum yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) was experimentally observed at 96.56%, using CaO/Al2O3 at methanol to oil (m/o) molar ratio of 11.9:1, 3.19% catalyst loading, 53.79°C and 76.86 minutes (min). The maximum experimental yield with CaO/TiO2 was observed at 98.15% with the optimized operating conditions of independent process variables viz. m/o molar ratio 11:99, 2.53 wt.% catalyst loading and 68.14 min at 59.79°C. The research recommends the potential use of WCO and both the heterogeneous catalysts for optimal biodiesel yield; however, CaO/TiO2 exhibits superior performance over CaO/Al2O3, which is also confirmed by the XRD and TGA results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work deals with the optimization of the process parameters of in situ transesterification of dry spirogyra Algae–Jatropha powder along with engine efficiency and combustion analysis of the prepared biofuel. Three operational parameters, namely catalyst concentration (0–5 wt.%), methanol to dry algae–Jatropha curcas powder (v/v) (20–60%), and reaction time (60–180 min) at a constant reaction temperature of 50 °C, were selected. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to design the experiments. The maximum biodiesel yield of 88.5% was obtained under the optimized conditions of a catalyst concentration of 3.396% (w/w), methanol/oil ratio of 19.86, and reaction time of 180 min. At varying loads, the performance and emissions of a diesel engine linked to a power source and fueled with various biodiesel mixes (Diesel, B5, B10, and B20) were tested. It was found that BSFC decreased as the applied load increased for all of the evaluated fuels. All of the biodiesel blends had greater BSFC than the diesel fuel. However, a substantial decrease in the emissions, including hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO), was observed with the increase in NOx emissions. This method of preparing biodiesel will be beneficial in order to cater to the needs of the transportation sector because it has a lower energy consumption and less engine emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the experiments of the transesterification process were carried out on jatropha-algae oil blend and the prediction of the synthesized biodiesel was investigated. The study was divided into two parts. In the first part, a series of experiments were employed practically and in the second part, the prediction is made with the artificial neural network (ANN). The ANN with Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm was trained with topology 4-10-1. The estimated results were compared with the experimental results. An ANN model was developed based on a back-propagation learning algorithm. An R-square value of the model from ANN was 0.9976. The results confirmed that the use of an ANN technique is quite suitable. The artificial neural network gave acceptable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel production from different feedstocks is an effective method of resolving problems related to the fuel crisis and environmental issues. In this study, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and the response surface methodology based Box-Behnken experimental design were used to model the parameters of biodiesel production for a jatropha-algae oil blend, including the molar ratio, temperature, reaction time, and catalyst concentration. A significant regression model with an R2 value of 0.9867 was obtained under a molar ratio of 6-12, KOH of 0-2% w/w, time of 60-180 min, and temperature of 35-55°C using response surface methodology (RSM). The ANFIS model was used to individually correlate the output variable (biodiesel yield) with four input variables. An R2 value of 0.9998 was obtained in the training. The results demonstrated that the developed models adequately represented the processes they described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel production from different feedstocks is one of the effective ways to anticipate the problems related with fuel crisis and environmental issues. In this study, the response surface methodology (RSM)-based Box–Behnken experimental design (BBD) is used to optimize the parameters of biodiesel production for the blend of Jatropha–algae oil such as molar ratio, temperature, reaction time, and catalyst concentration. A significant quadratic regression model (p < 0.0001) with R2of 0.9867 was achieved under the condition of molar ratio 6–12%, KOH 0–2%, reaction time 60–180 min, and temperature 35–55°C. The artificial neural network (ANN) with the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm was also trained in this study with the topology 4-10-1 with a predicted correlation coefficient of 0.9976. From the results, it is also found that the predicted values of yield are in good agreement with the results of RSM correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Stability of metal contaminated biodiesel blend has been checked. [•] Effectiveness of different antioxidants has also been checked. [•] Biodiesel blends with diesel have shown the better oxidation stability. [•] Effect of metals on the oxidation stability of biodiesel has found catalytic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Present paper reports the storage stability studies of Jatropha curcas biodiesel (JCB). [•] Various