Ultrasonic-assisted reactive-extraction is a fast and easy method for biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oilseeds

In Situ Transesterification from Soybean Seed Using Mechanochemical Methods toward Producing Biodiesel

The research and development of new routes of biodiesel synthesis have been increasingly in line with the principles of green chemistry. In this sense, mechanochemistry is a promising technique, able to ally the energetic potential with reductions in the use of solvents and steps of treatment of the sample and the purification of the product. To date, this is the first work using mechanochemistry directly in extracting soybean oil from its seed and the in situ transesterification reaction by applying a reactive soybean oil extraction process. The presence of n-hexane was studied in different molar proportions (relative to the oil content), and a low solvent consumption in a 3:1 ratio was adopted. Mechanochemistry favored oil diffusion in the n-hexane solvent, resulting in a mean triglyceride content equal to 90%, against 66% obtained in the tests without spheres in the planetary ball mill. The catalyst content was also evaluated, and 4% NaOH (weight, concerning the oil) was the concentration that presented less residue of nontransesterified glycerides in the samples for ethyl ester preparation. Additionally, the protein content was determined on the residual soybean cake, with no loss of nutritional potential when subjected to the mechanochemical process.

Controlled crushing device-intensified direct biodiesel production of Black Soldier Fly larvae

Insect larvae contain sufficient oil comparable with oleaginous biomass, and hence have potency as alternative biodiesel resources. The direct transesterification of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae have conducted using a controllable crushing device (CCD) and a homogeneous base as a catalyst. The effect of catalyst concentration (wt.%), ratio BSF larvae to methanol (wt./v), reaction time (min) and rotational speed (rpm) on biodiesel conversion was determined. The maximum conversion of 93.8% was achieved at room temperature after 20 min of reaction time and ratio larvae to methanol of 1:2 (wt./v), catalyst concentration of 7 wt% and rotational speed of 3000 rpm. In addition, the green metrics calculation showed that this method produces less waste and uses less solvent. Some of the BSF-biodiesel properties meet the biodiesel standard. The CCD-intensified the DT of BSF larvae is a promising alternative for green and energy-saved biodiesel production.

Reactive Extraction for Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Production from Castor Seeds Using a Heterogeneous Base Catalyst: Process Parameter Optimization and Characterization

Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from oil seeds is conventionally produced via a two/three-process-step method: extraction of oil and subsequent esterification/transesterification to fatty FAME (biodiesel). However, in the present study, we investigated the production of castor kernel oil (CKO) FAME by reactive extraction for extraction and transesterification in a single process using a heterogeneous catalyst. The content of oil that can be extracted was checked by investigating several nonreactive extraction parameters such as solvent type (polar, nonpolar, and mixture), the solvent to kernel ratio, and extraction time. Maximum oil was extracted using methanol as a solvent with a methanol-to-seed ratio of 6.25:1 for 6 h extraction time. The viscosity of CKO obtained by nonreactive extraction was reduced from 288.83 to 19.04 mm²/s by reactive extraction using a 4.09 wt % catalyst concentration (BaO) and a 330.9:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio for 6 h reaction time at 64 °C. Reactive extraction for transesterification of CKO was performed using BaO, CaO, and ZnO heterogeneous catalysts. BaO results in the increased yield of CKO FAME compared to other catalysts. Central composite design (CCD) using the response surface methodology (RSM) was implemented to design the experimental matrix, process parameter optimization, maximize the yield of CKO FAME, and investigate interaction effects of parameters such as reactive extraction temperature (55-65 °C), catalyst concentration (3-5 wt %), and methanol-to-oil molar ratio (175:1-350:1) on the yield of CKO FAME. A second-order model equation with a p-value < 0.05 and an R ² value near 1.0 was obtained to predict the yield using the input parameters. The maximum yield CKO FAME of 96.13 wt % with 94.4% purity of produced CKO FAME was obtained at a catalyst concentration of 4.09 wt % and a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 330.9:1 for 6 h with a reaction temperature of 64 °C. Therefore, a comparable conversion of castor seed oil triglyceride (96.13 wt %) was obtained in a single step directly from castor seeds. Furthermore, the rheological behavior investigation of castor kernel oil and castor methyl ester revealed that the dynamic viscosity of both samples was found to be dependent on triglyceride content and temperature.

