Edible oil mill effluent; a low-cost source for economizing biodiesel production: Electrospun nanofibrous coalescing filtration approach

A. Shirazi, Mohammad Javad; Bazgir, Saeed; A. Shirazi, Mohammad Mahdi

doi:10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.9

Edible oil mill effluent; a low-cost source for economizing biodiesel production: Electrospun nanofibrous coalescing filtration approach

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

Mohammad Javad A. Shirazi ¹

Saeed Bazgir ¹

Mohammad Mahdi A. Shirazi ²

¹ Nanopolymer Research Laboratory (NPRL), Department of Polymer Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Chemical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.18331/BRJ2015.1.1.9

Abstract

Biofuels have increased in popularity because of rising oil prices and the need for energy security. However, finding new raw sources for biodiesel production is still challenging. The oil which comes from wastewater effluent generated in edible oil mills (EOM) can be considered a low-cost, widely available, emerging and interesting source for biodiesel production. This study tries to improve the coalescing filtration by using electrospun nanofibrous filters for oil recovery from the EOM effluent. In order to improve the separation efficiency of the filters, thermal treatments (90oC to 150oC) were used. Results indicate that oil recovery using coalescing filtration is a promising method for providing a new source for making biodiesel production more economical.

Graphical Abstract