correlations were developed for storage stability. [•] These correlations can be used to predict the amount of antioxidants required for stabilizing the biodiesel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recently, world has been confronted with an energy crisis due to fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. Biodiesel is one of the most promising alternative fuels to meet these problems. However the oxidation stability and thermal stability are the problems which are faced while we are going for commercial application of biodiesel. There are standards available discussing the minimum specification of oxidation stability of biodiesel while using in IC engine but at the same time there is no specification is available for thermal stability. Specification for thermal stability can be developed if one can develop the relationship between oxidation and thermal stability. The present paper deals with the development of relation between the oxidation stability and thermal stability which will further be useful for the development of such specifications for thermal stability of biodiesel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy is a basic requirement for economic development. Every sector of Indian economy-agriculture, industry transport, commercial and domestic needs input of energy. The economic development plans implemented since independence have necessarily required increasing amount of energy. As a result consumption of energy in all forms has been steadily rising all over the country. This growing consumption of energy has also resulted in the country becoming increasingly dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Rising prices of oil and gas and potential shortage in future lead to concern about the security of energy supply needed to sustain our economic growth. Increased use of fossil fuels also causes environmental problems both locally and globally. In view of the fast depletion of fossil fuel, the search for alternative fuels has become inevitable, looking at huge demand of diesel for transportation sector, captive power generation and agricultural sector, the biodiesel is being viewed a substitute of diesel. The vegetable oils, fats, grease are the source of feed stocks for the production of biodiesel. Biodiesel is an engine fuel that is created by chemically reacting fatty acids and alcohol. This usually means combining vegetable oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst (usually sodium hydroxide). Biodiesel is much more suitable for use as an engine fuel than straight vegetable oil for a number of reasons, the most notable one being its lower viscosity. The aim of the present paper is to focus on the work done in the area of biodiesel and also the impact analysis of biodiesel on engine performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Biodiesel, an ecofriendly and renewable fuel substitute for diesel has been receiving the attention of researchers around the world. Due to heavy import of edible oil, the production of biodiesel from edible oil resources in India is not advisable. Therefore it is necessary to explore non-edible seed oils, like Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) and Pongamia for biodiesel production. The oxidation stability of biodiesel from J. curcas oil (JCO) is very poor and therefore an idea is given to increase the oxidation stability of biodiesel by blending it with petro-diesel. J. curcas biodiesel (JCB), when blended with petro diesel leads to a composition having efficient and improved oxidation stability. The results have shown that blending of JCB with diesel with less than 20% (v/v) would not need any antioxidants but at the same time, need large storage space. Similarly, if the amount of diesel is decreased in the blend, it will require the addition of antioxidant but in lesser amount compared to pure JCB. For the purpose five antioxidants were used namely butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), propyl gallate (PG), and pyrogallol (PY). A B30 blend (30% JCB in the blend of JCB and petro-diesel) has been tested for the same purpose. PY is found to be the best antioxidant among all five antioxidants used. The optimum amount of antioxidant (PY) for pure biodiesel tested for the present experiment is around 100ppm while it is around 50ppm for B30 blend to maintain the international specification of oxidation stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present paper deals with the study on the effect of metal contaminants on the oxidation stability of Jatropha curcas biodiesel (JCB). Taking pyrogallol as the most effective antioxidant based on the earlier work of the authors, JCB was mixed with different transition metals – Fe, Ni, Mn, Co and Cu in different concentrations. Induction period (IP) was measured using Rancimat method (EN 14112). Based on results, several correlations are developed for assessing the oxidation stability in terms of IP as a function of antioxidant and metal concentration. A comparison between the experimental IP values and those predicted by the correlation shows that about 95% of the predicted data points lie within ±10% deviation lines of the experimental results. This is the first study of its kind being reported showing the relationship of IP with antioxidant concentration and metal