Читать книгу Biodiesel Technology and Applications - Группа авторов - Страница 14

Chemically, biodiesel is composed of fatty acid alkyl esters (FAAEs) which are mono-alkyl esters of either fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) depending upon the alcohol (acyl acceptor) being used in the reaction [10]. Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of diesel engine, first used biodiesel in 1900 but that was highly viscous so that engine could not run effectively for a longer time [13]. Biodiesel is very suitable alternative to diesel fuel because of its remarkable properties and advantages, i.e., biodiesel carries 4.5 times greater energy than fossil fuel [14] and similar in chemical structure and energy content to conventional diesel [15]. It reduces approximately 85% carcinogenic compounds emission that is why it is very less toxic than conventional diesel fuel, free of sulfur, free of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals, biodegradable, high cetane number (CN), and flash point [16]. It has the potential to reduce pollutants and emission of greenhouse gases [17] and is 66% more efficient lubricating agent than petro-diesel, which enhances life and performance of engine [18]. Blending of biodiesel with petro-diesel fuel that can affect important properties of fuel such as flash point, CN, kinematic viscosity, and lubricity is enhanced. It also decreases exhaust emissions and heat of combustion [19]. The largest biodiesel producer is EU (European Union) and biodiesel accounts 80% of the overall transport fuel in EU [20–22]. Biodiesel produced from different resources will have different composition and properties, but it must fulfill the standards and requirements of international standards of American society for testing materials and EU standards for biodiesel. Biodiesel has lots of applications such as it can be used as a fuel for aviation purposes [20], for electricity production using generators [21, 22] and in diesel fueled marine engines, because of its nontoxic and biodegradable properties environmental impacts on engines can be reduced. Alcohol type, quality of substrate that is to be converted, catalyst used, temperature of the reaction, and alcohol-to-oil molar ratio determine the performance of biodiesel production [23–25].