ENRP20001: Engineering Research Project Planning
Term 1, 2020
Prospect and challenges of biodiesel production from first-generation biodiesel feedstocks
XXXXXXXXXXName: P. Sai Swaroop
XXXXXXXXXXStudent ID: XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXSubmitted on: XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXProject Advisor: Dr. Kalam Azad
XXXXXXXXXXUnit Co-rdinator: Dr. Raj Sharma
School of Engineering and Technology
Central Queensland University
Australia
Abstract
Two driving forces of global change will have a decisive influence on the future of world agriculture and forestry, and therefore on poverty reduction, the environment and economic growth in developing countries. These are the ongoing climate change, and our increasingly pressing need to switch to renewable, i.e. sustainable energy. Progress towards substituting fossil fuels with renewable energy sources will mitigate the risk of severe climate change. Biomass will provide one principal source of future renewable energy, in addition to wind, solar, water, and other sources. We focus on biomass from agriculture and forestry, with the objective of reviewing the cu
ent situation and probable future trends in developed and developing countries concerning the production of biofuels, i.e . energy produced from biomass. Biofuels hold a number of promising prospects, but also present challenges, especially for developing countries. A review of these potentials and challenges is presented, which lead to the conclusion that the production and use of biofuels in developed and developing countries could potentially provide a win-win proposal for economic growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability, if the appropriate policies and related institutional and technological innovations are promoted. The important challenges that biofuels represent are identified and discussed, most importantly, the exclusion of smallholders in producing biomass for biofuels, the issue of food security and rising food prices in global and local markets. We The study conclude that in order to master identify the challenges and capitalizse capitalise on the promising prospects biofuels hold for sustainable development, massive investments in agricultural research and appropriate institutional and policy frameworks are required. Comment by Kalam Azad: Rewrite this sentence like a topic sentence. Comment by Kalam Azad: Too long sentence. Please rewrite it. Does not make any sense.
Acknowledgement
I would like to take this opportunity to express my immense gratitude to all those people who have given their invaluable support and assistance to me in my research term. First, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my Project Supervisor, Dr. Kalam Azad for his extended support. He consistently allowed this project to be my own work, but steered me in the right the direction whenever needed. Secondly, I would like to thank Dr. Raj Sharma who is Mechanical Engineering Research Project Co-ordinator for providing the opportunity to continue this subject at the end of the project selection and for his valuable advices and wise guidance.
I would also like to acknowledge about how I am gratefully indebted to lab technician Naveen Murugan who has relentlessly supported me to complete the research project planning, in accumulating the data and for his very valuable supervision. Finally, I must express my profound gratitude to my parents and friends for providing me with unfailing support and constant encouragement throughout my research term.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Acknowledgement 3
Table of Contents 4
List of Tables 5
List of Figures 6
Glossary/Nomenclature 7
1.0 Introduction 9
a) Establish the Problem 9
) Overview of Existing Research 10
c) Research Gap 10
d) Research Question 10
e) Significance of Project to its stakeholders 11
2. Research Aim 11
3. Objectives of Study 11
4. Literature Review 12
a) Overview of Biofuel Industry 12
) Sustainability Impacts 13
c) Atmospheric Pollutants 13
d) Australian Biofuel Industry 14
e) Cost of Biodiesel 15
5. Methodology- Approach 16
Feedstock iCrop iSupply iCurves 16
Cellulosic Feedstock Estimates 20
Environmental and Social issues 20
6. Methodology – Plan and Resources 23
7. Blending Challenges & the Opportunities in Biodiesel production 24
8. Recommendations 27
9. Proof of Concept 28
10. Risk Assessment 32
Occupational Health & Safety Unit 32
Task / Activity Risk Assessment 32
11. Gantt Chart 39
12. Conclusion 40
13. References 41
Appendix I : Weekly Meeting Minutes 1 42
Appendix II : Weekly Meeting Minutes 2 43
List of Tables
Table 1: Table showing Pros and Cons of Biodiesel 15
Table 2: Biofuel Feedstocks and Blending Targets 30
Table 3: Table showing minutes of meeting 1 41
Table 4: Table showing minutes of meeting 2 42
List of Figures
Figure 1: Graph showing biofuel production in 2019 11
Figure 2: Example of Brazilian Sugarcane Supply Curve projected to 2027. In these curves, a given point represents the projected cumulative supply for all purchase values (prices) up to that point. 17
Figure 3:Historic Trend and Potential Supply Projections for Brazilian Sugarcane. 18
Figure 4: Flow chartiof Biodiesel production 21
Figure 5 : Steps showing the methodology of objectives. 22
Figure 6 :showing flow chart of biodiesel plant based on Mcgyan process ( 24
Figure 7: Production of Ethanol in Different Countries 27
Figure 8:Annual iEthanol iProduction of conventional hydroca
on and diesel fuels in 2010 as forecast by Global Future Alliance (GRFA). 28
