Resources, Conservation and Recycling 53 (2009) 129–135 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Resources, Conservation and Recycling journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resconrec Biodiesel production in a small community: Case study in Thailand Chantaraporn Phalakornkule a,∗ , Anurak Petiruksakul a , Wirote Puthavithi b a Department of Chemical Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800, Thailand b Water Pacific Consultant, Nakornpathom 73210, Thailand article info Article history: Received 23 November 2007 Received in revised form 11 March 2008 Accepted 15 October 2008 Available online 6 December 2008 Keywords: Biodiesel Transesterification Animal fat Renewable energy Community abstract A community-scale process of biodiesel production from animal fats was reported together with an eco- nomic analysis and wastewater treatment process. The biodiesel product whose qualification met Thai biodiesel standards for agricultural engines could be used directly in agricultural engines, such as water pumps, cultivator engines, trailer-mounted engines, dump trucks and farm vehicles with single-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines without operational problems. This study was an illustration for producing inexpensive and renewable energy from domestic sources to reduce dependence on foreign sources of petroleum. The treatment of wastewater from the biodiesel production process was necessary because the water contained high levels of COD (approximately 138,000 mg L -1 ) and oils/fats, which may hinder the biological mechanism. By adding aluminum sulfate of an appropriate amount followed by an adjustment of pH, alkalinity and nitrogen levels, the water could be further treated by an anaerobic process. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that is produced from renewable feedstock such as vegetable oils and animal fats. The most common way to produce biodiesel is by transesterification, which refers to a catalyzed chemical reaction involving vegetable oil or animal fat and an alcohol to yield fatty acid alkyl esters (i.e., biodiesel) and glycerol. Transesterification is basically the transfor- mation of large, branched, triglyceride molecules of oils and fats into smaller, straight-chain molecules. There are different types of catalysts; basic ones such as sodium and potassium hydroxides, acids such as sulfuric acid, and alternatives such as solid catalysts, ion exchange resins, lipases and supercritical fluids (Marchetti et al., 2007). Most of the commercial biodiesel productions today employ the transesterification of vegetable oils using homogeneous base catalyzed processes, but a number of recent studies point out the potential of heterogeneous Lewis acid catalyzed processes as an alternative for avoiding emulsion formation and reducing wastes in the environment (Abreu et al., 2005; López et al., 2005; Suppes et al., 2004). As of late-2007, there were 171 biodiesel production plants in the U.S, yielding a total annual production of 10 billion liters (National Biodiesel Board, 2008). About 85% of these plants were industrial scale (defined as 7.5 million liters or more in annual capacity), while the rest were smaller facilities. The total annual produc- ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +6689 135 3253; fax: +662 587 0024. E-mail addresses: cpk@kmutnb.ac.th, cphalak21@yahoo.com (C. Phalakornkule). tion across Europe as of late-2007 was about the same value as that in the U.S., with Germany sharing nearly 42% of the total production (European Biodiesel Board, 2008). While most of the production plants were industrial scale, community-scale biodiesel production was found to be feasible in certain areas. For exam- ple, the Asperhofen Öko-Diesel-projekt near Vienna, Austria, was a farmer co-operative biodiesel production from canola and sun- flowers. Data in 1992 showed that the facility annually produced 435,000 L of biodiesel and 900 tons of meal, providing 40% of their fuel and 20% of their cattle feed (Adamsak, 1992) and as of late- 2007, the cooperative was still running with a total annual capacity of 1.5 million liters (Mittelbach, 2007). Thailand is an agricultural country, rich in food culture, produc- ing abundant and various feedstock for biodiesel production, such as palm and coconut oil, waste cooking oil and animal fat. Expanded use of biodiesel could provide agricultural countries with inexpen- sive and renewable energy from domestic sources and thus could reduce dependence upon foreign sources of petroleum, increasing international financial and energy security. Biodiesel production technology has been available for many years, but has never been strongly encouraged in the country until the reoccurrence of the petroleum crisis and recent global climate concerns. In 2006, the Ministry of Energy established a policy to increase energy self- dependence starting with small communities in areas farther from the capital and continuing with industrial scale production in order to introduce B5 (a diesel blend that contains 5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum diesel) in some areas in the South and Bangkok by the year 2011. For the strategic plan on community-based biodiesel production, the main objective was to replace petroleum-based 0921-3449/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2008.10.001