Fundamental Study on the Application of Glycerin-containing Byproducts Obtained from BDF Production for Liquid Fuel

Fatty acid methyl ester is produced as biodiesel fuel. The byproduct, which mainly contains glycerin, is certainly generated by the fatty acid methyl ester manufacture using an alkali catalyst method. The suitable disposal and practical use of this byproduct are concerns in the biodiesel fuel industry. In this study, detailed componential analysis of the byproduct released was carried out. As a result, 42.7wt% of the byproduct was found to be glycerin and the rest was methanol, fatty acid methyl ester and water, etc. Utilization of the byproduct as a fuel was also considered from the viewpoint of thermal recycling. The calorific value of the byproduct was 25.5MJ/kg, approximately half that of kerosene. In order to obtain a single-phase liquid fuel, mixing tests of a ternary system of the byproduct, ethanol and kerosene were carried out. It was found that mixed fuel with low viscosity could be prepared just by blending it with a fixed quantity of kerosene and alcohol.