Biodiesel wash-water reuse using microfiltration: toward zero-discharge strategy for cleaner and economized biodiesel production

R. Jaber, M.M.A. Shirazi, J. Toufaily, A.T. Hamieh, A. Noureddin, H. Ghanavati, A. Ghaffari, A. Zenouzi, A. Karout, A.F. Ismail, M. Tabatabaei
2015 Biofuel Research Journal  
HIGHLIGHTS   A simple but economically feasible refining method to re-use biodiesel washwater.  Standard-quality biodiesel was obtained using the proposed strategy. Up to 15% less water consumption after two rounds of biodiesel production operations. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT  Strengthening the environmental-friendly aspects of biodiesel production process.  Considerably less wastewater generation toward zero discharge-based operation. A simple but economically feasible refining method to
more » ... eat and re-use biodiesel wash-water was developed. In detail, microfiltration (MF) through depth-filtration configuration was used in different hybrid modules. Then, the treated wash-water was mixed with clean water at different ratios, re-used for biodiesel purification and water-washing efficiency was evaluated based on methyl ester purity analysis. The findings of the present study revealed that depth-filtration-based MF combined with sand filtration/activated carbon separation and 70% dilution rate with fresh water not only achieved standard-quality biodiesel product but also led to up to 15% less water consumption after two rounds of production operations. This would be translated into a considerable reduction in the total volume of fresh water used during the operation process and would also strengthen the environmental-friendly aspects of the biodiesel production process for wastewater generation was obviously cut by the same rate as well.
doi:10.18331/brj2015.2.1.3 fatcat:teghxqmdove57jgneob3l6p7n4