This paper aims to maximize the yield of biodiesel from hydroprocessing waste cooking oil by re-evaluating the product cut-points.. Waste cooking oil is one of the most difficult feed stocks for conventional biodiesel production due to its high content in free fatty acids, and other degradation products. Hydroprocessing of these low quality oils is a promising process for the upgrade of these oils. Waste cooking oil was hydroprocessed in a small scale hydroprocessing unit of CPERI/CERTH, using a commercial hydroprocessing catalyst. The total liquid product, after being separated from the gas product, was analyzed as per basic properties (density, viscosity) and simulated distillation curve according ASTM D7213 procedure. The data from this simulated distillation were used as guidance in order to perform a fractionating distillation of the liquid product according to ASTM D2892 procedure, in order to maximize the biodiesel yield. The cuts from this fractionating distillation were used in order to produce a fuel with properties that could be used as automotive diesel fuel. Depending on the final boiling point, the yield of this synthetic biodiesel ranged from 69.5% to 77.9% m/m. The cetane index of these fuels was very high (higher than 70). These results are very promising since this type of synthetic biodiesel seems to have excellent properties as a possible extender of diesel fuel that is derived from a waste byproduct such as waste cooking oil.

Maximizing the yield of biodiesel from waste cooking oil hydroprocessing by cut-point optimization

240th National Meeting (2010)

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