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Production of Cold-Flow Quality Biodiesel from High-Acidity On-Edible Oils—Esterification and Transesterification of Macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) Oil Using Various Alcohols

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Abstract

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that has been used for partial or total substitution of diesel to reduce its environmental impacts. Prior studies on this topic have focused on the quest for better synthesis process, new catalysts and low-cost non-food and raw materials to improve the economic and sustainable production as well as product quality. In this study, acidic oil from macauba, a palm tree native to South America that has no food uses, was converted into biodiesel. The esterification and transesterification reactions were performed with methanol, ethanol and isobutanol with the goal of improving the cold properties of the biodiesel. The isobutyl ester exhibited the lowest freezing point temperature but underperformed outside of international specifications for kinematic viscosity; it also exhibited a low ester content. The methyl and ethyl esters were within the specifications of the international standards for ester content, density, kinematic viscosity and sulphur content. The ethyl ester produced from macauba oil displayed better properties in cold conditions than methyl and isobutyl esters studied here, with a cold filter plugging point of 0 °C. Its onset crystallisation temperature was reduced from −5.96 to −13.41 °C when subjected to fractional crystallisation. The ethyl ester exhibited the best lubricity value among the other esters studied.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the financial support of Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis (ANP), the Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP) and the Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT) through the Programa de Formação de Recursos Humanos da ANP for the Setor Petróleo e Gás (PRH-ANP/MCT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fuel Laboratory, Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Larissa Noemí Silva & Vânya M. D. Pasa

  2. Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, R. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52171-900, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Claudia Cristina Cardoso

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  1. Larissa Noemí Silva
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  2. Claudia Cristina Cardoso
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  3. Vânya M. D. Pasa
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Correspondence to Claudia Cristina Cardoso.

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Silva, L.N., Cardoso, C.C. & Pasa, V.M.D. Production of Cold-Flow Quality Biodiesel from High-Acidity On-Edible Oils—Esterification and Transesterification of Macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) Oil Using Various Alcohols. Bioenerg. Res. 9, 864–873 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-016-9740-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-016-9740-4

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