Martin Mittelbach
University of Graz, Austria
Title: Hydro-treated vegetable oils – The better biodiesel alternative?
Biography
Biography: Martin Mittelbach
Abstract
Fats and oils today represent the main source for alternative transport fuels, especially for FAME (biodiesel) and HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oils). Recent developments in FAME and HVO production and utilization are highlighted. Since HVO production technology is based mainly on current mineral oil industry processing methods, the scientific literature is not as extensive as that of FAME production. While biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils via transesterification with methanol, the main reaction routes of HVO are a combination of hydrogenation, decarboxylation, decarbonylation, hydroisomerization and cracking under high pressure and temperatures, using supported and unsupported heterogeneous metal catalysts. Own experiments using non food feedstocks as starting material like waste animal fat or tall oil under heterogeneous catalysis are presented. Differences and fuel characteristics of both biodiesel types are discussed. The main advantage of HVO is the use as so-called drop in fuels, meeting existing fossil fuels standards. However, hydrogenation and lower yields at HVO production leads to significant higher production costs. As feedstocks are limited, the solution will be an optimum mix of both types of alternative fuels.