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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst Supported On Palm Shell Activated Carbon For Transesterification Of Palm Oil, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Nov 2010

Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst Supported On Palm Shell Activated Carbon For Transesterification Of Palm Oil, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

In this study, potassium hydroxide catalyst supported on palm shell activated carbon was developed for transesterification of palm oil. The Central Composite Design (CCD) of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate the effects of reaction temperature, catalyst loading and methanol to oil molar ratio on the production of biodiesel using activated carbon supported catalyst. The highest yield was obtained at 64.1 °C reaction temperature, 30.3 wt.% catalyst loading and 24:1 methanol to oil molar ratio. The physical and chemical properties of the produced biodiesel met the standard specifications. This study proves that activated carbon supported potassium hydroxide …


Comparative Corrosive Characteristics Of Petroleum Diesel And Palm Biodiesel For Automotive Materials Oct 2010

Comparative Corrosive Characteristics Of Petroleum Diesel And Palm Biodiesel For Automotive Materials

A.S. Md Abdul Haseeb

Corrosive characteristics of biodiesel are important for long term durability of engine parts. The present study aims to compare the corrosion behavior of aluminum, copper and stainless steel in both petroleum diesel and palm biodiesel. Immersion tests in biodiesel (B100) and diesel (B0) were carried out at 80 °C for 1200 h. At the end of the test, corrosion characteristic was investigated by weight loss measurements and changes on the exposed metal surface. Surface morphology was examined by optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDS). Fuels were analyzed by using TAN analyzer, FTIR, GCMS and …


Compatibility Of Elastomers In Palm Biodiesel Oct 2010

Compatibility Of Elastomers In Palm Biodiesel

A.S. Md Abdul Haseeb

In recent time, environmental awareness and concern over the rapid exhaustion of fossil fuels have led to an increased popularity of biodiesel as an alternative fuel for automobiles. However, there are concerns over enhanced degradation of automotive materials in biodiesel. The present study aims to investigate the impact of palm biodiesel on the degradation behavior of elastomers such as nitrile rubber (NBR), polychloroprene, and fluoro-viton A. Static immersion tests in B0 (diesel), B10 (10% biodiesel in diesel), B100 (biodiesel) were carried out at room temperature (25 °C) and at 50 °C for 500 h. At the end of immersion test, …


Corrosion Characteristics Of Copper And Leaded Bronze In Palm Biodiesel Mar 2010

Corrosion Characteristics Of Copper And Leaded Bronze In Palm Biodiesel

A.S. Md Abdul Haseeb

Biodiesel has become more attractive as alternative fuel for automobiles because of its environmental benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable sources. However, corrosion of metals in biodiesel is one of the concerns related to biodiesel compatibility issues. This study aims to characterize the corrosion behavior of commercial pure copper and leaded bronze commonly encountered in the automotive fuel system in diesel engine. Static immersion tests in B0, B50 and B100 fuels were carried out at room temperature for 2640 h. Similar immersion tests in B0, B100 and B100 (oxidized) fuels were also conducted at 60 °C …


Effect Of Temperature On Tribological Properties Of Palm Biodiesel Mar 2010

Effect Of Temperature On Tribological Properties Of Palm Biodiesel

A.S. Md Abdul Haseeb

Biodiesel, as an alternative fuel is steadily gaining attention to replace petroleum diesel partially or completely. The tribological performance of biodiesel is crucial for its application in automobiles. In the present study, effect of temperature on the tribological performance of palm biodiesel was investigated by using four ball wear machine. Tests were conducted at temperatures 30, 45, 60 and 75 °C, under a normal load of 40 kg for 1 h at speed 1200 rpm. For each temperature, the tribological properties of petroleum diesel (B0) and three biodiesel blends like B10, B20, B50 were investigated and compared. During the wear …


Methanol Recovery During Transesterification Of Palm Oil In A Tio2/Al2o3 Membrane Reactor: Experimental Study And Neural Network Modeling, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Jan 2010

Methanol Recovery During Transesterification Of Palm Oil In A Tio2/Al2o3 Membrane Reactor: Experimental Study And Neural Network Modeling, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

High quality palm oil biodiesel can be produced by combination of alkali transesterification and separation processes in a TiO2/Al 2O3 membrane reactor. Due to the small molecular size, methanol molecules are able to pass through the membrane along with the products. Since methanol is one of the process reactants it is necessary to be recovered. Methanol recovery by means of continuous distillation was employed and the influences of different operational parameters including heating temperature permeate flow rate and reactants ratio were investigated. The results indicate that these parameters have significant effects on the rate of methanol recovery. To simulate the …


Advances On The Development Of Novel Heterogeneous Catalysts For Transesterification Of Triglycerides In Biodiesel, João F. Gomes Jan 2010

Advances On The Development Of Novel Heterogeneous Catalysts For Transesterification Of Triglycerides In Biodiesel, João F. Gomes

João F Gomes

This paper describes experimental work done towards the search for more profitable and sustainable alternatives regarding biodiesel production, using heterogeneous catalysts instead of the conventional homogenous alkaline catalysts, such as NaOH, KOH or sodium methoxide, for the methanolysis reaction. This experimental work is a first stage on the development and optimization of new solid catalysts, able to produce biodiesel from vegetable oils. The heterogeneous catalytic process has many differences from the currently used in industry homogeneous process. The main advantage is that, it requires lower investment costs, since no need for separation steps of methanol/catalyst, biodiesel/catalyst and glycerine/catalyst. This work …


Studies On The Development Of Novel Heterogeneous Catalysts For Transesterification Of Triglycerides In Biodiesel, João F. Gomes Jan 2010

Studies On The Development Of Novel Heterogeneous Catalysts For Transesterification Of Triglycerides In Biodiesel, João F. Gomes

João F Gomes

No abstract provided.