Designer Catalysts for High Efficiency Biodiesel Production
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
Tackling the current world energy crisis is recognised as a top priority for both developed and developing nations. Alternative energy sources are therefore urgently sought in response to both diminishing world oil reserves and increasing environmental concerns over global climate change. To be truly viable such alternative energy sources must be sustainable, that is have the ability to meet 21st century energy needs without compromising those of future generations. While a number of sustainable technologies are currently receiving heavy investment, the most easily implemented and low cost solutions for transportation needs are those based upon biomass derived fuels. Spearheading such renewable fuels is biodiesel - a biodegradable, non toxic fuel synthesised from animal fats or plant oils extracted from cereal or non-food crops. We recently developed a range of first-generation solid acid and base catalysts that respectively remove undesired free fatty acid (FFA) impurities, and transform naturally occurring triglycerides found within plant oils into clean biodiesel. Here we propose to achieve a step-change in both catalyst, and overall process efficiency, through a combination of new synthetic materials chemistry and reactor technologies, in combination with computer-aided catalyst and process design. Our goal is the delivery of second-generation mesostructured solid acids and bases, optimised for efficient diffusion and reaction of bulky triglycerides and FFAs, and an intensified process allowing tandem esterification and transesterification of plant oil. Together these new green chemical technologies offer vastly streamlined biodiesel production, with associated annual energy savings of 5.5 billion kWh and a reduction in CO2 emissions by 2.4 million tonnes per annum at current production rates.
Publications
Creasey J
(2014)
Alkali- and nitrate-free synthesis of highly active Mg-Al hydrotalcite-coated alumina for FAME production
in Catal. Sci. Technol.
Dacquin J
(2012)
Pore-expanded SBA-15 sulfonic acid silicas for biodiesel synthesis
in Chem. Commun.
Dacquin JP
(2009)
An efficient route to highly organized, tunable macroporous-mesoporous alumina.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Davison T
(2013)
Multiscale modelling of heterogeneously catalysed transesterification reaction process: an overview
in RSC Advances
Dhainaut J
(2010)
Hierarchical macroporous-mesoporous SBA-15 sulfonic acidcatalysts for biodiesel synthesis
in Green Chem.
Dos Santos V
(2015)
Physicochemical properties of WO x /ZrO 2 catalysts for palmitic acid esterification
in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Eze V
(2013)
Heterogeneous catalysis in an oscillatory baffled flow reactor
in Catalysis Science & Technology
Isaacs M
(2019)
Unravelling mass transport in hierarchically porous catalysts
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Isaacs M
(2019)
Unravelling mass transport in hierarchically porous catalysts
Description | This research led to the development of catalytic materials possessing hierarchical pore networks that significantly enhance the diffusion of bulky triglycerides found in plant oils thereby enhancing their activity in biodiesel synthesis |
Exploitation Route | The details of the materials synthesis and surface derivatisation are all published and freely available for others to follow. These materials are expected to find application in many catalytic reactions where diffusion limitation and access of active sites are problematic, e.g in pyrolysis oil upgrading, biomass conversion, immobilisation of biocatalysts. |
Sectors | Chemicals Energy |
Description | Collaboration with the University of Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid |
Organisation | King Juan Carlos University |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A number of researchers have been seconded to our laboratory to work on the development of catalysts for biodiesel synthesis |
Collaborator Contribution | Large scale synthesis of mesoporous materials for biodiesel synthesis and the evaluation of hydrophobic catalysts for converting high water content waste oil to biodiesel. |
Impact | The collaboration is mulit-disciplinary spanning Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. The main outputs to date are 5 publications and also 1 FP7 proposal (Cascatbel) led by Prof David Serrano of IMDEA and URJC |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Catalysing Sustainable Chemical Synthesis - ISEMN 2014 Wuhan, China |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Stimulated discussion in catalyst design and energy materials New contacts and potential international collaborators identified |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Designing Catalysts for Biorefining |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited lecture at the EPSRC Catalysis Hub and BBSRC BIOCATNET conference 'Working at the Bio Chemo interface' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Designing solid acids and bases for biofuel synthesis - Oral presentation at the 2nd International Congress on Catalysis for Biorefineries - CatBior 2013 conference in Dalian, China |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation entitled 'Designing solid acids and bases for biofuel synthesis' at the 2nd International Congress on Catalysis for Biorefineries - CatBior 2013 conference in Dalian, China Increased visibility in China and developments of new collaborations |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://catbior2013.dicp.ac.cn/dct/page/1 |
Description | Invited speaker at Industry and Parliament Trust, Parliamentary Programme on the diversification of energy sources and energy mix (Portcullis House, Westminster, 2015) ? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Invited speaker at Industry and Parliament Trust, Parliamentary Programme on the diversification of energy sources and energy mix (Portcullis House, Westminster, 2015). Breakfast meeting with Industrialists, policy makers and politicians. ? |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication.html?task=file.download&id=5488 |
