Engineering: Purifying biodiesel made from vegetable oil

 

University of Leicester chemists have developed a simple and cheap method of developing biodiesel that is low in toxicity.

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Led by Professor Andrew Abbott, the team was able to remove the presence of glycerol – the main by-product of vegetable oil based biodiesel – using ionic liquids made in part by vitamin B4 (choline chloride).

If glycerol is left in biodiesel, it would damage the engines of a car using biodiesel to power it.

The new technique, however, would simply wash it out of the fuel.

Extracting more glycerol from biodiesels

The ionic liquid developed by Professor Abbott uses a complex of choline chloride with glycerol to extract more glycerol out of the biodiesel.

The University of Leicester process is also greener than traditional processes and effectively provides a sustainable methodology for the purification of biodiesel without the significant production of waste.

Professor Abbott said: "We hope that further research will optimise the ionic liquid recycling and recovery of the glycerol.

"We are hoping to collaborate with a biodiesel producer to test this technology further."

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