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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Received 2011-03-03
Abstract 1 Introduction
Continued use of petroleum-based fuels is now widely recog- The world has been confronted with an energy crisis due to
nized as unsustainable because of depleting supplies and contri- depletion of limited resources of fossil fuel. Continued uti-
bution of these fuels to pollute the environment. The challenge, lization of petroleum-based fuels is now widely recognized as
therefore, is to secure adequate energy supplies at the least pos- unsustainable because of depleting supplies and contribution of
sible cost. Over 1.5 trillion barrels of oil equivalent have been these fuels to pollute the environment. The challenge is, there-
produced since Edwin Drake drilled the worlds first oil well in fore to secure adequate energy supplies at the least possible cost.
1859. Economic growth is always accompanied by commensu- Over 1.5 trillion barrels of oil equivalent have been produced
rate increase in the transport. The high energy demand in the since Edwin Drake drilled the worlds first oil well in 1859.
industrialized world as well as in the domestic sector, and pol- The world will need that same amount to meet demand in the
lution problems caused due to the widespread use of fossil fuels next 25 years alone. The International Energy Agency has re-
make it increasingly necessary to develop the renewable energy ported in the reference scenario that the worlds primary energy
sources of limitless duration and smaller environmental impact need is projected to grow by 55% between 2005 and 2030, at
than the traditional one. One possible alternative to fossil fuel is an average annual rate of 1.8% per year. Fossil fuels remain
the use of oils of plant origin like vegetable oils and non-edible the dominant source of primary energy, accounting for 84% of
oils. Usage of biodiesel will allow a balance to be sought be- the overall increase in demand between 2005 and 2030 [1]. En-
tween agriculture, economic development and the environment. ergy and capital have reported that, by 2025, the worlds de-
The aim of this article is to investigate to hidden possibilities of mand for oil will shoot up to 60%, while production capacity
biodiesel utilisation in Hungary by the review of international would be thrown back to 1985 levels. According to the En-
literature. ergy Information Agency report, petroleum consumption fell by
90,000 barrels per day in 20082009. Transportation is one of
Keywords the fastest growing sectors using 27 % of the primary energy
diesel fuel biodiesel [1]. At the present staggering rates of consumption, the world
fossil oil reserve will be exhausted in less than 45 years [2].
Acknowledgement Majority of the worlds energy needs are supplied through petro-
This research paper is a part of the scientific program of chemical sources, coal and natural gases, and with the exception
the "Development of Quality-Oriented and Harmonized R+D+I of hydroelectricity and nuclear energy, these sources are finite
Strategy and Functional Model at BME". The projects was and at current usage rates will be consumed shortly [3]. Diesel
supported by the New Szchenyi Development Plan: TMOP- fuels have an essential function in the industrial economy of a
4.2.1/B-09/1/KMR-2010-0002. This paper is supported by developing country and used for transport of industrial and agri-
Blyai Jnos Research fellowship of HAS (Hungarian Academy cultural goods and operation of diesel tractor and pump sets in
of Scinence). agricultural sector. Economic growth is always accompanied
by commensurate increase in the transport. The high energy
kos Bereczky demand and pollution problems caused due to the widespread
Department of Transport Economics, BME, H-1111 Budapest Bertalan L. u. 2.,
use of fossil fuels make it necessary to develop renewable en-
Hungary
ergy sources. This has stimulated recent interest in alternative
dm Trk sources for petroleum-based fuels. An alternative fuel must be
Department of Transport Economics, BME, H-1111 Budapest Bertalan L. u. 2.,
technically feasible, economically competitive, environmentally
Hungary
e-mail: atorok@kgazd.bme.hu
acceptable, and readily available. One possible alternative to
Emissions B100, pure biodiesel B20, mixed biodiesel (20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel)
prerequisite for successful market introduction and penetration a good manufacturing process. It reflects the presence of free
of biodiesel, standards or guidelines for the quality of biodiesel fatty acids or acids used in manufacture of biodiesel and also the
have also been defined in other countries like Germany, Italy, degradation of biodiesel due to thermal effects. Carbon residue
France, the Czech Republic and in the United States. The pa- of the fuel is indicative of carbon depositing tendencies of the
rameters, which define the quality of biodiesel, can be divided fuel. Conradsons Carbon Residue for biodiesel is more impor-
into two groups. One group contains general parameters, which tant than for diesel fuel because it shows a high correlation with
are also used for petroleum based fuel, and the other group de- presence of free fatty acids, glycerides, soaps, polymers, higher
scribes especially the chemical composition and purity of fatty unsaturated fatty acids and inorganic impurities. The presence
acid alkyl esters [36]. Table 2 contains the general and Table 3 of high level of alcohol in biodiesel causes accelerated deteri-
the oil specific parameters and the corresponding value of fatty oration of natural rubber seals and gaskets. Therefore control
acid methyl esters according to the standards of the above men- of alcohol content is required. Biodiesel fuel mainly consists of
tioned countries. fatty acid alkyl esters and its quantities are specified according
Among the general parameters for biodiesel, the viscosity to the specifications of various countries. The presence of mono-
controls the characteristics of the injection from the diesel in- di- and triglycerides cause engine problems like fuel filter plug-
jector. The viscosity of fatty acid methyl esters can reach higher ging affecting the fuel properties and are specified in most of the
levels and hence it is important to control it within an accept- biodiesel standards.
