Thesis Approval Sheet 5c6y2i

Approval Sheet

Name of Candidates:

Title of Thesis:

Christian Jason M. Alfaro Hazel S. delas Llagas Katrina P. Mendoza Rex M. Urbiztondo

A Comprehensive Analysis of Coco-Biodiesel Fuel

_____________________________ Engr. Carlos G. Peña Instructor

_____________________________ Engr. Teodulo A. Valle Academic Coordinator School of Mechanical Engineering

Date:

A Comprehensive Analysis of Coco-Biodiesel Fuel

by Christian Jason M. Alfaro Hazel S. delas Llagas Katrina P. Mendoza Rex M. Urbiztondo

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Mapúa Institute of Technology

March, 2007

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank our instructor, Engr. Carlos G. Peña, for guiding and ing us all throughout this project. His constant reminders and progress report checks have helped us become more focused during this thesis writing process. He taught us how to undertake this writing task and even provided us with examples, which were of great assistance. We would also like to thank Chemrez Technologies, specifically their employees namely Engr. Alfredo Urlanda Jr. and Mr. Carlos Palad, for welcoming us in their company and allowing us to attend one of their seminars and conduct personnel interviews. Our visit to their company has definitely helped us further understand our topic. The information that we obtained from them is very significant to our study and cannot be provided by any other sources. We would also like to thank our friends for keeping us company while we were writing this thesis. They greatly eased the boredom and stress caused by this tedious paper. Finally, we would like to thank our family for always being there for us. We thank our parents and guardians for continually ing us financially and emotionally as we go through the rigorous path of college life. We are approaching the end of it and as we look back at our trails, we realize that this would not have been possible if you were not as ive and guiding parents/guardians as you are.

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Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………...………………………………1 1.1 Objectives…………………………………………………………………..1 1.2 Problem Statement………………………………………………………...2 1.3 Scope and Limitation of the Study……………………………………….3 1.4 Definition of …………………………………………………………3 Chapter 2: Review of Literature………………………………………….…………8 2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………8 2.2 Historical Background……………………………………………….…….9 2.3 Basic Production Process…………………………………………...…..11 2.3.1 Mixing of alcohol and catalyst……………….………………..14 2.3.2 Reaction……………………………………….…………….…..14 2.3.3 Separation…………………………………………………...….15 2.3.4 Alcohol Removal………………………………………………..15 2.3.5 Glycerin Neutralization…………………………………….…..15 2.3.6 Methyl Ester Wash………………………………………….….16 2.3.7 Product Quality and Registration…………….……….………16 2.4 Quality Specification for Biodiesel…………………….…………….….17 2.5 Applications……………………………………………………………….18 2.6 Health Effects…………………………………………….………….……20 2.7 Life Cycle Summary…………………………………………….………..21 2.8 Current Issues…………………………………………….………..……..25 ii

Chapter 3: Methodology……………………………………………..……………..27 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion……………………………..………….……30 4.1 Economic Benefits…………………………………….……..…………..30 4.2 Environmental and Health Benefits………………….……..…………..30 4.3 Engine Benefits……………………………………….………..…………31 4.4 General Advantages…………………………………………..…………31 4.5 General Disadvantages………………………………………………….32 Chapter 5: Conclusion………………………………………………………….…..33 References…………………………………………………………………………….34 Appendices Required Forms Authors’ Biodata

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Biodiesel Production Input and Output Levels……………………..……12 Table 2. Economic of 1% BioActiv™ into Diesel……………………….…………30 Table 3. Comparing Diesel and BioActiv™………………………………………..31

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Molecular Structure of Aromatics………………………………..…….….3 Figure 2. Molecular Structrue of Ester………………………………………...……..4 Figure 3. Molecular Formula Showing the Chemical Reaction of Transesterification………………………………………………………..…6 Figure 4. The Biodiesel Reaction ……………………………………….………….13 Figure 5. Schematic Diagram of Biodiesel Production Process…………..…….14

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ABSTRACT Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from renewable resources. It contains no petroleum, but can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can also be used in compression-ignition (CI) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is not the same thing as raw vegetable oil, but is rather a derivation of it and is produced by a chemical process that removes the glycerin from the oil. Biodiesel can be derived from different organic materials such as soy, tallow, or rapeseed oils. However, in a tropical country like the Philippines where coconut trees are readily available, coconut oil is used to produce coco-biodiesel. Biodiesel is biodegradable, non-toxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. It is environmental friendly, which is why it is said to be the resolution to the growing problem of global warming, a phenomenon caused by greenhouse gases one of which is carbon dioxide. In fact, carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas, thus elimination or reduction of this gas will help stop further development of global warming. In addition, the respiratory diseases (one of the leading causes of death in the world) caused by air pollution will be eliminated. Biodiesel is also engine friendly. It ensures a more efficient combustion reducing the emission of the poisonous carbon monoxide, which is emitted in placed of carbon dioxide when there is poor combustion. The use of biodiesel will also help boost the country’s economy. With the rising cost of petroleum fuel in the world market, producing an alternative fuel such as the coco-biodiesel will reduce the cost of petroleum importation of the Philippines. Moreover, this would generate jobs for Filipinos especially the coconut farmers. Lastly, the utilization of biodiesel in diesel vehicles will result in better mileage. With the additional mileage of the same amount of fuel used, money is definitely saved.

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