A Mass-Balance-Consistent Process Inventory Model for Ion-Exchange Resin Catalyzed Biodiesel Production

A process inventory model was developed based on pilot-scale experiments on biodiesel production using an ion-exchange resin catalyzed (IERC) process. This process prevents soap formation leading to the elimination of water-soluble contaminants entering the product biodiesel, e.g., removing the two major issues in recently developed diesel engines with innovative injection mechanisms introduced for pollution reduction. The mass-balance-consistent model reflects the influence of the free fatty acid (FFA) content in oil on the process inventory, indicating the capacity of highlighting the properties of IERC process. Simulated LC-GHG emissions per MJ of biodiesel fuel over different FFA content (0-50 wt.%) of feedstock oil showed that the obtained product had lower LC-GHG emission than that of the fossil resource-based diesel fuel and became even lower with a higher FFA content in the feedstock oil. Waste heat utilization allowed for the reduction of LC-GHG emissions to less than half of the fossil-based diesel, while large amounts of LC-GHG were emitted through the conventional process to achieve fuel quality equivalent to the achieved by the IERC process.