Vegetable Oils

Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants that
are composed of triglycerides.

Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid.

Fats and oils are water insoluble, and hydrophobic substances

Oil is extracted primarily from seeds.

Vegetable oils are edible as well as inedible

Oil content in seeds varies

 Crop Oil %
copra 62
castor seed 50
sesame 50
groundnut
42
kernel
jatropha 40
rapeseed 37
palm kernel 36
mustard seed 35
sunflower 32
palm fruit 20
soybean 14
cotton seed 13
It can be seen that viscosity of the vegetable oils is much higher (27.2 to 50.7)
compared to petro diesel of 3.06
Cloud point refers to the temperature below which wax in diesel or
biowax in biodiesels form a cloudy appearance.

The presence of solidified waxes thickens the oil and clogs fuel filters
and injectors in engines.

Therefore, cloud point indicates the tendency of the oil to plug filters
or small orifices at cold operating temperatures

The pour point is the lowest temperature at which a petroleum

product will begin to flow
Vegetable oil that is discarded from a restaurant is known as waste
vegetable oil (WVO) which can also be used for manufacture of
biodiesel

Unused vegetable oil is known as straight vegetable oil (SVO) or

pure plant oil (PPO)
For engines designed to burn #2 diesel fuel, the viscosity of
vegetable oil must be lowered to allow for proper atomization of
the fuel, otherwise incomplete combustion and carbon build up
will ultimately damage the engine.

Vegetable oils are evaluated for use as a biofuel based on:

Suitability as a fuel, based on flash point, energy content, viscosity
combustion products and other factors

Cost, based in part on yield, effort required to grow and harvest,

and post-harvest processing cost
Biodiesel production Process
Biodiesel is produced through transesterification of triglycerides and
fatty acids present in vegetable oil

(Esterification is the general name for a chemical reaction in which

two reactants (typically an alcohol and an acid) form an ester as the
reaction product.

The process involves reacting vegetable oils with alcohols (typically

methanol or ethanol).

1 mole of triglycerides + 3 moles of methanol→ 3 moles of ester + 1

mole of glycerine
The important process parameters that influence the process of
esterification are:

Purity /composition of oil

Choice of alcohol
Quantity of alcohol
Reaction temperature
Catalyst
Purity /composition of oil
Biodiesel yield will diminish if there is high free fatty acid in vegetable
oil

The free fatty acid can react with the catalyst and can form soap
which makes separation of biodiesel difficult

Presence of water can increase the amount of free fatty acids in the
reaction mixture by hydrolyzing the triglycerides

The formation of soaps can be avoided by high temperature and

pressure of operation (2400C and 9 MPa and also by pre treatment
with catalytic refining or acid based transesterification
Choice of alcohol
Both methanol and ethanol can be used

But by stochiometry, quantity of ethanol required will be higher than

methanol

Use of methanol is advantageous as it follows the simultaneous

separation of glycerol

But reaction with ethanol forms azeotropic mixture which makes

separation difficult

Economics and availability also influences the choice

At present methanol is cheaper ,hence better choice

Quantity of alcohol
Stoichiometry of reaction requires 3 moles of alcohol for each mole
of triglycerides

On weight basis it is 10% methanol and 15% of ethanol per unit of

oil processed

But at the stoichiometry ratio the reaction is slow and may not be
completed

So excess alcohol is to be added which can be recycled at the end

of reaction
Reaction temperature
The rate of transeserification depends on temperature,

However reaction is carried out close to boiling temperature of

methanol at atmospheric pressure (650C)

Reaction at 600C completes in one hour and at 320C four hours

Catalysts
Acid catalysts-sulphonic and sulphuric acid

Alkali catalyst- Sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium

methoxide, potassium methoxide

Others – non ionic base catalysts and lipase catalysis

Production processes
In simple terms for transesterification to take place, alcohol, catalyst
and vegetable oil are made to react in a reactor at 600C and agitated
for about one hour

The reaction can be done in two stages

In first stage 80% alcohol is added and at the end glycerol is removed
before going to second reactor where remaining alcohol is added

Two stage requires less alcohol

Batch and continuous processes are being used commercially

Batch process for small scale and continuous process for large scale
Uses
Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel.

A fuel mix containing 20% biodiesel and 80% petro diesel is labeled B20, while
pure biodiesel is referred to as B100
(‘B’ indicates biodiesel)

Blends of 20 percent biodiesel with 80 percent petroleum diesel (B20) can generally
be used in unmodified diesel engines.