able level to avoid negative impacts on the fuel injector system
performance. Therefore, the viscosity specifications proposed 4 Biodiesel production from used cooking oil
are nearly the same as that of the diesel fuel. Flash point of a In most parts of the world edible oils are used in frying pans
fuel is the temperature at which it will ignite when exposed to a or fryers and after a variable time of use are discarded.. At
flame or spark. The flash point of biodiesel is higher than that of present there is no systematic method of processing used oils
the petrodiesel, which is safer for transport purposes. Cold filter from households and most of the used oil is mostly disposed of
plugging point (CFPP) of a fuel reflects its cold weather per- through home drains and ends up in wastewaters that are then
formance. At low operating temperature fuel may thicken and discharged to surface waters, leading to water pollution. More-
might not flow properly affecting the performance of fuel lines, over, more than 80% of the oil is consumed at home; the control
fuel pumps and injectors. Normally either pour point or CFFP of this disposal behavior becomes a huge problem because of
are specified. Pour point is the lowest temperature at which the the large volumes involved. Despite the gains made in biodiesel
oil specimen can still be moved. French and Italian biodiesel production techniques, the cost of biodiesel is still higher than
specifications specify pour point whereas others specify CFPP. petroleum-based diesel and this has been a major barrier to its
Cetane number is indicative of its self ignition characteristics. commercialization. One of the ways widely accepted for reduc-
The higher the cetane number are better the ignition proper- ing the cost focuses on minimizing the raw material cost. The
ties. Cetane number affects a number of engine performance use of waste cooking oil instead of virgin (neat) oil to produce
parameters like combustion, stability, driveability, white smoke, biodiesel has been found to be an effective way to reduce the
noise and emissions of CO and HC. Neutralization number is raw material cost. Hence reusing of the waste cooking oil has
specified to ensure proper ageing properties of the fuel and/or both the benefit of producing an environmentally benign fuel
Parameters Austria Czech Republic France Germany (DIN) Italy (UNI) USA (ASTM)
(ON) (CSN) (journal official)
Density at 15C [g/cm3 ] 0.85-0.89 0.87-0.89 0.87-0.89 0.875-0.89 0.86-0.90 -
Viscosity at 40 [mm2 /s] 3.5-5.0 3.5-5.0 3.5-5.0 3.5-5.0 3.5-5.0 1.9-6.0
Flash point [C] 100 110 100 110 100 130
CFPP [C] 0/-5 -5 - 0-10/-20 - -
Pour point [C] - - -10 - 0/-5 -
Cetane number 49 48 49 49 - 47
Neutralization number [mgKOH/g] 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.8
Conradson carbon residue [%] 0.05 0.05 - 0.05 - 0.05
Source:[52]
Parameters Austria Czech Republic France (journal Germany (DIN) Italy (UNI) USA (ASTM)
(ON) (CSN) official)
Methanol/ethanol (% mass) 0.2 - 0.1 0.3 0.2 -
Ester content (% mass) - - 96.5 - 98 -
Monoglyceride (% mass) - - 0.8 0.8 0.8 -
Diglyceride (% mass) - - 0.2 0.4 0.2 -
Triglyceride (% mass) - - 0.2 0.4 0.1 -
Free glycerol (% mass) 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.05 0.02
Total glycerol (% mass) 0.24 0.24 0.25 0.25 - 0.24
Iodine number 120 - 115 115 - -
Source:[52]
and solving the problem of waste oil disposal. The methods [40]. Algae having the ability to synthesize TAGs are consid-
of production of biodiesel from used cooking oil do not dif- ered as a second generation feedstock for production of biofuels,
fer from the conventional transesterification process using al- specifically biodiesel. The potential value of microalgal pho-
kaline, acidic, and enzymatic catalysts. Depending on the un- tosynthesis to produce biofuels is widely recognized [41]-[44].
desirable compounds (especially FFA and water), each catalyst The advantages of microalgae over higher plants as a source of
has its advantages and disadvantages. These used frying oils transportation biofuels are numerous:
have different properties from those of refined and crude veg-
1 Microalgae synthesize and accumulate large quantities of
etable oils. The presence of heat and water accelerates the hy-
neutral lipids/oil [2050% dry cell weight (DCW)] and grow
drolysis of triglycerides and increases the content of free fatty
at high rates (e.g. 13 doublings/day).
acids (FFA) in the oil [37]. The FFA and water content have sig-
nificant negative effects on the transesterification reaction [38]. 2 Oil yield per area of microalgae cultures could greatly exceed
They also interfere with the separation of fatty acid esters and the yield of best oilseed crops.
glycerol. Especially, the viscosity of the oil increases consider-
3 Microalgae can be cultivated in saline/brackish water/coastal
ably, because of the formation of dimeric and polymeric acids
seawater on non-arable land, and do not compete for re-
and glycerides in used cooking oils. Molecular mass and iodine
sources with conventional agriculture.
values decrease while saponification value and density increase
[37]-[39]. A typical schematic diagram for the production of 4 Microalgae tolerate marginal lands (e.g. desert, arid and semi-
biodiesel from used cooking oil is shown in Fig. 1. arid lands) that are not suitable for conventional agriculture.