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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]

The present study describes the single-step transesterification method of biodiesel production from high free fatty acid (FFA) waste cooking oil blended with algae oil using a homogeneous base catalyst. Due to high FFA contents, two step transesterification is needed to convert oil into biodiesel and therefore the high FFA content of waste cooking oil is decreased by blending it with low FFA content algae oil, which would further lead only to single step transesterification of low FFA oil. The design and optimization studies were conducted using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The box-Behnken design technique is applied to optimize the three process parameters, i.e., catalyst concentration (0–2 wt%), methanol concentration (v/v) (20–60%) and reaction time (60–180 min) at a uniform reaction temperature of 50 °C. The result of the current study indicates that an effective biodiesel yield of 92% can be obtained at the optimized condition of catalyst concentration of 1.5% (w/w), methanol/oil ratio of 21:1 and reaction time of 110 min at a constant reaction temperature of 50 °C. This analysis clearly shows that this study can resolve the storage problem of high FFA oils from different feedstock and RSM can be successfully used to model the reaction to maximize the biodiesel yield. [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 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]

Abstract: The present study reports the results of kinetics study of acid base catalyzed two step transesterification process of waste cooking oil, carried out at pre-determined optimum temperature of 65°C and 50°C for esterification and transesterification process respectively under the optimum condition of methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1%(w/w) for H2SO4 and NaOH and 400rpm of stirring. The optimum temperature was determined based on the yield of ME at different temperature. Simply, the optimum concentration of H2SO4 and NaOH was determined with respect to ME Yield. The results indicated that both esterification and transesterification reaction are of first order rate reaction with reaction rate constant of 0.0031min−1 and 0.0078min−1 respectively showing that the former is a slower process than the later. The maximum yield of 21.50% of ME during esterification and 90.6% from transesterification of pretreated WCO has been obtained. This is the first study of its kind which deals with simplified kinetics of two step acid–base catalyzed transesterification process carried under the above optimum conditions and took about 6h for complete conversion of TG to ME with least amount of activation energy. Also various parameters related to experiments are optimized with respect to ME yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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 feedstocks for the production of biodiesel. Significant work has been reported on the kinetics of transesterification of edible vegetable oils but little work is reported on non-edible oils. Out of various non-edible oil resources, Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) is considered as future feedstocks for biodiesel production in India and limited work is reported on the kinetics of transesterification of high FFA containing oil. The present study reports a review of kinetics of biodiesel production. The paper also reveals the results of kinetics study of two-step acid–base catalyzed transesterification process carried out at pre-determined optimum temperature of 65 and 50°C for esterification and transesterification process, respectively, under the optimum condition of methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1% (w/w) for H2SO4 and NaOH and 400rpm of stirring. The yield of methyl ester (ME) has been used to study the effect of different parameters. The maximum yield of 21.2% of ME during esterification and 90.1% from transesterification of pretreated JCO has been obtained. This is the first study of its kind dealing with simplified kinetics of two-step acid–base catalyzed transesterification process carried at optimum temperature of both the steps which took about 6h for complete conversion of TG to ME. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Out of various non-edible oil resources, Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) is considered as future feedstock for biodiesel production in India. Limited work is reported on the kinetics of transesterification of high free fatty acids containing oil. The present study reports the results of kinetic study of two-step acid base catalyzed transesterification process carried out at an optimum temperature of 65 °C and 50 °C for esterification and transesterification respectively under the optimum methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1% (w/w) for H2SO4 and NaOH. The yield of methyl ester (ME) has been used to study the effect of different parameters. The results indicate that both esterification and transesterification reaction are of first order with reaction rate constant of 0.0031min−1 and 0.008min−1 respectively. The maximum yield of 21.2% of ME during esterification and 90.1% from transesterification of pretreated JCO has been obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The increasing industrialization and modernization of the world has to a steep rise for the demand of petroleum products. Economic development in developing countries has led to huge increase in the energy demand. In India, the energy demand is increasing at a rate of 6.5% per annum. The crude oil demand of the country is met by import of about 80%. Thus the energy security has become a key issue for the nation as a whole. Petroleum-based fuels are limited. The finite reserves are highly concentrated in certain regions of the world. Therefore, those countries not having these reserves are facing foreign exchange crises, mainly due to the import of crude oil. Hence it is necessary to look forward for alternative fuels, which can be produced from feedstocks available within the country. Biodiesel, an ecofriendly and renewable fuel 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 as non-edible oil sources. In addition, the use of vegetable oil as fuel is less polluting than petroleum fuels. The basic problem with biodiesel is that it is more prone to oxidation resulting in the increase in viscosity of biodiesel with respect to time which in turn leads to piston sticking, gum formation and fuel atomization problems. The report is an attempt to present the prevailing fossil fuel scenario with respect to petroleum diesel, fuel properties of biodiesel resources for biodiesel production, processes for its production, purification, etc. Lastly, an introduction of stability of biodiesel will also be presented. [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]

Ester-based drilling fluids (EBDF) are preferred over oil-based drilling fluids (OBDF) and water-based drilling fluids (WBDF) because of their great biodegradability, low toxicity, and improved performance. In this work, waste cooking oil methyl ester (WCOME) was used to prepare an environmentally friendly EBDF. Through a transesterification process utilizing a modified calcium oxide based heterogenous catalyst, the waste cooking oil is transformed into waste cooking oil methyl ester. Response surface approach was used to strengthen the transesterification. The optimize conditions for CaO/Al 2 O 3 resulted in the highest yield of 96.56% at a molar ratio of 11.9:1, 3.19 wt % of CaO/Al 2 O 3 , 53.79 °C, and 76.86 min. In contrast, CaO/TiO 2 yielded 98.15% at a molar ratio of 11.99:1, with a CaO/TiO 2 of 2.53 wt % at 59.79 in 68.14 min. Additionally, two separate densities of 9 ppg and 12 ppg EBDF are formulated with two distinct oil-to-water ratios (70:30 and 80:20) using synthesized WCOME. To assess the effectiveness of formulated EBDF thorough rheological investigation is conducted at 150°. Additionally, the filtration loss at HPHT conditions, emulsion stability, and Barite sag analysis of the drilling fluid are all analyzed at before ageing and after dynamic ageing. With better rheological features, less fluid loss, good emulsion stability, and minimal barite sagging, the designed EBDF performs efficiently. The drilling fluid met the API requirement and demonstrated stability even after ageing at 250 °F for 72 h, suggesting that it may be used for extended periods of time in drilling. [Display omitted] • CaO is calcinated with Al2O3 and TiO2 to make two different heterogenous catalyst used to prepare biodiesel from waste cooking oil. • Waste cooking oil methyl ester (WCOME) was used to prepare an environmentally friendly Ester-based drilling fluid (EBDF). • The present technology will be good for waste oil management. • With better rheological features, less fluid loss, good emulsion stability, and minimal barite sagging, the designed EBDF performs efficiently. • This technique will help to reduce environmental emission. [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]