Biofuel Extraction Techniques

2Processing of Feedstock in Context of Biodiesel Production

Durgawati and Rama Chandra Pradhan^*

Department of Food Process Engineering National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha, India

Abstract

A feedstock is a type of raw material that is used in the production of biodiesel. It is an alternative to fuel in today’s market (petroleum and diesel). Two types of feedstocks are used in biodiesel production: edible and non-edible. Examples of edible feedstock are coconut oil, palm oil, and soyabean oil and non-edible feedstock are neem, mahua, etc. Extraction of biodiesel from oil is practiced in many countries by using different processing methods.

Different extraction methods are used for the extraction of oil from the feedstock. They include old traditional methods, solvent extraction, mechanical extraction, microwave-assisted, and ultrasonic-assisted methods. Old traditional methods consist of a simple process but are regarded as inefficient due to the lesser oil yield and recovery. Conventional methods are the most widely used methods. The solvent extraction method is more efficient and produces good quality oil. The most common solvent used is hexane because it is highly reactive, has a low cost, and is easily available. The limitation of this method is time-consuming and very tedious. Many innovative techniques are also used to overcome the limitations of conventional methods. Microwave-assisted and ultrasonic-assisted are some of the new techniques which include the ...