Use of solar energy for biodiesel production and use of biodiesel waste as a green reaction solvent

Abstract

Due to the depletion of fossil fuel energy sources, new alternative energy sources are becoming prevalent in our society. Biodiesel has been recognized as an attractive replacement for depleting energy sources since it is produced mainly from vegetable oils and animal fats, is a renewable resource, and is non-toxic. The synthesis of biodiesel involves heating a triglyceride with methanol (or ethanol) under strongly basic conditions. Since fossil fuels are used for electrical energy in the United States, the amount of electricity required to heat this reaction requires the use of non-renewable resources. An effective means for minimizing the amount of electricity needed to drive chemical reactions to completion is proposed through the use of solar parabolic reflectors. In this study, a technique was developed to incorporate recently proposed solar reflectors developed from satellite dishes into the synthetic procedure for biodiesel. Through the use of our technique, the generation of carbon dioxide waste during biodiesel production has been eliminated. Another area of environmental concern in biodiesel production is the generation of waste by-products (glycerol). A technique has been developed that incorporates the use of recovered biodiesel waste glycerol as the solvent system for Wolff-Kishner reduction reactions. The reduction of isobutyryl chloride has been performed successfully using biodiesel waste glycerol as the solvent system and solar irradiation as the heat source for the chemical reaction.

Wolff–Kishner reduction reactions using a solar irradiation heat source and a green solvent system

“…This type set-up would work very well in an educational setting teaching students the principles and applications of green chemistry. Currently, investigations are being conducted to determine the scale limitations of the current set-up for other solar reflectors with larger dimensions (25).…”

Recent trends in biodiesel production from commonly used animal fats

“…[114][115][116] Several literatures have stated that total energy consumption in the production of the biodiesel fuel could be drastically reduced by exclusively using renewable energy sources. [117][118][119] In this regard, Corro et al 120 recently studied the production of biodiesel from waste frying oil using waste animal bone and solar heat source. The author utilized a catalytic procedure, which involves 2 steps, using waste frying oil as feedstock, waste animal bone as catalyst, and solar radiation as heat source.…”

Thermodynamic Analysis of Waste Vegetable Oil Conversion to Biodiesel with Solar Energy

“…Studies were conducted on the integration of solar energy in the biodiesel production process. Most studies focused on a laboratory scale, integrating solar energy in the reaction stage, directly concentrating the solar radiation with a Scheffler reflector or Fresnel lenses [17][18][19]. Solar energy integration in different areas of the biodiesel production process was marginally studied.…”