Grantee Research Project Results

2014 Progress Report: From Pollution to Possibility: A Sustainable and Interdisciplinary Solution to Biodiesel Production Wastewater

EPA Grant Number: SU835546
Title: From Pollution to Possibility: A Sustainable and Interdisciplinary Solution to Biodiesel Production Wastewater
Investigators: Crumrine, David , Lishawa, Shane C. , Waickman, Zach , Vail, Lane , Tuchman, Nancy C. , Botham, Gilbert , Donald, Ryan , Jones, Claire , Kalata, Elzbieta , Kelso, Jennifer , Patel, Anup , Serra, Daniel , Shah, Mitali , Straitiff, Joe , Vogel, Kirsten , White, Amber , Hamer, Robert
Current Investigators: Crumrine, David , Lishawa, Shane C. , Waickman, Zach , Tuchman, Nancy C. , Abboud, Danielle , Dorger, Chad , Donald, Ryan , Herrera, Daniela , McGrath, Ainsley , Patel, Anup , Reese, Victoria , Shah, Mitali , Straitiff, Joe , White, Amber
Institution: Loyola University of Chicago
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2013 through August 14, 2016
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 15, 2013 through August 14,2014
Project Amount: $90,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2013) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Objective:

The goals of our project include: 

1. Achieve the ultimate sustainability goal from our biodiesel production operations, zero-waste biodiesel production. We will evaluate our progress by continuing to monitor, measure, and record all energy and material inputs and outputs into our system. 
2. Design a small-scale solar methanol recovery (SMR) unit for education, research, and for small-scale biodiesel producers, and publish plans freely on the web. We will successfully achieve this goal when a working SMR unit has been built and tested. 
3. Using our newly developed SMR unit as a teaching tool, create hands-on high school environmental / sustainability science curricula that demonstrate key environmental and physical science concepts. We will achieve this goal when we (faculty and Phase-II intern) have taught the newly developed curricula in 5 Chicago high schools. The interns will keep records of their time spent at each school, devise and implement comprehensive evaluations of student learning, and file lesson plans, evaluations, and post-session reflections for each classroom interaction. 
4. Complete research on hydroponic growth of Salicornia for salinity reduction and additional oil production. The success of this goal will be evaluated by determining the per/plant salinity reduction and oil production through well replicated scientific experimentation that involves growing Salicornia plants in several concentrations of waste water, evaluating pre- and postexperiment water and plant chemistry, plant biomass and growth, and oil seed production. 
5. Build a production-scale hydroponic desalination living system and incorporate it into our closed-loop biodiesel production process. This goal will be achieved when our system is actively desalinating our BWW. 
6. Develop a co-product for the re-use of residual free-fatty-acids by conducting experimental acid catalyzed biodiesel production, biogas production through anaerobic digestion, and produce candles if steric acids are at high enough concentration. We will evaluate the success of this goal by following established protocols for acid-catalyzation of FFAs and quantifying all inputs and outputs; by conducting replicated anaerobic digestion experiments in our already established biomethane production potential apparatus; and by researching recipes and attempting to make candles. 
7. Host a conference at LUC for the Collegiate Biodiesel Producers Network. We will evaluate the success of this goal by quantifying the CBPN members who attend, conducting post-conference member evaluations. 

Progress Summary:

 

Proposed Outcomes	Accomplishments
1. Zero Waste Biodiesel Production Process	Developed full zero waste production process chart (Figure 1) Continued to implement key aspects of the zero waste process including solids utilization, higher rates of glycerin by-product use on campus, and increased methanol recovery throughout the process
2. Solar Methanol Recovery (SMR)	Completed initial concept design Completed initial component testing Completed construction of prototype Solar Methanol Recovery (Figure 3, on right)
	Prototype testing is in process and focusing on safety controls, in-process data benchmarks, and feasibility of field use
3. SMR Education Outreach	In the process of prototype testing and redesign ahead of assembling additional units for education outreach
4. Biodiesel Wash Water Treatment •  Carbon Capture •  Neutralization •  Free Fatty Acid Separation	Built prototype biodiesel emission capture equipment Performed initial testing but failed to gain usable results Redesigned prototype to allow for higher air flow, direct connection to biodiesel generator (simulating biodiesel fed boiler) Performed successful tests that proved biodiesel emissions can lower biodiesel wash water to a pH of 7 (lab grade CO2 lower BWW to a pH of 6.5), observed initial separation of trapped biodiesel layer, and currently working on filtering free fatty acids out of water layer Additional tests aim to quantify CO2 volume (and subsequent biodiesel volume) required to neutralize biodiesel wash water and percentage of CO2 removed from biodiesel direct emissions
5. Free Fatty Acid Utilization	Gained access to automated methane production potential testing equipment (Institute of Environmental Sustainability, LUC)
	Planned initial trials for Spring 2015 looking at glycerin, free fatty acid, and biodiesel wash water as feedstock for optimizing anaerobic digestion
6. Salicornia Growth	Purchased Salicornia virginica for initial trials Acquired a used, albeit broken growth chamber and fixed to full operability
	Acquired a new set of Salicornia virginica and established them in the growth chamber in preparation for a robust round of experiment in Spring 2015
7. Desalination System	Traced the path of potassium ions through plant, soil, and water samples to model the ability of our plants to capture potassium from biodiesel wash water
	Confirmed the ability of Salicornia virginica to remove potassium from water, and established questions for a larger study
8. Collegiate Biodiesel Conference	Continued discussions with the Collegiate Biodiesel Producer Network about hosting a conference at Loyola University Chicago in late 2015 Added 3 additional members to the Collegiate Biodiesel Producer Network
	Mentored 2 universities in establishing biodiesel production projects on their campus, and 2 additional universities seeking licensure to sell their campus produced biodiesel

