(2019) Journal of Hazardous Materials_Biodiesel synthesis from fish waste via thermally-induced transesterification using clay as porous material

Jung J.-M., Oh J.-I., Park Y.-K., Lee J., Kwon E.E.

(Elsevier B.V.) Journal of Hazardous Materials ISSN: 3043894 Vol.371 Issue. Article No. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.02.109

The valorization of organic waste through biodiesel synthesis was investigated to explore the concept of hazardous waste-to-energy. Fish waste (mackerel waste) was chosen as a case study because of the growing concern regarding the treatment of food waste, which is potentially hazardous to the environment. This study focused on the thermally-induced transesterification of fish waste for the production of biodiesel (i.e., fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs)). This process requires a porous material that allows for the collision between reactants (fish waste and methanol) to increase inside its pores at high temperatures. Therefore, commercial clay (montmorillonite) was used as the porous material in this study. The optimal temperature for the thermally-induced transesterification of unpurified mackerel oil was 380 °C, and the FAME recovery reached up to ˜72 wt.%. This study also proved that thermal cracking of polyunsaturated FAME species was initiated at temperatures ≥390 °C, and that fish waste is a promising feedstock for biodiesel when it is produced via thermally-induced transesterification over clay as a porous material. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

This work was supported by the New & Renewable Energy Core Technology Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) granted financial resource from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Republic of Korea (No. 20163010092290 ).