Using Box–Behnken Design Coupled with Response Surface Methodology for Optimizing Rapeseed Oil Expression Parameters under Heating and Freezing Conditions

The effect of heating and freezing pretreatments on rapeseed oil yield and the volume of oil energy under uniaxial compression loading was investigated. Four separate experiments were carried out to achieve the study objective. The first and second experiments were performed to determine the compression parameters (deformation, mass of oil, oil yield, oil expression efficiency, energy, volume of oil and volume of oil energy). The third and fourth experiments identified the optimal factors (heating temperatures: 40, 60 and 80 °C, freezing temperatures: −2, −22 and −36 °C, heating times: 15, 30 and 45 min and speeds: 5, 10 and 15 mm/min) using the Box–Behnken design via the response surface methodology where the oil yield and volume of oil energy were the main responses. The optimal operating factors for obtaining a volume of oil energy of 0.0443 kJ/mL were a heating temperature of 40 °C, heating time of 45 min and speed of 15 mm/min. The volume of oil energy of 0.169 kJ/mL was reached at the optimal conditions of a freezing temperature of −36 °C, freezing time of 37.5 min and speed of 15 mm/min. The regression model established was adequate for predicting the volume of oil energy only under heating conditions.

Investigation on the effect of ultrasound irradiation on biodiesel properties and transesterification parameters

This work examines the effect of ultrasound irradiation (UI) on biodiesel properties and transesterification parameters. Methanol content, reaction time, reaction temperature, and catalyst concentration are varied, and the optimum condition for maximum possible yield was held constant for both processes. Biodiesel obtained from non-edible oils is the most promising alternative fuel for conventional diesel fuel. In this study, sterculia foetida seed oil was used for biodiesel production. Sterculia foetida oil was transesterified to lower its FFA using UI and compared with the conventional process. Both heating processes were optimized to yield a maximum of 94.3% at a six molar ratio, 50 °C, (water temp), 1% wt of catalyst (KOH), and 75 min reaction time. Transesterification by UI reduced the total reaction time to 4 min compared to 75 min at the conventional process. Further UI influenced the properties of biodiesel (SOBD) from SO. UI lowered viscosity by 7.3% and density by 5.5% and facilitated using oxygen content of SOBD.

Green and novel ultrasonic extraction with UHPLC-MSMS analysis of natural sweetener (Glycyrrhizic acid) from Glycyrrhiza glabra; a multifactorial mechanistic evaluation based on statistical analysis

A novel, green and eco-friendly, cost-effective, fast, and reliable high energy ultrasonication (US) extraction with UHPLC-MSMS (Ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry) quantification of Glycyrrhizic acid (GZA) is reported herein for the first time. The study provides useful insights regarding the effect of US-factors with statistical analysis and mechanisms, involved in GZA-extraction and analysis. An US-extraction method (US-MD) was developed using three levels of US factors: solvents (AC (acetone), EtOH (ethanol), H₂O (water)), time (1, 2, 3 min), amplitudes (30, 40, 50%), pulse (10/0.5, 20/0.5, 30/0.5 sec), particle sizes (0.5, 1, 1.4 mm), and temperatures (20, 30, 40 °C). The US-MD was further validated with high accuracy 98.96 ± 6.82 and r² = 0.995 whereas, an in-house analytical method (UHPLC-MSMS) was developed and validated to quantify the GZAamount. UHPLCMSMS-MD resulted in a retention time of 0.31 min with MSMS (821.400 > 351.200) in a 1 min run time whereas, UHPLCMSMS-MV showed high accuracy and precision with r² = 0.998 for GZA. Statistical analysis of K-mean clustering finalized US-set-of-factors showing optimum extract yield (mg/1mg) of 0.48 with sum (2.41 ± 014) and mean (0.27) along with a high GZA-amount (μg/mg) of 8.23 with sum (43.31 ± 2.07) and mean (4.81) for H₂O in 3 min at 40 °C using particle size (1.4 mm), amplitude (50%), and pulse (30/0.5). Large scale application of US-UHPLCMSMS confirmed the evaluation power of the method showing the order for GZA amount; Egypt > Pakistan > Syria > India > Palestine > America > Georgia > Morocco. A significant effect for US factors Vs extract yield and GZA amount was observed however, solvent*GZA-amount and extract yield*particle size were more significantly correlated compared to time*temperature*amplitude*pulse analyzed via PCA, GLM-UniANOVA, K-mean, and Pearson's correlation (P ≤ 0.05). A combined mechanism of shear stress, macroturbulence due to acoustic cavitation and implosions, sonochemical, and sonocapillary effect were noted for the US technique producing higher extract yield and GZA amount from licorice.

