Transcript Lecture 23 - Bioenergy

Bioenergy-Biodiesel
Agenda
 Why biodiesel?
 How to make it?
» Possible sources
» Transesterification
 Biodiesel plants
» Imperium renewables
 Biodiesel story
Rudolf Diesel (1893)
“The use of vegetable oils for engine
fuels may seem insignificant today,”
he argued, “but such oils may
become, in the course of time, as
important as petroleum and the coaltar products of the present time."
Energy content
Gasoline
Ethanol
Biodiesel
100%
67%
86%
Biodiesel versus bioethanol (1)
~12 x more (2005)
*Europe currently represents 80% of global biodiesel consumption and production
Biodiesel versus bioethanol (2)
Biodiesel
 Biodiesel is not the same thing as raw vegetable oil. It
is produced by a chemical process which removes the
glycerol from the oil.
 Biodiesel
»
»
»
»
Domestic
Renewable
For diesel engines
Derived from oils and fats
Why biodiesel?
 Biodiesel
» Biodegradable
» Non-toxic
» Lower gas emission that diesel when burned
(reduced green house gases emission by at least
68%)
» Commercially available in Europe and US
» Low S content
» High lubricity
Biodiesel production
 Biodiesel is typically produced by a reaction
of a vegetable oil or animal fat with an
alcohol such as methanol or ethanol in the
presence of a catalyst to yield mono-alkyl
esters and glycerol, which is removed.
How?
 Tranesterification: alcohol + ester → different
alcohol + different ester
» Base of acid as a catalyst
» The oil is mixed with an alcohol, usually
methanol or ethanol, and separated into methyl
esters (biodiesel) and glycerol.
Transesterification
Methyl esters
Biodiesel technology
Possible sources
 Vegetable oil (soy, canola, palm, rapeseed,
coconut etc.)
 Non food plants (jatropha)
 Recycled oil (McDonald’s fryer)
 Animal fats (fish oil)
 Algae
Palm oil (1)
 Palm oil plantationsapproximately 11 million
hectares (2006) in the world
» Conversion of tropical forest in
Asia into palm oil plantation
– Habitat destruction and
potential extinction of certain
endangered species (e.g. the
orangutans in Borneo, the
Sumatran tigers and Asian
rhinoceros)
Palm oil (2)
 Palm oil is derived from the plant’s fruit
» A hundred kilograms of oil seeds typically
produce 20 kilograms of oil
» Crude palm oil is extracted from the yellow
parts of oil palm fruit
Algae to biodiesel
Gallons of oil/acre/year
Corn
15
Soybeans
48
Sunflower
102
Rapeseed
127
Palm oil
635
Algae
1850*cost
Pond algae
Greenfuels bioreactors
What are algae?
 Primitive plants closely related
to fungi
 No true leaves, stems or root
systems
 Reproduce by means of spores,
cell division or fragmentation.
 “Live" from excess nutrients in
the water and sunlight
 Over 17,400 species of algae
have been identified and
thousands more probably exist
 Not all of them produce high%
of oils
Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) (1)
 Resistant to drought and pests
 Grows on marginal lands
 India, South Africa, South East
Asia
 Seeds contain up to 40% oil
» Oil in the seeds for biodiesel
» Residues for power electricity
plants
 The plant yields more than
» 4x /ha that of soybean
» 10x /ha that of corn
Imperium Renewables (1)
Imperium Renewables has constructed a new biodiesel manufacturing plant at the Port of Grays Harbor.
The facility includes 8 main tanks that can hold 2 million gallons each, and 2 smaller tanks that can hold
500,000 gallons each. The rail line that serves the facility passes through the center of this photo.
Imperium Renewables=the largest biodiesel facility in US.
Imperium Renewables (2)
 February 24th, 2008
Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747
» 20% biofuel (coconut)+80%
standard fuel (1/4 engine)
» No modification to the
engine
 Washington ferries
Issaquah, March 2008
» B5 blend of canola
biodiesel
Biodiesel cars
 The 86% fuel economy compared to 100%
gasoline
» A smoother running engine due to the cleaning
and lubricating properties of the fuel.
» Other benefits
– Better smelling exhaust (french fries or a warm waffle
iron).
» Special materials required for fuel lines, hoses,
valves, gaskets
 B10, B20….
Bioethanol versus biodiesel
 Feedstocks (competition with food industry)
 Major producers
 Process
 Yields
 Production facilities