Preparation and Characterization of Biofuels by Low Cost

Methods
Nikhil (ME11B111)

Abstract

This project aims to prepare and characterize low cost biofuel using waste cooking oil as the
raw material. Biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological processes,
such as anaerobic digestion, rather than a fuel produced by geological processes such as those
involved in the formation of fossil fuels. Renewable biofuels are made through the use or
conversion of biomass. This biomass can be converted to convenient energy containing
substances in three different ways: thermal conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical
conversion. Bioethanol is made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in
sugar or starch crops such as corn, sugarcane, or sweet sorghum. Cellulosic biomass is also
being developed as a feedstock for ethanol production. Pure ethanol can be used as a fuel for
vehicles but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to improve vehicle emissions. Biodiesel
on the other hand can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form. Biodiesel is produced
from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe.
However taking into account the various social, economic, environmental and technical
issues relating to biofuel production using virgin oil, this project is being done using waste
cooking oil. The waste oil is being sold at a lower price by hotels and other establishments
and reused. This is a health hazard as reheating of used oil leads to creation of free radicals
which attach themselves to healthy cells in our body and can cause heart disease, cancer etc.
Instead, this waste oil can be processed at low cost to make biofuel which can be used instead
of diesel in compression ignition (CI) engines. This not only reduced the health hazard posed
by the reuse of waste cooking oil but also provides the society with low cost bio fuel, thereby
reducing the dependency on fossil fuels.
Introduction

This project aims to prepare and characterize low cost biofuel using waste cooking oil as the
raw material. Biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological processes,
such as anaerobic digestion, rather than a fuel produced by geological processes such as those
involved in the formation of fossil fuels. Biomass (material derived from living or recently
living organisms, most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials) can be converted
to renewable biofuels by using any of the following methods: thermal conversion, chemical
conversion or biochemical conversion. The widely used biofuels produced by the above
mentioned methods are biodiesel, biogas, bioethanol etc.

Bioethanol is made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or starch

crops such as corn, sugarcane, or sweet sorghum. Cellulosic biomass is also being developed
as a feedstock for ethanol production. Pure ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles but it is
usually used as a gasoline additive to improve vehicle emissions. Current plant design does
not provide for converting the lignin portion of plant raw materials to fuel components by
fermentation. Biodiesel on the other hand can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form.
Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common
biofuel in Europe. In Europe, the most popular and cheap oil is rapeseed oil. This virgin
rapeseed oil is used to produce biodiesel. There are various social, economic, environmental
and technical issues relating to biofuels production and use, which include: the effect of
moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction potential, carbon
emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, loss of
biodiversity, impact on water resources, rural social exclusion and injustice, shantytown
migration, rural unskilled unemployment, and nitrous oxide (NO2) emissions. Hence instead
of using virgin oil, if we were to use waste cooking oil the above mentioned problems will
cease to exist. Waste oil is being sold at a lower price by hotels and other establishments and
reused. This is a health hazard as reheating of used oil leads to creation of free radicals which
attach themselves to healthy cells in our body and can cause heart disease, cancer etc. Instead,
this waste oil can be processed at low cost to make biofuel which can be used instead of
diesel in compression ignition (CI) engines. This not only reduced the health hazard posed by
the reuse of waste cooking oil but also provides the society with low cost bio fuel, thereby
reducing the dependency on fossil fuels.
Objectives

• To prepare biofuels by low cost methods

• To characterize the biofuel prepared by the above methods

• To test the above biofuels in a CI engine

Methodology

• Literature Survey

• Preparation of biofuel

• Running the CI engine using the prepared biofuel

• Recording the emission data

• Comparing the data with diesel emission

• Results and observations

References

• Gaya, J.C.A.; Patel, M.K. Biodiesel from Rapeseed Oil and Used Frying Oil in European
Union; Technical Report by Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and
Innovation, Utrecht University: Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2003.

• A. Gnanaprakasam, V. M. Sivakumar, A. Surendhar, M. Thirumarimurugan, and

T.Kannadasan, “Recent Strategy of Biofuel Production from Waste Cooking Oil and
Process Influencing Parameters: A Review”, Journal of Energy, vol. 2013,
doi:10.1155/2013/926392.

• Pedro Felizardoa, M. Joana Neiva Correiaa, Idalina Raposob, João F. Mendesc, Rui
Berkemeierd, João Moura Bordadoa, “Production of Biofuel from waste frying oils”,
Elsevier, doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2005.02.025.

• "Biofuels Make a Comeback Despite Tough Economy". World watch Institute 2011-08-
31. Retrieved 2011-08-31.

• D. Y. C. Leung, X. Wu, and M. K. H. Leung, “A review on biofuel production using

catalyzed transesterification,” Applied Energy, vol. 87, no. 4, 2010.

• J. M. Marchetti, V. U. Miguel, and A. F. Errazu, “Possible methods for biofuel

production,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews", vol. 11, 2007.