Production of Oxygenated Fuel Additives from Residual Glycerine Using Biocatalysts Obtained from Heavy-Metal-Contaminated Jatropha curcas L. Roots

Juan Francisco García-Martín, Francisco Javier Alés-Álvarez, Miguel Torres-García, Chao-Hui Feng and Paloma Álvarez-Mateos
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Juan Francisco García-Martín: Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, C/Profesor García González, 1, 41012 Seville, Spain
Francisco Javier Alés-Álvarez: Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, C/Profesor García González, 1, 41012 Seville, Spain
Miguel Torres-García: Departamento de Ingeniería Energética. E.T.S. de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, Camino de los Descubrimientos, s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain
Chao-Hui Feng: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Science, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
Paloma Álvarez-Mateos: Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, C/Profesor García González, 1, 41012 Seville, Spain

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: This work aims to shed light on the use of two biochars, obtained from the pyrolysis at 550 °C of heavy-metal-contaminated Jatropha curcas L. roots, as heterogeneous catalysts for glycerol esterification using residual glycerine. To do this, glycerine from biodiesel production was purified. In a first step, H 3 PO 4 or H 2 SO 4 was used to remove non-glycerol organic matter. The glycerol-rich phase was then extracted with ethanol or propanol, which increased the glycerol content from 43.2% to up to 100%. Subsequently, the esterification of both purified glycerine and commercial USP glycerine was assayed with acetic acid (AA) or with acetic anhydride (AH) at 9:1 molar ratio to glycerol using Amberlyst-15 as catalyst. Different reaction times (from 1.5 to 3 h) and temperatures (100–115 °C when using AA and 80–135 °C when using AH) were assessed. Results revealed that the most suitable conditions were 80 °C and 1.5 h reaction time using AH, achieving 100% yield and selectivity towards triacetylglycerol (TAG) almost with both glycerines. Finally, the performance and reuse of the two heterogeneous biocatalysts was assessed. Under these conditions, one of the biocatalysts also achieved 100% TAG yield.

Keywords: biocatalyst; biodiesel; esterification; glycerol; triacetylglycerol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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