Figure 1: Zero Waste Process Outline

Figure 2: Zero Waste Carbon Tracking                                                                                

 

Figure 3: Carbon Capture and Solar Methanol  Recovery Experimental Equipment

Future Activities:

The development of a zero waste biodiesel production process hinges on the ability of the producer to minimize the creation of, and maximize the utilization of key byproducts. We have found the most challenging byproduct to fully utilize is the biodiesel wash water (BWW) resulting from the final polishing steps of the biodiesel production process. Our project has made great strides in developing and scaling the following process:

Methanol Removal

On a small scale, BWW contains significant amounts of methanol (≤30%), salts, and reaction products (biodiesel, free fatty acids, glycerin) trapped in a high pH environment. On larger production scale (commercial scale), the BWW profile remains the same save methanol which is recovered from the biodiesel prior to final polishing. Incorporating in-line distillation into a small scale process remains a challenge for small producers, and separating methanol from water is an even greater endeavor. Our attempts to create a low electrical input methanol recovery system have proven difficult. We are continuing work on a prototype that utilizes pressurized transfer liquid that is heated by a solar parabolic dish.  The added pressure in both the transfer vessel and distillation vessel has allowed us to reduce total BTU demand, but we have yet to achieve efficient separation of methanol from water. We recommend that methanol recovery be performed on biodiesel prior to polishing whenever possible. We have implemented this process in our own biodiesel production at Loyola University Chicago with great success. 

Free Fatty Acid Removal – Combined with Carbon Capture

With methanol removed from the BWW profile the next challenge is to lower the pH enough to allow reaction products (biodiesel, free fatty acids, glycerin) to precipitate. Current industry practice is to use highly concentrated sulfuric or hydrochloric acid for this task, however multiple small-scale commercial operators are voicing their concerns with the continued use of hazardous acids. Our approach of neutralizing BWW with carbon captured from on-site machinery (namely boilers and generators running 100% biodiesel) has shown promising results. We are currently able to reduce acid use by 70% while reducing the scope 1 (direct) emissions from our facility. We hope that with continued research we will be able to incorporate this process into our student-run biodiesel business utilizing the emissions from our building boiler. The same process could be utilized at biodiesel (or other industrial) plants.

Salt Removal

The student researchers on this project have spent a significant amount of time working on the next steps of the process: free fatty acid removal and salt removal. A calibrated, multi-step filtration system is being developed to efficiently remove the free fatty acids from the acidified BWW. The salt removal is being performed by utilizing Salicornia virginica. Through our initial trails we have observed a significant reduction in potassium salts in our BWW, however further tests are needed to confirm the potassium has been removed from the system and is not accumulating in the soil. 

Final BWW Profile

The final step in the process will be to create a profile of the resulting BWW and identify the best, highest use for this newly refined biodiesel production byproduct. We are exploring the possibility of using the refined BWW for polishing additional batches of biodiesel or producing soaps (also part of our student-run business). The final year of our grant project will aim to bring together the various student research projects to compete this piece of the zero waste process. 

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 5 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Biodiesel, waste water, living system, carbon capture, education, alternative fuel, Chicago, emissions capture, waste reduction, halophyte, zero waste

Relevant Websites:

Biodiesel Program - LUC Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2015

Final Report

P3 Phase I:

From Pollution To Possibility: A Sustainable And Interdisciplinary Solution To Biodiesel Production Wastewater  | Final Report