The effect of flux and residence time in the production of biodiesel from various feedstocks using a membrane reactor

► A membrane reactor was used to produce biodiesel from various feedstocks. ► The effect of membrane flux and residence time in the reactor were studied. ► Lower residence time and high flux increased the operating pressure in the reactor. ► All water washed products exceeded ASTM and EN specifications for biodiesel. ► FAME made from waste cooking oil met ASTM and EN specifications without water washing. Biodiesel produced from lipid sources is a clean-burning, biodegradable, nontoxic fuel that is free of aromatic hydrocarbons. Current biodiesel production processes are tedious and involve two to three reaction steps each followed by separation and purification. Process integration of reaction and separation in a single step within a membrane reactor (MR) offers several advantages over conventional reactors. This investigation is aimed at studying the effect of membrane flux and residence time on the performance of a membrane reactor in treating a variety of raw and used feedstocks. A membrane reactor having three selectable reactor volumes was designed to decouple the effect of residence time in the reactor from membrane flux on the performance of the reactor. Low free fatty acid (FFA) oils (FFA