TY  - MANSCPT
AU  - Mohd Affandi Mohd Ali
TI  - A continuous microwave assisted reactor (CMAR) for transesterification of waste cooking oil
SN  - THE0007903(Local)
PY  - 2017///
CY  - Kuantan, Pahang
PB  - UMP
KW  - Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering
KW  - Dissertations
KW  - Universities and Colleges
KW  - Theses
N1  - Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering; Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (Bioprocess)) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang – 2017; Bibliography : p. 172-184
N2  - This thesis presents a continuous microwave assisted reactor (CMAR) for transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) to produce biodiesel. The main objective of this study is to design, develop and operate the CMAR rig towards the high yield of biodiesel using homogeneous and heterogeneous alkali catalyst. Previous work uses a large glass vessel which often has a microwave penetration issue, the less durable when the reactor is pressurised hence causing an inconsistent biodiesel production. The purpose-built CMAR was designed using a household microwave oven with additional control features to temperature, flow rate and wave in order to ensure a precise control of the operating condition. An economical material such as WCO and limestone was used in this research as feedstock and catalyst. No previous study concerning transesterification of WCO in CMAR aided by a limestone based catalyst, and hence this is the main objective of this work. At first, the CMAR was tested using a commercially available catalyst sodium methoxide (NaOCH3) before the new synthesized limestone based catalyst (LBC) was studied. Result from this work showed that, the CMAR reduced the reaction time markedly by about 17% compared to the conventional plug flow reactor (PFR). Moreover, CMAR achieved higher biodiesel conversions (94%) compared to PFR with conventional heating (78%) operating at the same condition. Five independent variables such as catalyst, methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction time, temperature and microwave irradiation power were studied. One factor at one time (OFAT) experiment shows the highest conversion (97.4 %) obtained at 1.0 wt.% NaOCH3, 10:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 60 °C, 6 min and 720 W. Meanwhile, the reaction kinetics study on NaOCH3 catalyst shows higher value of activation energy (Ea = 43.78 kJ mol-1) and pre-exponential factor (A = 1.78 x 104 s-1) indicating a higher reaction rate which is attributed to the microwave irradiation. Two-level factorial (2LF) study showing the highest conversion of 97.46 ± 0.44 % was achieved at 11.71:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 5.24 min, 0.76 wt.% NaOCH3 catalyst, 60 °C and 900 W. The most significant parameters (>10 % effect) towards the biodiesel conversion from OFAT and 2LF analysis were methanol to oil molar ratio and NaOCH3 catalyst loading. The optimum biodiesel conversion (97.83 ± 0.88%) was found at 0.68 wt.% NaOCH3 catalyst, 4.47 min, 60°C, 900W and 11.62:1 methanol to oil molar ratio using the Box-Behnken method. The successive optimisation techniques shows 25.5% reduction in reaction time and 32% reduction of NaOCH3 catalyst loading without significantly affecting the biodiesel conversion. The LBC was prepared using the wet impregnation method followed by calcination at 700 °C. The fresh LBC was characterized for its surface morphology, surface composition, size distribution and surface area. LBC yielded higher conversion (92.8%) compared to non-activated limestone (72.4%) and the performance was sustained after being used for 3 cycles. The 2LF study for LBC shows the highest conversions of 92.29 ± 1.67 % achieved at 4.37 wt.% catalyst, 11.82:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 67.89 min, 65 °C and 900W. The optimum conversion of 97.11 ± 0.84% was achieved using 5.47 wt.% of LBC, 12.21:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 65°C, 900W and 55.26 min. The optimum condition increased the conversion from 92.29% to 97.11%, while reducing the reaction time by about 19%. The biodiesel fuel produced in this work complied with the ASTM D6751 standard specification. Findings from this work may serve as a useful guideline to design a CMAR for biodiesel production
ER  -