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The Potential of Microwaves in The Manufacture of Biodesel by Using Cpo (Crude Palm Oil)
The Potential of Microwaves in The Manufacture of Biodesel by Using Cpo (Crude Palm Oil)
Abstract. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel engines produced by the transesterification
of vegetable oils or animal fats with short chain alcohols such as methanol. The reaction requires
a catalyst which is generally a strong base, thus producing a new chemical compound called
methyl ester (Van Gerpen, 2005). One of the most common sources of biodiesel feedstock is
CPO (Crude Palm Oil). CPO production in Indonesia is very high at 30.2 million tons in 2016,
but CPO prices are low. Biodiesel can be produced using conventional methods, this method is
less efficient because of its very slow and inefficient heating resulting from the transfer of energy
to materials that depend on the convection currents and the thermal conductivity of the reaction
mixture (Refaat and El Sheltawy, 2008) which causes researchers to use new methods of
producing Biodiesel, that is by using microwave radiation method. Microwaves are used to
emulsify two or more solutions that are difficult to mix (Gunawan, 2003). The advantages of
using microwave radiation in the process of making biodiesel is heating faster, more energy
efficient, and homogeneous heating. The mol ratio of CPO and methanol is varied to determine
the effect of microwave power quality. The power of microwave used is 100,180,300,450 and
600 Watt.
1. Introduction
CPO (Crude Palm Oil) is a vegetable oil (oil which derived from plants) of orange reddish color
obtained from the process of pressing or extracting the fruit flesh of the plant Elaeis guineensis and has
not undergone a purification process yet. (SNI, 2006) [1]. According to Indoenergi, one of the biodiesel
raw materials sources often used is CPO (Crude Palm Oil). The production of CPO in Indonesia is very
high reaching up to 30.2 million tons in 2016 [2]. Therefore, it is necessary to process CPO into
downstream products within the results to provide high added value and have much higher prices than
the initial commodity. One of the diversifications that can be done is to convert CPO into biodiesel [3].
The quality of the palm oil is determined by its constituent components such as the triglyceride and
minor components. The constituent components of CPO consist of a mixture of triglycerides and other
components which are minor components [4].
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves at the frequency level of 0.3-300 GHz. Microwaves are used
to emulsify two or more solutions whicht are difficult to mix [5]. Heating using microwaves is faster
because the heat transfer can not be carried out through the reactor surface, instead, it absorbs the wave
beam by the sample so that the sample temperature is higher than the surface temperature of the reactor
wall. This heating process is also influenced by the microwaves power. Based on Prayanto's research,
et al. (2016), the best microwaves power in the biodiesel production process is 800 Watt with a percent
yield of 89.55%. Meanwhile, according to Willujeng and Ayyu’s research, the best microwaves power
is 400 Watts so 91.77% of biodiesel are produced. The percentage of these results can increase up to 93
percent by doing the same thing over [6].
Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels that can be obtained from plant and animal fats (Riviani, et
al., 2011). Biodiesel is a monoalkyl ester formed by long chains of fatty acids contained in vegetable oil
or animal fats to be used as diesel engine fuels. The main content of biodiesel is fatty acid alkyl esters
produced from triglycerides in vegetable oil or animal fats through transesterification reactions with
alcohol, usually methanol are used [7]. Esterification is a reaction to convert carboxylic compounds into
ester compounds. The esterification reaction can be carried out by reacting free fatty acids with alcohol
to form ester and water. This marks as the initial stage where acid catalysts are used to reduce free fatty
acid levels up to ± 3%. Sulfuric acid 0.7% of reactant weights and alcohol in most cases methanol with
a molar ratio between alcohol and oil of 4: 1 has been shown to provide good conversion results. In
addition to reducing acid levels, it is necessary to reduce water level [8].
Generally, transesterification is a reaction of alcohol with triglycerides to produce methyl esters and
glycerol with the help of alkaline catalysts. The alcohols commonly used are methanol and ethanol.
These reactions most likely to form methyl ester faster than the esterification reaction using acid
catalysts. However, the raw material to be used in the transesterification reaction must have low level
of free fatty acids (<2%) to avoid soap formation. The resulting product is then separated using decanter.
The formed biodisel is then washed with water to remove the remaining catalyst and methanol. The
transesterification process can be done in batches or continuously at a pressure of 1 atm and a
temperature of 50 ° C-70 ° C. The transesterification reaction of triglycerides to methyl ester is [9]:
The microwaves heating mechanism is complex. The microwave heating method can be seen as
shown in Figure 4. In conventional heating, the heat transferred to the sample volume is used to increase
the temperature of the reactor surface followed by internal material. This is also called wall heating.
Therefore, most of the energy supplied through conventional energy sources is lost to the environment
through material conduction and convection currents. The heating effect on conventional method is
heterogeneous and it depends on the thermal conductivity of the material, specific heat, and density
resulting in higher surface temperature causing heat to transfer from the outer surface to the internal
sample volume as shown in Figure 2. As a result, the sample temperature is not uniformed and higher
thermal gradients occured [10].
