http://www.pacetoday.com.au/news/biodiesel-manufacturing-goes-eco-friendly
Biodiesel manufacturing goes eco-friendly
20 March, 2014 Kevin Gomez
The sustainability of biofuels as a renewable energy source has been
boosted with the development of a new water-free process for the
production of biodiesel from waste vegetable oils.
The global production of biofuels – such as ethanol and biodiesel – has
increased by over 600 per cent in a decade to more than 100 billion
litres in 2011. Biofuels are used widely in the transport sector and
account for three per cent of total road transport fuel globally.
Australia would be capable of supporting its own aviation biofuel
industry, provided significant obstacles were removed, according to the
results of study released by Qantas and Shell.
However, biofuels production has been criticised for causing
deforestation, adding to the pressure on agricultural land needed for
food production and the environmental impact of wastewater produced
during their production.
Korean company Dongmun Greentec, is looking to build a plant in NSW
large enough to manufacture 110,000 kilolitres of ethanol each year. The
$90 million Deniliquin plant, would use locally sourced grains to
produce fuel and other by-products.
US-based company Aurora Algae is building a $300 million plant in
Karratha, which has what has been called an ideal climate for microalgae
production.
Traditional methods of biodiesel production use high volumes of water to
remove impurities or 'soaps' to meet stringent quality standards. For
palm oil production, 50 per cent of water used becomes palm oil mill
effluent – the largest pollutant of rivers in Malaysia.
Researchers from the University of Porto, Portugal, are now looking at
water-free methods for purifying biofuels, including those made from
waste cooking oils, animal fats and other fatty wastes derived from
industrial activities.
Instead of water, researchers used catalysts to pre-treat and target
impurities such as calcium 'soaps' in the biodiesel. The impurities were
then removed by absorption into resins or passing through ceramic membranes.
The researchers were able to produce good quality biodiesel from both
virgin vegetable oil and, importantly, waste oils used for frying.
The new process could provide significant economic and environmental
benefits compared to other more energy intensive water-based production
methods.
The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) chief executive, Dr David
Brown, said: "In some countries like Brazil, biofuels provide nearly a
quarter of their road transport needs.
Australia has a growing biofuel manufacturing industry. A Pilbara-based
company that recycles cooking oil from mining camps to make biofuel is
now developing cleaning products from glycerol.
In the European Union, negotiations are under way to increase biofuels
for transport to ten per cent. And Indonesia - the world's largest
producer of palm oil - has announced plans to increase biodiesel
production to reduce its reliance on crude oil imports.
"However, current production processes do not always deliver the full
potential of biofuels to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and there
are continuing challenges including economic and environmental.
"But demand for biofuels is clearly increasing and advancement in
chemical engineering processes, such as the use of heterogeneous
catalysis and water-free methods using membranes, are very welcome to
consolidate biofuels as a globally accepted and sustainable source of
renewable energy."
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