Membranska filtracija kao ekološki prihvatljiva metoda pročišćavanja sirovog biodizela / Marta Ostojčić, Sanja Brkić, Marina Tišma, Bruno Zelić, Sandra Budžaki.
Sažetak

Biodizel je prvo alternativno gorivo čija su fizikalno-kemijska svojstva regulirana odgovarajućim standardima: američkim ASTM D 6751 i europskim standardom EN 14214. Proces proizvodnje biodizela sastoji se od tri glavne faze: 1) pripreme sirovine, 2) transesterifikacije i 3) obrade produkta reakcije – pročišćavanje sirovog biodizela kako bi se zadovoljile specifikacije koje su navedene u prethodno spomenutim standardima. Proces pročišćavanja sirovog biodizela obično se provodi dvjema tehnikama: vlažnim i suhim pranjem. Najčešće primjenjivani postupak je mokro pranje. Glavni nedostatak u upotrebi vode u procesu pročišćavanja je stvaranje velike količine otpadne vode koja uvelike povećava troškove proizvodnje biodizela nakon čega slijedi sušenje proizvoda, što zahtijeva dodatni utrošak energije i vremena. Najveći nedostatak suhog pranja s različitim ionsko-izmjenjivačkim smolama je nemogućnost uklanjanja glicerola i metanola iz sirovog biodizela do onih granica koje su propisane EN 14214 te problem odlaganja iskorištenih ionsko-izmjenjivačkih smola. Zbog toga se kao alternativa postojećim tehnikama pročišćavanja pojavila primjena membranske tehnologije u procesu pročišćavanja biodizela. Membranska filtracija je ekološki prihvatljiva i zahtijeva manje energije. Membranskom filtracijom može se smanjiti udio glicerola, metanola i vode u biodizelu do količina propisanih standardima. U okviru ovog rada prikazan je kratki pregled mogućnosti primjene ultra i/ili mikrofiltracije u procesu pročišćavanja biodizela.; Biodiesel is the first alternative fuel the physicochemical properties of which are regulated by appropriate standards: American ASTM D 6751 and European standard EN 14214. The process of biodiesel production consists of three main phases: 1) preparation of feedstock, 2) transesterification, and 3) processing of the reaction product – purification of crude biodiesel to meet the specification provided by the previously mentioned standards. The purification process of crude biodiesel is usually carried out by two notable techniques: wet and dry washing. The most commonly used process is wet washing. A major drawback in the use of water in purification process is the generation of a large amount of wastewater that greatly increases biodiesel production costs, followed by drying of the product, which requires an additional amount of energy and is time consuming. The greatest disadvantage of dry washing using different ion-exchange resins is the inability to remove glycerol and methanol from crude biodiesel to those limits prescribed by EN 14214, followed by the disposal problem of spent ion-exchange resins. Because of the aforementioned, the use of membrane technology in the process of biodiesel purification has appeared as an alternative for the existing purification techniques. The membrane filtration is environmentally friendly and requires less energy. By membrane filtration, the glycerol, methanol, and water contents in biodiesel can be decreased to the amounts prescribed by the standards. In the frame of this review article, the short overview of the possibility of using ultra- and/or micro-filtration in the purification process of biodiesel is presented.