New nanoparticles support better biodiesel route

Ames, Iowa – A research team in the US is investigating the potential of special nanoparticles to enhance the efficiency and reduce the toxicity of conventional biodiesel production processes.

Biodiesel is conventionally produced by reacting soy oil with methanol using catalysts based on sodium methoxide, a toxic, corrosive and flammable reagent. Product recovery is via acid neutralisation, water washes and separation steps -- a time-consuming process that dissolves the catalyst, so preventing its reuse.

Scientists at Iowa State University aim to use a newly developed process to produce special nanoparticles to enhance the biodiesel production route. The process yields uniformly shaped silica particles with a honeycomb structure that can be filled with the catalyst used for soybean oil conversion.

According to the researchers, the particles can be loaded with chemical ‘gatekeepers’ to encourage the soybean oil to enter the channels where chemical reactions take place. The benefits, they say, include faster conversion to biodiesel, a catalyst that can be recycled and elimination of the wash steps in the production process.

“This serves as an example of how nanotechnology can be useful for advancing an industry that's not that high-tech,” said Victor Lin, an associate professor of chemistry, who is leading the Iowa State project.

The particles, he said, can also be used as a catalyst to efficiently convert animal fats into biodiesel by creating a mixed oxide catalyst that has both acidic and basic catalytic sites. Acidic catalysts on the particle can convert the free fatty acids to biodiesel while basic catalysts can convert the oils into fuel.