3. Analytical Method
3.1 Free Fatty Acid Level Analysis
1. Weigh 2-5 grams of samples then add 95% of neutral methanol solution and 3 drops of
phenolphthalein indicator.
2. Perform a titration with 0.1 N of NaOH until it changes color to pink.
3. Record the amount of NaOH used:
BM x V X N
FFA level = 10 x m ................................................................................................................ (2)
Information :
FFA = Free fatty acid levels (%)
BM = Molecular weight of fatty acids (gr / grmol)
V = NaOH volume required for titration (mL)
N = NaOH (N) Normality
m = Sample weight (gr)
Information :
ρ = Biodiesel density at 40oC (gr / ml)
m1 = The weight of empty picnometer (gr)
m2 = The weight of picnometer + biodiesel (gr)
V = Picnometer volume
Figure 2. The Relationship Between Microwave Power And Biodiesel Yield (%)
In Figure 13 above, it can be seen that at 100 watts of microwave power produces biodiesel yield (%)
as much as 77.27%, microwave power at 180 watts produces biodiesel yield (%) as much as 79.62%,
microwave power at 300 watts produces biodiesel yield (%) as much as 83.94%, microwave power at
450 watt produces 87.29% biodiesel yield (%), and microwave power at 600 watts produces 89.09
biodiesel yield (%). This shows the relationship between microwave power and biodiesel yield (%). The
greater the microwave power used, the greater the biodiesel yield (%) is produced. This occurs because
the increase in alcohol to CPO will also increase the conversion into biodiesel. The transesterification
process functions to replace glycerol alcohol groups with simple alcohol such as methanol or ethanol.
Transesterification is an equilibrium reaction. To encourage the reaction to move to the right in order to
produce methyl esters, it is necessary to use excessive amounts of alcohol.
0.9
Density (gr/ml)
0.89
Densitas
Generated Yang
density
0.88
Dihasilkan
0.87 SNI Min
SNI Min Densitas
density
0.86
SNI Max density
SNI Maks Densitas
0.85
0.84
5000 7000 9000 11000
Voltage (volt)
200
Generated flash
Titik Nyala yang
150 pointDihasilkan
50
0
5000 7000 9000 11000
CPO : Methanol (Mol) Ratio
Figure 4. Graph Of Relation Between Flash Point And Methanol Ratio
The occurrence of an increased flash point value is due to the possibility of water level or the amount
of glycerol and residual catalyst as well as alcohol in biodiesel. According to Rhesa P. Putra et al. (2012),
the difference that occurs in flash point might be caused due to the presence of residual form of glycerol
and the remaining catalysts that have not been completely worn away and this can be caused by the
presence of components in the biodiesel with a high flash point increase so it raises the biodiesel flash
point value. In this case, the used cooking oil is one of the possible causes of high flash point values.
0.07
0.06
0.05 Generated water
Kadar Air yang
0.04 level dihasilkan
0.03 Generated water
SNI Kadar Air
0.02 level
0.01
0
5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000
CPO : Methanol (Mol) Ratio
Figure 4. Graph Of Relation Between Water Level (%) And Methanol Ratio
Based on the variation of the mol ratio used, the biodiesel water level at a ratio of 1: 2, the
generated water level increases with the addition of methanol mol ratio of 1: 6. According to Tiara Yulia
Putri (2015), the high level of biodiesel water is caused by the accumulation of water in the oil before
the transesterification process. This increased water level can stimulate the hydrolysis process between
triglycerides and water molecules to form glycerol and free fatty acids. According to Prihandana et al
(2006), the water level contained in fuel can form crystals that may clog the flow of fuel. The presence
of water can also trigger the growth of microorganisms which certainly can clog the flow of fuel.
Based on the effect tension graph on the water level in figure 16, it can be seen that the effect of the mol
ratio on the suitable water level for biodiesel is at a ratio of 1: 2 and 1: 3.
6
Viscosity (cSt)
4
Viscosity
Viskositas
3
SNI Min
2
SNI Maks
1
0
5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000
CPO : Methanol (Mol) Ratio
5. Conclusions
Biodiesel with a ratio of 1: 6 produces the highest yield (%), namely 89.12%. A good variation to
produce biodiesel in accordance to the SNI-04-7182-2006 biodiesel quality standards is a ratio of 1: 6
with yield (%) of 89.12%, density of 0.885 gr / ml, flash point of 197.6oC, water level of 0.081%,
viscosity of 10.543 cST, and heating value of 0042,793 cal / gr. A biodiesel maker with a continuous
system is produced. Where the produced biodiesel is seen from the yield (%), density, flash point, water
level, and heating value, most of them meet SNI-04-7182-2006 standards except the viscosity that passes
the maximum limit of viscosity values based on SNI-04-7182-2006 standards.
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