Hydrodynamic Cavitation Applied to Corn Oil

Abstract

Shrinking oil resources increases the importance of substitutes in the form of biofuels. A variety of extraction processes for the generation of biodiesel out of vegetable based oils have been established in the last decades. This research investigates in the implementation of hydrodynamic cavitation on the molecular structure of vegetable based oils to bypass the transesterification reaction among the biodiesel refinery. Two experiment setups that differ in size and composition were used to treat Corn Oil. The decomposition of Potassium Iodide was used to proof the formation of cavitation during the experiments. The destructive effect was analyzed by GC, GC-MS and NMR technique. With the use of the last mentioned device, it was possible to identify a change in the spectrum. The formation of new peaks located in the typical chemical shift areas of Olefins indicated a destructive effect on the hydrocarbon chains. The impact on the molecular structure of the Corn Oil was obtained on a low level. Consequently, the generation of biodiesel could not be achieved but it creates the basis for further investigations.