Properties of Biodiesel Purified by Membrane Technology

Abstract

Membrane technology is the most effective technology in the process of separation and purification because the separation of components can occur to the molecular level. Therefore the application of membrane technology in the biodiesel production process can provide high-purity biodiesel quality. In this research, the process of separating and refining palm oil biodiesel does not use the washing process, but it uses membrane separation technology. The membrane used is the ceramic ultrafiltration membrane 0.02 µm. The purification process was carried out at temperature 70°C and pressure 12 Psi (0.86 bar), flow rate of 39.53 L/min, circulation time of 3 hours with a feed of 10 L. After purification, an obtained biodiesel has physical properties as follows: Purity level 97.63% mass (total ester content) and 97.02% mass (methyl ester content), kinematic viscosity at 40°C is 5.70 (cSt), density 0.86 (g/cm3), acid number 0.45 (mg KOH/g) and the saponification number 206.45 mg KOH/g. The values ​​of the physicochemical properties have met Indonesian National Standard (SNI).