Mingle Cao, Haibo Zhang

(School of Chemical Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology)

Abstract：

As an environment-friendly biodiesel process, the catalyst-free supercritical fluids（SCF）technology shows great potential in green and renewable energy production. The physical and chemical foundation in SCF technology for biodiesel production was firstly discussed. The effects of process factors, including reaction temperature, pressure, alcohol, water, free fatty acid and reactor type, on the SCF transesterification were then discussed in detail. The intensification measures used in SCF biodiesel process and the techno-economic analysis were also presented. Though the SCF biodiesel process showed its merits of good feedstock adaptability, low equipment and operation cost, and catalyst-free feature, the shortcomings of harsh reaction condition and high methanol dosage hindered its industrialization. The future improvements should focus on the reduction of biodiesel cost, the decrease of reaction harshness, and continuity and industrialization.

Key Words：

biodiesel; supercritical fluids; transesterification; esterification