Biodiesel purification from cellulose-containing materials

Abstract

Biodiesel is a mixture of fatty acid alkyl ester used as alternative fuel in diesel engines. With the overall intention of providing a low cost biodiesel purification method so that rural communities can be empowered with the benefits of a clean and sustainable source of energy, the feasibility of using various cellulose-containing materials,namely saw dust, wood shavings, orange peel and coconut husk, for biodiesel purification was qualitatively examined. A stock solution of crude biodiesel was first produced from waste vegetable oil. The crude biodiesel was then purified by the test materials as well as various existing methods – water-washing, magnesium silicate (Magnesol) and ion exchange resins(Purolite PD206). In addition, a commercial product containing cellulose-containing materials, Eco2Pure, was used for purification. Using a comparative approach and within financial and experimental limits, it was found that wood shavings, saw dust and orange peel could potentially be used for biodiesel purification while the use of coconut husk appears doubtful. Moving ahead, quantitative assessment of the finished biodiesel product would be necessary to completely ascertain its feasibility for use in biodiesel purification.