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High performance heterogenous composite catalyst for the production of biofuel from aquaculture and cooking oil waste
About
Waste-derived biofuels are essential for decarbonisation and play a significant role in a functioning bio-economy. Our sustainable, low cost and flexible heterogenous catalyst with high stability and a high conversion rate is fundamental for biofuel competitiveness and energy transition. In addition to using a waste feedstock, our novel catalyst is derived from cement industry waste, and is activated by glycerol (a by-product of biodiesel) to deliver sustainable and profitable biodiesel production. This novel catalyst demonstrates a high conversion rate (over 97%), stability and reusability (over 8 cycles), making it an excellent candidate to operate in a continuous flow reactor. Our catalyst has also demonstrated application for the synthesis of bio based ethoxylates (biobased surfactant) which are widely used in industry (i.e. textile, agriculture, cosmetics).
Key Benefits
i) Cheap to synthesise and stable at conventional operating conditions; ii) Is sustainable and can be produced utilising cement industry waste products; iii) Activated by the glycerol produced during the transesterification reaction; iv) Can be deployed via retrofitting an existing plant or novel continuous flow reactor. Operational advantages for continuous flow are: i) The reduction of around 20-25% in production cost; ii) Reduced complexity as the plant does not require additional separation and purification steps; iii) The ability to reactivate the catalyst in situ, and ASTM tests have demonstrated the production of high-quality biodiesel.
Applications
Biofuel production Synthesis of biobased surfactants Transesterification