Production of Biodiesels from Multiple Feedstocks and Properties of Biodiesels and Biodiesel/Diesel Blends: Final Report; Report 1 in a Series of 6

NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. SUMMARY In a project sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Institute of Gas Technology is conducting an investigation of biodiesels (methyl esters) produced from vegetable-and animal-based feedstocks. Soy biodiesel is predominantly used in the United States, while canola biodiesel is dominant in Europe. The high price of biodiesel (over double the price of diesel) is in large part due to the high price of the feedstock. However, biodiesel can be made from other feedstocks, including beef tallow, pork lard, and yellow grease. This project sought to understand the impact of the different feedstocks by generating biodiesel from each feedstock through one producer, to minimize the variation in production techniques, and by subjecting the samples to a series of tests to quantify the differences between them. The production of methyl esters identified a number of conclusions • Biodiesel is easier to produce and cleaner with equivalent amounts of processing when starting with clean vegetable oil (e.g., soy and canola). The tallow, lard, and yellow grease biodiesels need additional processing at the end of transesterification to achieve acceptable biodiesel properties, and would benefit from processing before transesterification to reduce or eliminate components that may interfere, as for the high free fatty acid yellow grease. • Additional investigation should be considered that would focus on methods of economically handling free fatty acids and other components, at least to reduce their interference, and ideally, contribute to the production of methyl esters. • Adequate testing is required during and after the processing to know the state of the fuel. Without it, the producer cannot ensure that "fuel grade" methyl esters are …