This
research focuses on the feasibility of using diesel–palm
fatty acid distillate ethyl ester (PFADE)–ethanol in a direct
injection diesel engine without any major modifications. Hydrous ethanol
was selected for blending in diesel to produce diesohol. The palm
fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and PFADE were directly blended in ethanol
and diesel. A comparative study of the phase stability in diesel–PFAD–hydrous
ethanol and diesel–PFADE–hydrous ethanol was performed
with varied blend proportions. The fuel properties, emissions (CO,
CO
2
, NO
x
, O
2
, exhaust
gas temperature), and fuel consumptions of diesel, PFADE, diesel–PFADE–hydrous
ethanol were compared to evaluate the feasibilities of these fuel
blends in a diesel engine at the engine speeds 1100, 1400, 1700, 2000,
and 2300 rpm. At 2300 rpm, the maximum CO
2
emission with
10 wt % hydrous ethanol in the blend was approximately 2%. With regard
to fuel consumption, clearly, 20 wt % diesohol gave higher consumption than 10 wt %
ethanol at a maximum engine speed of 2300 rpm. The blend D50PE40E10
gave the lowest fuel consumption, while the maximum fuel consumption
was with the D10PE70E20 blend. Therefore, both 10 and 20 wt % hydrous
ethanol in the diesel fuel are alternatives usable in a diesel engine
without modifications.
In this research, the optimum condition for the production
of refined
crude palm oil methyl ester from refined crude palm oil was investigated
using the response surface method via the transesterification reaction
in a batch process. The refined crude palm oil was obtained by vacuum
distillation of crude palm oil to extract some of the free fatty acids
from the oil, providing nutritional benefits and reducing the chemical
consumption of the production process. The purity of methyl ester
in the refined crude palm oil methyl ester was studied to adjust four
independent variables: methanol content (11–23 vol %), concentration
of potassium hydroxide (4–12 g/L), stirrer speed (100–500
rpm), and reaction time (9–45 min). The results showed that
methyl ester had a purity of 96.91 wt % when synthesized under optimal
conditions of 18.2 vol % methanol, a potassium hydroxide concentration
of 10.0 g/L, a stirring speed of 380 rpm, and a reaction time of 36.4
min at 60 °C. Refined crude palm oil methyl ester was blended
with diesel and ethanol to study the feasibility of using the diesel–refined
crude palm oil methyl ester–hydrous ethanol blend in an unmodified
diesel engine. A comparative study of fuel properties, emissions,
and performance of the diesel–refined crude palm oil methyl
ester–ethanol blend was used to assess the feasibility of fuel
blends (D40RM50E10, D30RM60E10, D20RM70E10, and D10RM80E10) in diesel
engines at various engine speeds and loads. The results showed that
the D40RM50E10 blend provided the closest performance to diesel and
was environmentally friendly, as it provided nitrogen oxide and carbon
monoxide emissions 32 and 55% lower than those with diesel, respectively.
The test results indicated that the diesel–refined crude palm
oil methyl ester–hydrous ethanol blend is an attractive alternative
fuel in agricultural engines that reduces diesel consumption and benefits
farmers and rural communities.
In the small-scale dry oil extraction from palm fruit used by palm oil mills, mixed crude palm oil (MCPO) is extracted using a single screw press. The oil palm meal (OPM) by-product can be used as alternative feed for ruminants. Three parameters in further solvent extraction of oil are the ethanol-to-dried oil palm meal (DOPM) ratio (4.9-30.1 g.g -1 ), the extraction time (0.2-18.8 min), and the speed of stirrer (48-552 rpm). These parameters were optimized to for maximum oil yield by response surface methodology (RSM) while employing hydrous ethanol as the solvent. In our laboratory-scale oil extraction, the maximal experimental yield was 10.27 wt.% under the recommend condition: 20.1 g.g -1 ethanol-to-DOPM ratio, 11 min extraction time, and 300 rpm speed of stirrer. Moreover, prototype-scale oil extraction was tested with recirculated miscella for effects of the number of cycles on oil extraction from fresh DOPM. The results showed approximately 17.4 wt.% oil yield from 5000 g DOPM at the conditions recommended based on laboratory-scale experiments. In this study, recirculated miscella was used to extract oil from fresh DOPM. The first four cycles of oil extraction were almost as efficient as with fresh ethanol. Moreover, the protein content in the defatted oil palm meal (DFOPM) improved with oil extraction, because residual oil in DOPM was removed. The DFOPM should have less rancidity and longer shelf-life than DOPM. 2 _coefficient of determination; SEM_scanning electron microscopy; SS_sum of squares; TG_triglyceride; TLC/FID_thin layer chromatography with flame ionization detection; Y_response variable; vol.%_percentage by volume; wt.%_percentage by weight.
Ethyl ester production from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) with ethanol in the presence of sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide was performed in a continuous three-step process using the ultrasound clamps and an ultrasonic probe. The ultimate goal was to produce biodiesel from the PFAD. In the first and second esterification steps, 16 units of a 400 W ultrasound clamp (20 kHz) were attached 100-m apart along each tubular reactor. In the third transesterification step, a 1000-W ultrasonic homogenizer (18 kHz) was used in a 100-mL continuous reactor. A composite central design of experiments and the response surface methodology (RSM) were used to develop predictive models and identify the optimal conditions of each step based on the purities of ethyl ester. The optimal conditions in the first step were 46.1 vol.% ethanol, 1.4 vol.% sulfuric acid, and purity 66.68 wt.% ethyl ester. In the second step, the optimized conditions were 57 vol.% ethanol, and 2.1 vol.% sulfuric acid, purity 95.32 wt.% ethyl ester. The final transesterification step was carried out with 14.6 vol.% ethanol and 3.9 gKOH L−1. As a result, a final ethyl ester purity of 98.15 wt.% was achieved in the biodiesel using the three-step process.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.