contaminants. The correlations developed can be used to predict the amount of antioxidants required to stabilize the JCB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Comparitive study of RSM and ANN for modeling of biodiesel production is studied. • Catalyst, Reaction time and Methanol amount were used for modeling. • ANN has been found to have good predictability as compared to RSM. Biodiesel production from algae oil at low temperature as well as a comparative study of response surface methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networks (ANN) for the modeling of yield and process parameters was carried out in this research work. Box–Behnken experimental design was adopted and the three process parameters considered were methanol to oil percentage (v/v) (20–60%), catalyst concentration (0–2 wt%) and reaction time (60–180 min) at constant temperature of 50 °C. The results of the present work indicate that ANN has good predictability as compared to RSM. A significant quadratic regression model with value of R2 of 0.99 and 0.96 was obtained in case of ANN and RSM respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of biofuels (e.g., ethanol and biodiesel) requires a significant amount of water during feedstock production, transportation, and its conversion into biofuels. Therefore present study devoted to study the impact of biofuel production on water demand in Alberta. In scenario #1, it is assumed that ethanol is produced from both wheat and wheat straw and that biodiesel is produced from rapeseed. Scenario #2 proposes ethanol production from wheat only and biodiesel production from rapeseed. The water requirements for biofuel production in both scenarios are calculated for Alberta for the year 2025. Data on the current availability of water in Alberta indicate that the Athabasca, North Saskatchewan, and Peace River basins of northern Alberta have enough water to grow crops for the production of biofuels. In 2025, Alberta will have to produce 3,754 million liters of ethanol and 270 million liters of biodiesel to meet the projected levels. If biofuels are produced from the crops grown in the abovementioned northern river basins, the province of Alberta should be able to meet biofuel demand in 2025 sustainably. The water requirement from these river basins for biofuel production will increase to 5.2%, 0.6%, and 11.6%, respectively, of the natural flow in scenario #1 whereas, for scenario #2, the water requirement from these rivers basins will increase to 5.2%, 2.3%, and 16.1%, respectively, of natural flow. These increases in the requirements are much lower than the possible allowed withdrawal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A high biodiesel yield of 95% was obtained. • The high Free Fatty acids of sunflower oil was reduced by blending with low Free Fatty acid algae oil. • Constant low temperature reaction at 50 °C. • Response Surface Methodology based Box-Bhenken Design Technique was used for optimization. The aim of the present study is to analyse the transesterification of blend of high free fatty acid FFA) sunflower oil with low free fatty acid algae oil. The high FFA content of sunflower oil is reduced by blending it with low FFA algae oil so that the resultant oil will be converted into biodiesel at low temperature using single-step base-catalyzed transesterification process. The process parameters of transesterification were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Box–Behnken experimental design was adopted and the three process parameters considered were methanol to oil percentage (v/v) (20–60%), catalyst concentration (0–2 wt%) and reaction time (60–180 min) at constant temperature of 50 °C. The results of the present work indicate that RSM has good predictability with an optimized biodiesel yield of 95%. The optimum conditions for the reaction were found to be methanol/oil percentage of 60% (v/v), catalyst amount of 1.392% (w/w) for a reaction time of 130 min at a constant temperature of 50 °C. A significant quadratic regression model with a value of R2 of 0.99 was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • An investigation of in situ acid and base catalyzed transesterification of dry algae was carried out. • Different experimental conditions were calculated using three independent process variables. • Three independent variables were methanol to dry algae ratio, catalyst and time. • The maximum output yields of 89.58% and 87.42% were achieved for acid and base catalyst respectively. Abstract In recent years, microalgae have been investigated as a substitute for conventional fuels by many scholars and researchers of all over the world. Microalgae possess a hard cell wall that prevents intercellular lipids to get out of it. In situ transesterification has potential to interact with hard cell wall for the extraction of biodiesel at low energy consumption. In this study Response Surface Methodology was employed to investigate different parameters viz. methanol-to-dry-algae ratio, catalyst concentration, temperature and reaction time in order to attain high FAMEs from hydrodictyon microalgae. The present study is focused on a low temperature transesterification process for the better energy efficiency during the process. Experiments (17-17 each) were performed in a batch reactor for both acid (H 2 SO 4) and base (NaOH) catalyst. A maximum biodiesel yield of 89.583% was achieved with methanol-to-dry-algae ratio (8:1, w/w), catalyst concentration (3.361%, w/w) in 60.443 min at 50 °C temperature for H 2 SO 4 catalyst. On the other hand the maximum output yield of 87.421% was found with methanol-to-dry-algae ratio (8:1, w/w), catalyst concentration (3.499%, w/w) at 50 °C in 73.637 min of reaction time for NaOH catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the swelling of climatic and environmental hazards, Biodiesel is playing the most potential and significant role as the sustainable source of energy. As a substitute for diesel, biodiesel has been getting the attention of researchers/scientists of all over the world. The R & D have indicated sustainability of biodiesel production from non-edible oil sources such as Jatropha and algal oil. The objective of the present study was to optimize the process parameters for the transesterification of algal oil using CaO and 80% wt. CaO.Al 2 O 3 as catalysts. A low temperature transesterification process was selected. A biodiesel yield of 88.89% was achieved with methanol/oil volumetric ratio (3.2:10) using 80% wt. CaO.Al 2 O 3 as catalyst (1.56% w/w) in 125 min time at 50 °C temperature using Response Surface Methodology. It was observed that catalyst concentration, reaction time and methanol/oil volumetric ratio had a significant effect on yield. Also, this model involving heterogeneous catalyst can be used in the industry for efficient biodiesel production from algal oil, thereby saving time and cost of the process in optimizing the process parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel, as a substitute for diesel has been getting the attention of researchers/scientists of all over the world. The R & D has indicated that up to B20, there is no need of modification and little work is available related to suitability and sustainability of biodiesel production from Jatropha and algae as non-edible oil sources. The objective of the present study was to optimize the process parameters for transesterification of low free fatty acid (FFA) Jatropha and algae oil blend. A low temperature transesterification process was selected to make the transesterification process more energy efficient. A model was developed to correlate the biodiesel yield with process parameters viz methanol/oil volumetric ratio, Catalyst concentration and reaction time. A biodiesel yield of 81.98% was achieved with methanol/oil volumetric ratio (3:5) using KOH as catalyst (0.9% w/w) in 180 min time at 50 °C temperature. It was observed that catalyst concentration, reaction time and methanol/oil volumetric ratio had a significant effect on blend yield. It is found out that this model can be used in the industry to improve the efficiency of biodiesel production from blend of Jatropha and algae oil thereby, saving time and cost of the process in optimizing the process parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The use of additives in the biodiesel-diesel blend leads to a decrease in BSFC. • Lower Ignition delay and higher pressure and heat release rate affect the BTE. • Nanoparticles and waste polymers affect engine performance by increasing BTE, decreasing BSFC. Fossil fuel depletion led researchers to find alternative fuel to the Compression Ignition (CI) engines. Biodiesel has emerged as an eco-friendly, clean, and sustainable alternative which can be used directly as a fuel or as a blend with diesel. However, high viscosity, high NOx emission, and high brake specific fuel consumption are some disadvantages associated with it. To obviate these disadvantages various studies has been done on the addition of additives or properties enhancers, converting biodiesel into a more efficient and reliable fuel for end-use in the engine. This review article focuses on the effect of additives such as nanoparticles and antioxidants on engine performance, the concentration of exhaust gases and emission characteristics of biodiesel blend. The major finding of this research was that nanoparticles and waste polymers affect engine performance by increasing BTE, decreasing BSFC, and lowering the emission of certain pollutants such as CO, HC, NOx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to study the cold flow properties of JCB (Jatropha curcas biodiesel) and WCB (Waste cooking oil biodiesel). For the purpose two methods were examined experimentally viz. winterization and blending of biodiesel samples with petro diesel and kerosene. Winterization was found to be effective as it improved the cold flow properties of biodiesel samples but at the same time decreased the yield and stability due to partially removal of saturated fatty acids. Blending was found to be more favorable for improvement in cold flow properties of biodiesel without any effect on yield, however, the biodiesel become more stable after blending. The CP and PP (pour point) for JCB for B20 blends with petro diesel were reported as 14.9 °C and 14 °C respectively, however, for WCB it was 12 °C and 11.5 °C respectively. Kerosene K20 samples was showing best result as the reported CP and PP were −1 °C and −2.2 °C respectively for JCB. However in case of WCB blends with kerosene, the reported CP and PP for K20 blends are −10.5 °C and −12 °C respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]