What is soap in biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a proven alternative to petroleum diesel fuel. During production of biodiesel, the free fatty acids in the oil react with the sodium or potassium catalyst to form soaps. These soap and glycerin impurities in the biodiesel can lead to engine operation and fuel storage problems.
How is soap formed?
Soap is created by mixing fats and oils with a base, as opposed to detergent which is created by combining chemical compounds in a mixer. Humans have used soap for millennia. Evidence exists of the production of soap-like materials in around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon.
What is the purpose of NaOH in the production of biodiesel?
The NaOH catalyst first reacts with the methanol, reducing it to a methoxide which then attacks the triglycerides in the oil breaking it into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and glycerol. Fig. 1. Graph of biodiesel yield against amount of NaOH used (“the line is a guide to the eye”).
What is the difference between transesterification and saponification?
is that transesterification is (organic chemistry) the reaction of an ester with an alcohol in order to replace the alkoxy group; it is used in the synthesis of polyesters and in the production of biodiesel while saponification is (chemistry) the hydrolysis of an ester under basic conditions to form an alcohol and the …
What is a by-product of making soap?
Soaps are sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids, made by boiling together with potash (potassium hydroxide). Hydrolysis of the fats and oils occurs; yielding glycerol and crude soap. by-product in the production of soap from fat is glycerol.
How do you make liquid soap out of biodiesel glycerin?
The Basic Method:
- Get a big pot & heat the glycerin up to boil off the methanol.
- Dissolve some catalyst (NaOH or KOH) and water in a bowl.
- Add the catalyst/water solution to the heated glycerin while stirring.
- Continue to stir until the mixture gets thick (if making bars)
Why is biodiesel washed with water?
Why It’s So Popular & How It Works Water really likes to dissolve whatever it comes in contact with. That includes soap, methanol, glycerin, and other contaminants commonly found in freshly reacted Biodiesel. When done properly, it can cleanse the Biodiesel extremely well.
What is the chemical formula for biodiesel?
It is a straight-chain hydrocarbon with a molecular formula C2H5OH, and is sometimes written EtOH. Figure 2 Molecular structure and 3-D model of ethanol.
What is the opposite of saponification?
Esterification reaction is termed opposite to the Saponification reaction.
Is saponification a esterification reaction?
Esterification is a process of preparation of ester. Saponification is a process of preparation of soap. In the esterification reaction, an acid reacts with alcohol in the pressure of conc. Saponification is somewhat different from esterification since an ester responds to alkali in this situation.
How does soap affect the production of biodiesel?
The formation of soap reduces the biodiesel yield, and causes significant difficulty in product separation and purification. Thus, biodiesel and by-product, glycerol have to be refined by washing with hot deionized water two to three times, leading to high waste of time, energy and water [3], [4].
What kind of reaction is used to make biodiesel?
Depending on the quality of the feedstock, either esterification or transesterification reactions are used for biodiesel production (see FAPC Fact Sheet FAPC-149 Biodiesel Glossary for definition of the terms). Most of the current biodiesel production operations use base catalysis (transesterification).
How are free fatty acids removed from biodiesel?
Free fatty acids can be removed by chemical neutralization or physical deacidification. Chemical neutralization involves treatment with caustic NaOH or KOH. Soap formed during this process is removed, and the remaining oil is ready for base catalysis. However, some oil is lost during this process.
How does transesterification of vegetable oil produce biodiesel?
Transesterification is a chemical reaction involving triglycerides and an alcohol of lower molecular weights using homogeneous or heterogeneous substances as catalyst to yield biodiesel and glycerol, as presented in Fig. 1. Fig. 1. Transeterification of vegetable oil with methanol.