Animal fats are a good, promising and ethical alternative source for biodiesel production, but they need more complex treatments than vegetable oils. Iraqi butchery plants waste fats (sheep fat) which are suggested as feedstock to produce biodiesel. This type of fat contains a large quantity of free fatty acids (FFAs) (acid number 49.13 mg KOH/g of fat). The direct transesterification of such fats produce high amount of soap instead of desired biodiesel, so a pre-treatment step (to reduce FFAs) is necessary before transesterification. This step was done by esterification of the free fatty acids in the fat by adding ethanol and using 1% acid catalyst (H2SO4) for 30 minutes. The results showed that the acid number of sheep fat after pre-treatment step reduced to 0.97 mg KOH/g of fat at esterification step. Transesterification of treated fats (produce from esterification) used to convert biodiesel. The maximum yield of biodiesel was about 85 vol. % for treated fats obtained with 25/100 ethanol/fat wt. ratio, 70° C reaction temperature and 50 minutes total treatment period (pre-treatment step and transesterification reaction). The suggested model of the production rate kinetic of transesterification reaction, found that the production rate is inversely proportional with the volume of biodiesel produced with activation energy of 25320 J/mole.
Hard-grade asphalt binders, such as AC 20–30, offer excellent resistance to permanent deformation but are inherently brittle, making them highly susceptible to fatigue and low-temperature cracking. While polymer modification addresses these issues, virgin polymers remain expensive. Despite the growing interest in recycled plastics, the rheological impact of complex waste streams, specifically polyvinyl chloride (PVC) derived from flex banners containing plasticizers, on excessively stiff binders within the complete Superpave Performance Grading (PG) framework remains critically underexplored. This study introduces a novel valorization approach by utilizing solvent-extracted flex banner waste (WPVC) as a dual-action modifier. It leverages
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Bioethanol produced from lignocellulose feedstock is a renewable substitute to declining fossil fuels. Pretreatment using ultrasound assisted alkaline was investigated to enhance the enzyme digestibility of waste paper. The pretreatment was conducted over a wide range of conditions including waste paper concentrations of 1-5%, reaction time of 10-30 min and temperatures of 30-70°C. The optimum conditions were 4 % substrate loading with 25 min treatment time at 60°C where maximum reducing sugar obtained was 1.89 g/L. Hydrolysis process was conducted with a crude cellulolytic enzymes produced by Cellulomonas uda (PTCC 1259).The maximum amount of sugar released and hydrolysis efficiency were 20.92 g/L and 78.4 %, respectively. Sugars
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The increasing demand for energy has encouraged the development of renewable resources and environmentally benign fuel such as biodiesel. In this study, ethyl fatty esters (EFEs), a major component of biodiesel fuel, were synthesized from soybean oil using sodium ethoxide as a catalyst. By-products were glycerol and difatty acyl urea (DFAU), which has biological characteristics, as antibiotics and antifungal medications. Both EFEs and DFAU have been characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. The optimum conditions were studied as a function of reaction time, reactant molar ratios, catalyst percentage and the effect of organic solvents. The conversion ratio of soybea
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The purpose of this preliminary study is to verify the possibility of using Iraqi Zahdi date palm biomass as a resource for biogas production, methane in particular using thermophilic anaerobic digestion with waste water treatment activated sludge. Moreover, is to investigate the influence of extra nutrients addition to the digestion mixture. Biogas was captured in sealed jars with remote sensing modules connected to computer with integrated program to record the gas pressure continuously. A total gas pressure with 67% Methane was produced from date pulp waste fermentation with a yield of 0.57 Lit for each gram volatile solid of substrate. Addition of 1% yeast extract solution as nutrient increased Methane yield in liters by 5.9%. This i
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Background: The possibility of converting the organic fraction of municipal solid waste to mature compost using the composting bin method was studied. Nine distinct treatments were created by combining municipal solid waste (MSW) with animal waste (3:1, 2:1), poultry manure (3:1, 2:1), mixed waste (2:1:1), agricultural waste (dry leaves), biocont (Trichoderm hazarium), and humic acid. Weekly monitoring of temperature, pH, EC, organic matter (OM percent), and the C/N ratio was performed, and macronutrients (N, P, K) were measured. Trace elements, including heavy metals (Cd and Pb), were tested in the first and final weeks of maturity. Results: Temperatures in the first days of composting reached the thermophilic phase in MSW compost
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Background: The possibility of converting the organic fraction of municipal solid waste to mature compost using the composting bin method was studied. Nine distinct treatments were created by combining municipal solid waste (MSW) with animal waste (3:1, 2:1), poultry manure (3:1, 2:1), mixed waste (2:1:1), agricultural waste (dry leaves), biocont (Trichoderm hazarium), and humic acid. Weekly monitoring of temperature, pH, EC, organic matter (OM percent), and the C/N ratio was performed, and macronutrients (N, P, K) were measured. Trace elements, including heavy metals (Cd and Pb), were tested in the first and final weeks of maturity. Results: Temperatures in the first days of composting reached the thermophilic phase in MSW compost
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