Design, Fabrication, and Operation of a 10 L Biodiesel Production Unit Powered by Conventional and Solar Energy Systems

Abstract

Biodiesel is regarded as a low-carbon substitute for petroleum-based fuels. This research study aimed to investigate a 10 L batch-scale biodiesel production system from waste cooking oil (WCO) powered energy by solar energy and conventional electricity. The unit’s design considers the mass balance of the system’s constituent parts. The methoxide mixing chamber volume was calculated as 2.5 L with an electric agitator power requirement of 25 W. In comparison, the volume occupied by reactants in the stirred reactor was determined to be 14.5 L with a 250 W electric motor agitator. The WCO biodiesel was produced by a two-step process, i.e., esterification followed by a transesterification reaction using conventional electricity and solar power, yielding 92% and 90% by volume, respectively. The characteristics of WCO biodiesel produced from both energy systems was comparable to ASTM D6751. The total amount of conventional electricity and solar power required was 2.006 kWh and 1.0 kWh per 10 L, respectively. The WCO biodiesel’s mass performance was 64.02% and 62.10%, whereas the energy productivity was 0.0242 kg/MJ and 0.0235 kg/MJ from conventional electricity and solar energy systems, respectively. Therefore, solar energy systems can be employed in biodiesel production with a massive reduction in traditional energy requirements, thus reducing the production’s carbon footprint.