Characterization and synthesis of biodiesel from sludge available in the Umeå region
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Biodiesel is a renewable liquid fuel consisting of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) produced from lipid sources. Biodiesel is considered as an alternative to replace petroleum-based diesel. Generally, biodiesel is produced by reacting vegetable oils and animal fats with an alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. 70-80% of the overall production costs associated with biodiesel is the starting material, and there is a need to find a low-cost lipid feedstock. Extensive research is being conducted on sludge as a possible lipid feedstock for biodiesel production. It contains various lipids that have adsorbed onto the sludge. Sludge is available at no cost and can be a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. The focus in this study was to investigate the lipid content in the sludge and to find a method for further refining sludge into biodiesel. The methods used were applied on lipid fractions from sludge available in the Umea region. A two-step approach including extraction of lipids followed by conversion of lipids to biodiesel by esterification and/or transesterification was performed to determine which type of sludge that was most appropriate for biodiesel production. The sludge type that was considered to be the most appropriate for biodiesel production was later used for direct synthesis. The direct synthesis approach was applied on both dewatered and dried sludge from the chosen sludge type. Analyzes of the FAMEs obtained from the experiments conducted indicates a similarity between the lipid content in these sludges and the current feedstocks used. This in turn means that the quality of the biodiesel that can be obtained from sludge is of similar quality as the existing biodiesel. This implies that sludge can be seen as a good potential source of lipids for biodiesel production.
Author: Marjan Bozaghian
Language: English
Subfield: Fuel Technology
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W63332063