Figure 9 :Annual Biodiesel Production 29
Figure 10: Gantt chart showing for implementation. 32
Glossary/Nomenclature
A
eviation
Full Name
SDS
Sustainable Development Scenario
FFA
Free Fatty Acids
ASTM D6751
American standards of biodiesel
EN 14214 standards
European Union
GEP
Global Bioenergy Partnership
RSB
Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels
EROI
Energy Return on Investment
MARKAL
MARKet and ALlocation
ETP
Energy Technology Perspectives
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organisation
FAOSTAT
Food and Agriculture Organisation Statistical Database
USDA
United States Department of Agriculture
FAPRI
Food Agriculture and Policy Research Institute
WHO
World Health Organisation
GRFA
Global Future Alliance
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
1.0 Introduction
a) Establish the Problem
Due to global economic development and rapid growth of population, the demand for renewable sources of energy is steadily increasing. Also, the reserves of fossil fuels are in limited numbers and their distribution is non non-uniform. The major idea behind replacing the fossil fuels with alternate biofuels, is to eradicate the emissions from combustion which are directly associated with global warming, climate change and multiple diseases. Regularly changing energy policies and technological up gradations have developed new demand for the renewable sources of energy like biodiesel, as a potential alternative to fossil fuels. Biodiesel is a biofuel derived from vegetable oils like palm, sesame, rapeseed, jatropha and neem (Mohr & Raman, XXXXXXXXXXThe biofuels produced from vegetable oils are these days well accepted by several countries though they are blended up with 20% of petroleum fuels (Mohr & Raman, XXXXXXXXXXThe bBiodiesel’s industrialisation has become a significant problem due to its oxidative stability and poor cold flow properties. The vegetable oils can also be blended in various ratios before transesterification to get required properties in the biodiesel oil. Biodiesel is the most appropriate alternate to fossil fuels due to its similarities and improved physicochemical properties like higher cetane, higher lu
icity and low content of sulphur. It can be used as a fuel in transport sector, without any modifications in existing diesel engine. Biodiesel is non toxic, safe to use, biodegradable, combustion efficient with high cetane number, greater lu
icity and low sulphur content. Earlier several feedstocks (like rapeseed, palm and soybean) have been used to produce biodiesel oil in Europe, Asia and US, respectively (Aro, XXXXXXXXXXAt present , the main problem with commercializsation commercialisation and industrializsation industrialisation of biodiesel oil is its poor cold flow characteristics and poor oxidation stability. Many researchers have used synthetic antioxidants to improve its oxidation stability and used several additives to improve its cold flow properties. The biodiesel obtained from different feedstock have has also been blended to refine its properties as per the standards. For example, the palm oil mostly used in Asia, Malaysia and Indonesia has have poor cold flow properties due to greater content of saturated fatty acids. It creates problems in engine operation during the climate of low temperature. The engine may face the problems in starting, fuel starvation, incomplete combustion and clogging of filters. High level of unsaturation in biodiesels causes good cold flow properties but poor oxidation stability. In contrast, a high level of saturated fatty acids leads to good oxidation stability but poor cold flow properties. Therefore, the selection of feedstock is very important for blending with the vegetable oils like palm oil to improve its cold flow properties. The vegetable oils with a greater level of unsaturation may be used to blend with the palm oil. But, it will also reduce the oxidative stability of the resultant product. The biofuel oils like sesame oil are considered most appropriate for blending with the palm oil due to in comparison to other feedstock oils due to a higher level of unsaturation (85%), high oxidative stability and better cold flow properties. Hence, the biodiesel oils like sesame seed oils may be used as potential green fuels as an alternate to petroleum oil. Comment by Kalam Azad: Too long sentence. Does not make any sense. Rewrite it.
) Overview of Existing Research
The first generation biodiesel feedstock refers to food sources like starch, vegetable oils, sugar beets, rapeseeds, peanuts, and animal fat etc. The oil is produced from these sources using the conventional method of trans-esterification and is chemically known as fatty acid methyl. The biomass, when mixed with methanol and sodium hydroxide, it gives rise to biodiesel. The biodiesel can be seen as an effective means to alleviate the concerns of global energy. However, very few countries are participating in their production due to a few challenges. Cost of production of biodiesel is very high in comparison to fossil fuels due to which its extensive usage imposes huge substantial economic costs.
With increasing global demand for biofuels, the liquid biofuel industry is rapidly increasing. Biodiesel and Bioethanol bioethanol are most extensively produced for the domestic market in European countries, USA, Africa, and Brazil. International trade of biofuels is limited as of now. Biodiesel is a biofuel made from plant seeds.
The first generation biodiesel feedstock has attracted attention recently due to many reasons:
· Rising demand for alternatives of