Researchers have developed a new method to produce biodiesel from waste oil. This simple process requires relatively light heat and has the potential to make the alternative fuel source much more attractive to massive industrial sectors.

Developed by UC Santa Cruz chemists, the process turns used vegetable oil into biodiesel.

They used sodium tetramethoxyborate (NaB(OMe)4), which is used to produce the active ingredient that reacts with oil to produce biodiesel. It allows the biofuel to be easily separated from the production by-products simply by pouring them, according to the researchers.

The process can be completed in less than an hour

The chemists also claimed that the reaction could be completed in less than an hour at temperatures of up to 40 °C (104 °F) – saving energy and money. Also, the resulting by-product can be used to regenerate the most expensive ingredient in the manufacturing process.

“I’ve always wanted to work on biodiesel,” said Kevin Lofgren, lead author and Ph.D. student in chemistry at UC Santa Cruz. “I started exploring this new material I made to see if it could attack the fats in the oil to help catalyze biodiesel, and it all flowed from there.”

As individual consumers increasingly turn to solar and electricity to power their homes and vehiclesAmerica’s huge industrial sectors still rely on diesel. The researchers pointed out that the majority of trucks, trains and boats transporting goods around the world currently run on diesel engines and will not be electrified anytime soon, according to a press release.

Affordable method

It is also claimed that biodiesel, which is a carbon neutral fuel, can power vehicles without the need for engine modifications.

“This new method is special because it is simple and affordable. It has the advantage of being able to regenerate the raw material,” added Lofgren.

“It’s already cheap enough to make it competitive. But if you can buy the most expensive ingredient once and then regenerate it, it would be more cost effective in the long run.”

Published in the American Chemical Society journal Energy & Fuels, the study demonstrates the process by which biodiesel can be produced at a lower temperature than that required to boil water.

Scott Oliver, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and co-author of the study, said that everyone needs energy – every farm, food factory and transportation vehicle depends on it.

“This could really affect people. This process can be done just above room temperature and is reusable. You don’t have to have a refinery; you can use this method on a farm.”

The newly developed process avoids the use of currently used hydroxide bases, thereby avoiding the production of soapy diesel and eliminating the need to remove water from the reaction mixture and convert the soapy impurities to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). In addition, the glycerol-boron derived compounds form a solid and facilitate the isolation of biodiesel by simple decantation, conformable The study.

The researchers also claimed that transesterification reactions were successful using inexpensive and abundant cooking oil from a major fast-food chain, as well as soybean oil, corn oil, olive oil, and animal fat, yielding a average yield of 85% for reactions performed at 80°C (176°F) for 1 hour.