(2020) Environmental Pollution_Valorization of swine manure biochar as a catalyst for transesterifying waste cooking oil into biodiesel

Jung S., Kim M., Jung J.-M., Kwon E.E.

(Elsevier Ltd) Environmental Pollution ISSN: 2697491 Vol.266 Issue. Article No.115377 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115377

As demand of proteins from meats has significantly increased with economy growth, the population of livestock proliferates. Thus, heavy amount of livestock byproducts released from livestock industries will become more problematic if they are handled in an unsatisfactory manner. In this study, swine manure (SM) waste was directly valorized to be used as a reaction catalyst for biodiesel production. Pyrolysis was adapted to produce swine manure biochars at 500 (SMB@500) and 650 °C (SMB@650), and the materials were used for conversion of waste cooking oil into biodiesels (i.e., fatty acid methyl esters: FAMEs). The properties of SMBs and resulting pyrolytic gases (i.e., H₂, CO, and C_1-2 hydrocarbons (HCs)) and liquids during pyrolysis were also characterized. SMBs used in this study included a large quantity of metallic contents that significantly contributed to the rapid reaction for biodiesel production. In detail, SMB@500 and SMB@650 showed higher than 96% of FAME yield at 305 and 210 °C of reaction temperature, while non-catalytic reaction using SiO2 showed similar FAME yield at 330 °C. Thus, this work offers a sustainable way to recycle organic and inorganic materials in livestock manures for energy (biodiesel, pyrolytic oil, H₂, and C_1-2 HCs) production. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

This work was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korean government ( MSIT ) ( NRF-2019R1A4A1027795 and NRF-2019H1D3A1A01070644 ).