Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Student extracts bio-diesel from veg oil
A student of Madurai Kamaraj University helped by a research scholar, has successfully extracted bio-diesel from residual vegetable oil.
The fruits of research by post-graduate Energy Science student T Jincy got sweeter with the University officials organising a city-tour in one of the staff buses run on the bio-diesel produced by her on a trial basis with the objective of creating awareness about the merits of bio-diesel.
According to Jincy and A Ramalingam, research scholar, who assisted her in the bio-diesel conversion project, waste oil is trans-esterified chemically and then reacted with alcohol under alkyl condition after which the glycerine module was cracked to extract bio-diesel. The process would take two days as the oil contained fat.
The storage stability for the oil was high too. Crude glycerine, a by-product while manufacturing bio-diesel by the process, could be used for making genuine toilet soaps.
About the emission characteristics of the diesel they said, "They are very much within the norms. The waste oil from the vegetable oil refineries could be used to produce bio-diesel which is eco-friendly," said R Kasturi Bai, Jincy's guide.
The cost of fuel would come to Rs 30 a litre and could be brought down if produced on a large scale.
"We can extract half-a-litre of bio-diesel from each litre of waste vegetable oil. Unlike in the West where bio-diesel is produced from Soya bean oil and sunflower oil, we use waste vegetable oil," Ramalingam said.
Meanwhile Samuel Paulraj, a professor of the department said the bio-diesel yield from Jatropha, which has less fat, was higher.
About the benefit of the process, he said edible oil companies could not find a way to dispose their waste vegetable oil.
Very soon, a pilot plant would be set up for the production of bio-diesel from waste vegetable oil and a tie-up with edible oil manufacturing units would be soon made, he added.
The fruits of research by post-graduate Energy Science student T Jincy got sweeter with the University officials organising a city-tour in one of the staff buses run on the bio-diesel produced by her on a trial basis with the objective of creating awareness about the merits of bio-diesel.
According to Jincy and A Ramalingam, research scholar, who assisted her in the bio-diesel conversion project, waste oil is trans-esterified chemically and then reacted with alcohol under alkyl condition after which the glycerine module was cracked to extract bio-diesel. The process would take two days as the oil contained fat.
The storage stability for the oil was high too. Crude glycerine, a by-product while manufacturing bio-diesel by the process, could be used for making genuine toilet soaps.
About the emission characteristics of the diesel they said, "They are very much within the norms. The waste oil from the vegetable oil refineries could be used to produce bio-diesel which is eco-friendly," said R Kasturi Bai, Jincy's guide.
The cost of fuel would come to Rs 30 a litre and could be brought down if produced on a large scale.
"We can extract half-a-litre of bio-diesel from each litre of waste vegetable oil. Unlike in the West where bio-diesel is produced from Soya bean oil and sunflower oil, we use waste vegetable oil," Ramalingam said.
Meanwhile Samuel Paulraj, a professor of the department said the bio-diesel yield from Jatropha, which has less fat, was higher.
About the benefit of the process, he said edible oil companies could not find a way to dispose their waste vegetable oil.
Very soon, a pilot plant would be set up for the production of bio-diesel from waste vegetable oil and a tie-up with edible oil manufacturing units would be soon made, he added.
