Xuan Wu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Dennis Y. C. Leung
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/ecp1105779Published in: World Renewable Energy Congress - Sweden; 8-13 May; 2011; Linköping; Sweden
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 57:11, p. 79-86
Published: 2011-11-03
ISBN: 978-91-7393-070-3
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Camelina seed oil has recently attracted great interest as a low-cost feedstock for biodiesel production because of its high oil content and environmental benefits. In the present study; an orthogonal array design was used to optimize the biodiesel production from camelina seed oil using ultrasonic-assisted transesterification. Four relevant factors are investigated: methanol to oil ratio; catalyst concentration; reaction time and temperature to obtain maximum fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of biodiesel. An OA25 matrix was employed to study the effect of the four factors; by which the effect of each factor was estimated using statistical analysis. Based on the results of the statistical analysis after the orthogonal experiments; maximal biodiesel FAME yield (98.6 %) was obtained under the conditions of 8:1 methanol to oil molar ratio; 1.25 wt.% catalyst concentration (KOH); 50 min reaction time; and 55 ? reaction temperature. Other properties of the optimized biodiesel; including density; kinematic viscosity; and acid value; were conformed to the relevant ASTM and EN biodiesel standards and thus the optimized biodiesel from camelina oil basically qualified to be used as diesel fuel.
Biodiesel; Orthogonal experiment; Optimization; Ultrasonic-assisted; Camelina oil
