| Title of Process/ Know-how/ Product/Design/Equipment
Preparation biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters) from various vegetable oils using recyclable solid base catalyst
IPR Status & Details:
US 9029583B2, CN 103370405B, JP 5964327B2, EP 2675879B1, ES 2800023T3, IN 0371/DEL/2011, WO 2012111023A8, CA 2827063A1, KR 20140006030A, BR 112013020651A2, MY165640A
Application/Uses/Problem being addressed
Salient Technical Features including Competing Features/ Impact
TRL Level & Scale of Development:- TRL 4 TRL Reference
- For sunflower oil scaled up at 1 Kg scale. Successfully collected ~ 800 g (excluding handling loss) of FAME and ~ 85 g of glycerol with > 95 and > 97% purity respectively.
- At 25 g scale, Jatropha, pungai and karingatta oil results ˃ 95% yield of FAME.
- At 25 g scale, using LR grade methanol (high water content (0.05%)) results ˃ 90% yield of FAME.
Business scope & opportunity (in terms of scale, cost, market etc.)
This process relates to the preparation of biodiesel from various vegetable oils which can probably replace to restricted available, depleting fossil source derived fuels. Simple and scalable method is used for the preparation of low-cost catalyst precursors by using only water as synthesis medium. Active catalyst is prepared from precursor by simple calcination process under static air condition that reduces the cost of inert gases which are generally required for the preparation of oxide catalysts. In this process, very less amount of methanol (nearly 2 stoichiometric ratio of oils) is used as alcohol source which makes this process more cost-effective. Catalyst is separated from the reaction mixture by simple filtration without using any further chemicals and are successfully recycled. By-product glycerol is separated from bio-diesel by phase-separation technique without using any further chemicals. Both FAME and glycerol have huge application potential and so the developed process provides scope to oleo-chemical industries.
Environmental Considerations
- Requires less amount of methanol (nearly 2 times of stoichiometric of oil – In most of the cases).
- Catalyst is easily recoverable (simple filtration) without any further addition of chemicals and reusable.
Status of Licensing:
Licensed technology
Status of Commercialization:
Not applicable
Major Raw Materials Needed
- Various edible (9 sources), non-edible (7 sources) and waste cooking oils (3 sources) are used as vegetable oil source – Totally 19 different oil sources (mainly sunflower oil).
- HPLC grade methanol and LR grade methanol are used as alcohol source.
Major Plant Equipment and Machinery Required
For reaction - Stirred tank reactor with water cooler system; Filtration assembly; Rotary evaporator to remove the unreacted alcohols; Phase separating unit for separation of FAME and glycerol
Techno-Economics
Tentative Price:
Vegetable oils: approx. ₹40-80/L. Rates may be less (25-50%) in wholesale places.
Methanol: approx. ₹20-30/L
Biodiesel: ₹100-120/L
Glycerol: ₹30-90/Kg (local vendors)
Technology Package
Know-how for process of FAME from vegetable oils; Demonstration of the process; Equipment necessary for pilot scale; License fee, royalty and other financial details are available on request.