Biodiesel can also be used in its pure form (B100), but may require certain engine
modifications to avoid maintenance and performance problems

Biodiesel has different solvent properties than petrodiesel, and will degrade natural
rubber gaskets and hoses in vehicles

The chief advantage of Biodiesel use for agriculture pump sets and farming
machinery is availability of diesel at the site

Biodiesel use in railways and as heating oil

2007, biodiesel production capacity was growing rapidly, with an average
annual growth rate from 2002-06 of over 40%

For the year 2006, the latest for which actual production figures could be
obtained, total world biodiesel production was about 5-6 million tonnes, with
4.9 million tonnes processed in Europe (of which 2.7 million tonnes was
from Germany) and most of the rest from the USA
India's biodiesel processing capacity is estimated at 600,000 tons per year.

On 12 September 2008, the Indian Government announced its 'National Biofuel

Policy'.
It aims to meet 20% of India's diesel demand with fuel derived from plants. That will
mean setting aside 140,000 square kilometres of land. Presently fuel yielding plants
cover less than 5,000 square kilometres

Good Earth Biodiesel Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai -100 MTPD

B. Lakshmi Sudha Biotechnologies, Andhra Pradesh -5 MTPD

Southern Online Biotechnologies, Hyderabad 3KLPD - Commissioned March 2006

Navatha Biofuels, Hyderabad 15 KLPD - Commissioned September 2008

Commet Future Greens, Ahmedabad 15 KLPD - Commissioned October 2008

Airbridge Greens, Kolkata 30 KLPD - Commissioned February 2009

Airbridge Greens, Kolkata 150 KLPD - Under Commissioning February 2009
Tata Chemicals, Mumbai - Under Commissioning
Seeds from the Jatropha curcas plant are used for the production of
bio-fuel, a crucial part of India's plan to attain energy sustainability.
The Indian Railways has started to use the oil (blended with diesel fuel in various
ratios) from the Jatropha plant to power its diesel engines with great success.

Andhra Pradesh has entered into a formal agreement with Reliance Industries for
Jatropha planting

Chhattisgarh has decided to plant 160 million saplings of jatropha in all its 16 districts

Farmers in semi-arid regions of Karnataka are planting Jatropha as it is well suited to

those conditions

Tamil Nadu is aggressively promoting the plantation of Jatropha

Tamil Nadu has also abolished purchase tax on Jatropha

Jatropha is ideally suited for cultivation in Rajasthan as it needs very little water which
is scarce in Rajasthan. Jatropa plantations have been undertaken in Udaipur, Kota,
Sikar, Banswara, Chittor and Churu districts.

General Motors has Jatropha plantataions in Bhavnagar, Gujarat

the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited(HPCL) joined hands with the
Maharashtra State Farming Corporation Ltd (MSFCL) for a jatropha seed-based bio-
diesel venture.

As part of the project, a jatropha plant would be grown on 500 acres (2 km²) in
Nashik and Aurangabad.

Pune Municipal Corporation took the lead among Indian cities in using bio-diesel
from jatropha in over 100 public buses

more than 2 million Jatropha plants have been planted in the target area of the five
villages the Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra

The Project on Development of Agronomic practices for Jatropha curcas is being

implemented, with the financial assistance of DBT (Department of Biotechnology),
New Delhi
A by-product of the transesterification process is the production of
glycerol.

For every 1 tonne of biodiesel that is manufactured, 100 kg of

glycerol are produced

Usually this crude glycerol has to be purified, typically by performing

vacuum distillation.

This is rather energy intensive

Glycerin is a chemical compound that is also known as glycerol.

It is a neutral, sweet tasting, colorless, thick liquid that can be freezed

to a thick paste, and has a high boiling point as well.

It can easily dissolve in water or alcohol but not in oils.

A very interesting property of glycerin is that it is very highly

hygroscopic,
Glycerine has many uses

Drugs - Glycerin is widely used to manufacture the following drugs.

Capsules, Ear infection remedies Anesthetics Cough remedies Lozenges
Gargles

Foods and Beverages - Glycerin is used to moisten, sweeten or preserve

the food and drinks:Soft drinks, Candies Cakes, Meat and cheese, Dry
food

Cosmetics and Toiletries - Because of the non-toxic nature of glycerin, it

is used in cosmetics and toiletries. It is used in the following
products:Toothpaste Skin creams and lotions, Pre-shaving lotions
Deodorants , Make up Lipstick
Tobacco - Glycerin is also used in tobacco to prevent the breaking
and crumbling during the processing of cigarettes, etc. It also adds
some kind of flavor to the chewing tobacco. It is widely used to
manufacture cigarette filter tips as well.

Paper and Printing - It is used to soften and reduce the shrinkage

during paper manufacturing. It is used in the following:Grease proof
paper, Food wrappers, Printing ink

Textiles - Glycerin is used in textiles to soften the yarn and to

lubricate fibres of different kinds.
Algae is potentially the most efficient crop to grow for biofuels.

It's oil content is a whopping 50+%

 Algae harvesting

Algae can be grown in fresh or brackish water (saltier water algae are oilier)