(84ax) Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production Processes from Waste Animal Fats with Pretreatment Process

The demand for alternative energy is increasing due to the recent rise of global warming. Biodiesel is a promising source of renewable energy. Biodiesel production involves several stages, including a transesterification reactor, water washing, drying, and wastewater treatment. This study aims to perform a techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) of biodiesel production from animal fat waste, which is an inexpensive feedstock against vegetable oils. However, it contains high concentration of free fatty acid (FFA). Contact between FFA and alkali catalysts causes unwanted saponification reactions of triglycerides and alcohol, resulting in the formation of soap that accelerates catalyst consumption and decreases ester yields. To avert these complications, neutralization reactions were employed.
Based on the process simulation using ASPEN Plus, the economic values such as total capital investment (TCI), total production cost (TPC), return on investment (ROI), and payback period (PBP) were calculated. Furthermore, environmental impacts of the overall process were evaluated using the ISO 14040/14044 standards. The outcomes of this study are expected to provide valuable insights into the application of neutralization reactions in biodiesel production.