Production of Biodiesel from WVO Using Small Scale Continuous Ultrasonic Processor

Abstract

There is a need in the USA to decrease dependency on fossil fuels. One alternative fuel that has gained much popularity in the past few years is biodiesel. Biodiesel can be produced using vegetable oil, waste vegetable oil (WVO), animal fat and yellow grease as raw materials. However, the process of converting a batch of WVO into usable biodiesel is time consuming, requires a human operator to run the system, and necessitates the performance of a chemical titration for each batch of biodiesel produced. In the first phase of this project, the processor was designed and built by the senior design students utilizing a programmable logic controller (PLC) in conjunction with pumps, valves, temperature sensors, etc. to completely handle the production of biodiesel with minimum operator interaction. This was the first step toward continuous flow processor and the elimination of the titration process. In the second phase of this project, the students integrated a small Hielscher Ultrasound continuous processing unit to the automated system. This paper presents the newly developed system and demonstrates the design aspects of the automated biodiesel production processor using a PLC and ultrasonication (continuous processing) as well as how the chemical titration procedure for each batch is eliminated.