Optimization of high-energy density biodiesel production from camelina sativa oil under supercritical 1-butanol conditions

摘要

Transesterification of camelina sativa oil to produce fatty acid butyl esters under supercritical 1-butanol conditions was systematically studied at alcohol to oil molar ratios of 20:1-60:1, reaction temperatures of 280-320 ℃, and reaction times of 20-100 min. The response surface methodology was applied to evaluate the effects of process parameters on the transesterification yield and biodiesel quality. Two mathe-matic models for different time ranges of 20-60 min and 30-100 min were developed and combined to predict the response over a long reaction time range. The predicted responses agree well with the experimental yields. A maximum biodiesel yield of 87.6% was obtained at a reaction time of 305 ℃, 1-butanol to camelina oil molar ratio of 40:1, and reaction time of 80 min. The physical properties of butyl biodiesel were evaluated and compared with those of regular diesel. The good cold temperature property (pour point of -19 ℃) and high calorific value (HHV of 39.97 MJ/kg) make the camelina oil butyl biodiesel an ideal liquid transportation fuel.