Abstract (EN):
This work evaluates the use of spent coffee grounds (SCG) for biodiesel production. The SCG were
characterized for their moisture content (12.1 wt%), total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) (52.2 and
2.1 wt% respectively), cellulose and total lignin contents (33.6 wt% and 13.8 wt% respectively),
carbon/nitrogen mass ratio (C/N = 24.8) and higher heating value (HHV, of 19.3 MJ/kg). For extracting
the oil from the SCG, several solvents were tested at different contact times: hexane, ethanol,
isopropanol, heptane and a mixture of hexane/isopropanol in the proportions of 50:50; 60:40; 70:30
and 80:20 (vol/vol). Results revealed an oil content ranging from 6.3 to 28.3 wt%, depending on the
extraction conditions. For example, using hexane/isopropanol (50:50, vol/vol) a 21.5 wt% of oil
recovery was obtained after 3 h of contact time, while using isopropanol a 21.0 wt% of oil recovery was
obtained in 6.8 h, but at higher operating cost, considering the energy and solvent consumption.
Regarding the oil characterization the following parameters can be highlighted: HHV of 36.4 MJ/kg,
iodine value of 54.4 (g I2)/(100 g oil), water content of 2004 ppm and acid value of 118.4 (mg KOH)/(g
oil). Finally, the possibility of using the recovered coffee oil for biodiesel production was evaluated. In
this regard it was performed the oil esterification in three consecutive steps (using 1% of H2SO4 and 40
% of methanol for 2 h of reaction time at 60 ºC and 500 rpm) followed by one transesterification step (1
% of NaOH and 40 % of methanol during a 2 h reaction time at 60 ºC and 500 rpm). The resulting
biodiesel was characterized for its acid value, density, viscosity at 40 ºC, iodine value and esters
content (65.7 to 72.9 %), of which only the iodine value of 26 and 58.4 (g I2)/(100 g biodiesel) was
within the NP EN14214:2009 standard limits. The reaction yield varied between 58.8 and 62.2 wt%.
Results suggest the need for a further process optimization in order to obtain a biodiesel complying
with this standard quality requirements.
Idioma:
Inglês
Tipo (Avaliação Docente):
Científica
Nº de páginas:
6