Conversion of by-products from the vegetable oil industry into biodiesel and its use in internal combustion engines: a review

Refining Vegetable Oils: Chemical and Physical Refining

This review presents recent technologies involved in vegetable oil refining as well as quality attributes of crude oils obtained by mechanical and solvent extraction. Usually, apart from virgin oils, crude oils cannot be consumed directly or incorporated into various food applications without technological treatments (refining). Indeed, crude oils like soybean, rapeseed, palm, corn, and sunflower oils must be purified or refined before consumption. The objective of such treatments (chemical and physical refining) is to get a better quality, a more acceptable aspect (limpidity), a lighter odor and color, longer stability, and good safety through the elimination of pollutants while minimizing oil loss during processing. However, the problem is that refining removes some essential nutrients and often generates other undesirable compounds such as 3-MCPD-esters and trans-fatty acids. These compounds directly influence the safety level of refined oil. Advantages and drawbacks of both chemical and physical refining were discussed in the light of recent literature. Physical refining has several advantages over chemical one.

Nanoferrites heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production from soybean and canola oil: a review

Fossil fuel depletion and pollution are calling for alternative, renewable energies such as biofuels. Actual challenges include the design of efficient processes and catalysts to convert various feedstocks into biofuels. Here, we review nanoferrites heterogeneous catalysts to produce biodiesel from soybean and canola oil. For that, transesterification is the main synthesis route and offers simplicity, cost-effectiveness, better process control, and high conversion yield. Catalysis with nanoferrites and composites allow to obtain yields higher than 95% conversion with less than 5.0 wt.% of catalyst loading at 80 °C in 1-2 h. More than 90% conversion yields can be achieved with a moderate alcohol/oil molar ratio, i.e., between 12:1 to 16:1. Catalyst recovery is easy due to the magnetic properties of nanoferrite, which can be effectively reused up to 4 times with less than 10% loss of catalytic efficiency.

A Revisit to the Formation and Mitigation of 3-Chloropropane-1,2-Diol in Palm Oil Production

Process-based contaminants in food—particularly in vegetable oils—have been a topic of interest due to their potential health risk on humans. Oral consumption above the tolerable daily intake might result in health risks. Therefore, it is critical to correctly address the food contaminant issues with a proper mitigation plan, in order to reduce and subsequently remove the occurrence of the contaminant. 3-monochloropropane-1,3-diol (3-MCPD), an organic chemical compound, is one of the heat- and process-induced food contaminants, belonging to a group called chloropropanols. This review paper discusses the occurrence of the 3-MCPD food contaminant in different types of vegetable oils, possible 3-MCPD formation routes, and also methods of reduction or removal of 3-MCPD in its free and bound esterified forms in vegetable oils, mostly in palm oil due to its highest 3-MCPD content.

Data on combustion chamber measurements of a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel of jatropha curcas and fatty acid distillates

Data in this paper covers in-cylinder pressure and volume, crank angle degrees as time magnitude, first derivate of in-cylinder pressure, admission pressure and injection pressure in a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel. This data brings additional information such as ignition delay and rate of heat released. As condensed information, some graphs were obtained and are into the database such as in-cylinder vs. CAD, first derivate of in-cylinder pressure vs. CAD and ROHR vs. CAD. The data shows the measurements of the cylinder pressure behaviour of biodiesel from two different sources, which are both of interest of bioenergy industry at local scenarios (Jatropha curcas and Fatty Acid Distillates). Data in the paper are shown in Tables and Graphs. Through this data, a more accurate approach to engines performance and combustion can be reach, enhancing combustion efficiency and understanding of differences with standard diesel fuel.

Mitigation Strategies for the Reduction of 2- and 3-MCPD Esters and Glycidyl Esters in the Vegetable Oil Processing Industry

The refining of vegetable oils leads to the formation of 2- and 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (2- and 3-MCPD-E), and glycidyl esters (Gly-E). A literature review was performed aiming to provide up-to-date knowledge on mitigation strategies during oil refining that can reduce the formation of these three processing contaminants. The review used the database Scopus and covered the period from 2009 to 2017. Most of the 18 papers dealt with palm oil and two papers with vegetable oil. Most studies focused on 3-MCPD-E, some on Gly-E, and none on 2-MCPD-E. Water degumming was able to reduce the concentrations of 3-MCPD-E by 84% and Gly-E by 26%. Neutralization of the oil reduced concentrations of 3-MCPD-E by 81% and Gly-E by 84%. Bleaching with synthetic magnesium silicate reduced the 3-MCPD-E concentration by 67%. For the deodorization step, several mitigation strategies, such as double-deodorization, the addition of various antioxidants, or a longer deodorization time, can reduce the formations of 3-MCPD-E by 82% and Gly-E by 78%. Postrefining mitigation, including the use of absorbents, enzymes, or rebleaching of the oil, has also been reported to produce desirable contaminant reduction. Postrefining treatment with calcinated zeolite was able to reduce the 3-MCPD-E concentration by 19% and the Gly-E concentration by 77%. Applying combined mitigation strategies to multiple steps of oil refining is likely crucial in order to adequately reduce levels of 3-MCPD-E and Gly-E.

Preparation of Renewable Bio-Polyols from Two Species of Colliguaja for Rigid Polyurethane Foams

In this study, we investigated the potential of two non-edible oil extracts from seeds of Colliguaja integerrima (CIO) and Colliguaja salicifolia (CSO) to use as a renewable source for polyols and, eventually, polyurethane foams or biodiesel. For this purpose, two novel polyols from the aforementioned oils were obtained in a one-single step reaction using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid. The polyol derivatives obtained from the two studied oils were characterized by spectral (FTIR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR), physicochemical (e.g., chromatographic analysis, acid value, oxidizability values, iodine value, peroxide value, saponification number, kinematic viscosity, density, theorical molecular weight, hydroxyl number, and hydroxyl functionality) and thermal (TGA) analyses according to standard methods. Physicochemical results revealed that all parameters, with the exception of the iodine value, were higher for bio-polyols (CSP and CIP) compared to the starting oils. The NMR, TGA, and FTIR analyses demonstrated the formation of polyols. Finally, the OH functionality values for CIP and CSP were 4.50 and 5.00, respectively. This result indicated the possible used of CIP and CSP as a raw material for the preparation of polyurethane rigid foams.