Description | Optimising the nanoporous architecture of solid acid and base catalysts for biodiesel synthesis |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk stimulated discussions in the role of catalyst development in biofuels synthesis . After my talks requests for copies of published manuscripts increased |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://abstracts.acs.org/chem/245nm/program/view.php?obj_id=178819&terms= |
Description | Oral presentation at the Workshop Biomass Resources for Renewable Energy Production, 2nd-3rd June, 2016 IMDEA Energy Institute Móstoles - Madrid |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Prof Karen Wilson, Catalyst design for biorefining - Workshop BIOMASS RESOURCES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION, 2nd-3rd June, 2016 IMDEA Energy Institute Móstoles - Madrid |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Plenary Lecture 'Catalytic Technologies for the Production of Bioproducts and Biofuels' at CCESC 2016 'Catalysts for Clean Energy and Sustainable Chemistry', (Madrid 2016) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Plenary lecture at international conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.ccesc2016.net/ |
Description | Poster 210 - Alkali- and nitrate-free synthesis of highly active Mg-Al hydrotalcite-coated alumina for FAME production - 248th American Chemical Society meeting Sanfrancisco Fall 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | poster presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | 2 210 - Alkali- and nitrate-free synthesis of highly active Mg-Al hydrotalcite-coated alumina for FAME production A novel alkali- and nitrate-free impregnation route and subsequent calcination and hydrothermal treatment have been used for Mg-Al hydrotalcite (HT) coatings on alumina.1 The resulting Mg-HT/Al2O3 catalysts significantly outperform conventional2 and macroporous3 bulk hydrotalcites prepared via co-precipitation in the transesterification of C4-C18triglycerides for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) production, with rate enhancements increasing with alkyl chain length. This work overcomes the mass transport limitations in biodiesel synthesis from viscous oils in bulk microporous hydrotalcites. XRD of the hydrotalcite-coated materials reveals a common set of reflections at 11.6°, 23.4°, 35°, 39.6°, 47.1°, and 61.1° characteristic of Mg-Al hydrotalcites, in good agreement with those observed for a conventional co-precipitated analogue (ConvHT). Surface areas of Mg-HT/Al2O3 are comparable to the alumina support for low Mg loadings, decreasing >9 wt% Mg but still remaining twice those of the Conv-HT. These HTs coatings possess significantly lower base site densities than the co-precipitated Conv-HT, but exhibit Turnover Frequencies (TOFs) for the transesterification of short and long chain TAGs far exceeding those achievable over conventional hydrotalcites, offering new possibilities for heterogeneously catalysed biodiesel production. This rate enhancement is attributed to improved accessibility of bulky triglycerides to active surface base sites over the higher area alumina support compared to conventional hydrotalcites (wherein many active sites are confined within the micropores). We have developed a simple, low cost route to depositing crystalline hydrotalcite coatings over high area alumina from benign precursors that affords highly active, reusable solid base catalysts for FAME production under mild conditions3. Division: CATL: Division of Catalysis Science and Technology Date/Time: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 - 06:00 PM Session Info: CATL Poster Session (06:00 PM - 08:00 PM) Location: Moscone Center, North Bldg. Room: Hall D increased visibility of published work |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Poster presentation at Thermochemical lignocellulose conversion technologies (CASCATBEL workshop) 18-20 May 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Poster presentation at workshop on Thermochemical lignocellulose conversion technologies - 18-20 May 2016 which was attended by a wide range of academics and industrialists with interest in biomass conversion technologies. Title of presentation: Influence of alkyl chain length on sulfated zirconia catalysed batch & continuous esterification of carboxylic acids by light alcohols. Poster led to discussions with potetial EU collaborators |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Smart Biorefinery: Outlook and Prospects (University of Warwick workshop) July 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation vy Dr Amin Osatiashtiani entitled 'Designing heterogeneous catalysts for biorefining' at University of Warwick workshop on the 'Smart Biorefinery: Outlook and Prospects Date: 7 July 2016 Led to increased interest in the potential of tailored catalysts in biorefinery applications. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Tailoring Solid Acid Catalysts for Biomass Conversion |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | keynote/invited speaker |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation that the 2nd International Symposium and Workshop of the Global Green Chemistry Centres (G2C2); 24th-26th August 2014 Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town, South Africa Meeting of global centre leaders in Green Chemistry. EBRI was invited to join as a core member |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Talk on "Heterogeneous acid and base catalysts for biodiesel production", UK-China Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Energising Sustainable Urban Transport, 16-18 May 2016. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research presentation by Dr Jinesh Manayil at UK-China Workshop on Advanced Technologies for Energising Sustainable Urban Transport, 16-18 May 2016 for early career scientists. Stimulated discussion about the development of catalysts for biofuel synthesis with Chinese and UK scientists. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |