Biodiesel production from residual cooking oils and its purification through adsorption processes using activated carbon prepared from cork waste Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can be produced from waste cooking oil mainly through transesterification. However, from its production results a contaminant called glycerol, which must be removed. Wet washing is the most common method for biodiesel purification, but it has several drawbacks, including high costs and the generation of large amounts of aqueous effluent. This study proposes using activated carbon obtained from industrial cork waste in adsorption as an alternative method for glycerol removal. This approach could potentially reduce the environmental impact and cost of producing biodiesel, while also providing an alternative for the valorization of industrial cork waste. The highest value of removal of 89% of glycerol occurred with a cork chemically activated carbon with KOH at a load of 2%wt at 25°C for 6 hours of contact. After the biodiesel washing using adsorption process, the remaining glycerol content was 0.016%wt, below the maximum value of 0.02%wt specified by the EN14214:2012 standard.

publication date

  • January 1, 2023