Turbo thin film continuous flow production of biodiesel from fungal biomass

Direct biodiesel production from wet fungal biomass may significantly reduce production costs, but there is a lack of fast and cost-effective processing technology. A novel thin film continuous flow process has been applied to study the effects of its operational parameters on fatty acid (FA) extraction and FA to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) conversion efficiencies. Single factor experiments evaluated the effects of catalyst concentration and water content of biomass, while factorial experimental designs determined the interactions between catalyst concentration and biomass to methanol ratio, flow rate, and rotational speed. Direct transesterification (DT) of wet Mucor plumbeus biomass at ambient temperature and pressure achieved a FA to FAME conversion efficiency of >90% using 3 wt/v % NaOH concentration, if the water content was ≤50% (w/w). In comparison to existing DT methods, this continuous flow processing technology has an estimated 90-94% reduction in energy consumption, showing promise for up-scaling.

In-situ reactive extraction of castor seeds for biodiesel production using the coordinated ultrasound - microwave irradiation: Process optimization and kinetic modeling

The present study demonstrates innovative and industrially viable in-situ biodiesel production process using coordinated ultrasound-microwave reactor. Reactive extraction process has been carried out by mixing grinded castor seeds with methanol in the presence of base catalyst (KOH). Response surface methodology coupled with central composite design has been applied for process optimization to achieve maximum yield. The result shows that maximum biodiesel yield of 93.5 ± 0.76% was obtained under favorable conditions of: molar ratio (350:1), catalyst (w/w) (1.74%), reaction temperature (43 °C) and reaction time (30 min). Regression equation obtained for the model having (R²), and (R²_adj) equal to 0.9737 and 0.9507 respectively shows goodness of fit. First time reaction kinetics as well as oil extraction kinetics studies have been performed on coordinated ultrasound-microwave reactor. Assuming pseudo first order reaction activation energy was found to be 28.27 kJ·mol^-1 and activation energy for oil extraction was observed to be 9.11 kJ mol^-1. Estimated activation energy for the reaction kinetics and extraction kinetics was reduced by 27%, reaction rate constants were eight to ten times higher and diffusion coefficient was found to be two times higher in case of hybrid system as compared to conventional mechanical stirring technique. Estimated thermo-physical properties of biodiesel were found in agreement with ASTM and DIN standards in comparison to gasoline diesel.

Ultrasonic-assisted continuous methanolysis of Jatropha curcas oil in the appearance of biodiesel used as an intermediate solvent

A environmental friendly system for fast transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil was developed for the production of biodiesel using an ultrasonic-assisted continuous tank reactor in the presence of fatty acid methyl ester (FAMEs) used as a green (intermediate) solvent with potassium hydroxide used as a catalyst. This research provide a new biodiesel production process, the optimal condition for the reaction were established: reaction temperature 25°C oil to methanol molar ratio was 1:5, catalyst concentration 0.75wt% of oil, solvent concentration 7.5%, flow rate 241.68±0.80ml/min, ultrasonic amplitude 60% and ultrasonic cycles 0.7s, transesterification was completed within 1.09min (residence time). The purity and conversion of biodiesel was 98.75±0.50% analyzed by the reverse phase HPLC method.