Cork waste-based adsorbents for glycerol removal from biodiesel: a sustainable alternative to wet washing

Garção, Maria Isabella Lima; Milani, Eduardo Candido; Camilo, Gabriel Lamino; Diaz De Tuesta, Jose L.; Gomes, Maria Carolina Sérgi; Ribeiro, António E.; Queiroz, Ana; Brito, Paulo

http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35128

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Authors

Garção, Maria Isabella Lima

Milani, Eduardo Candido

Camilo, Gabriel Lamino

Diaz De Tuesta, Jose L.

Gomes, Maria Carolina Sérgi

Ribeiro, António E.

Queiroz, Ana

Brito, Paulo

Abstract(s)

This work aims to use activated carbon from industrial cork waste as a novel method for glycerol removal from crude biodiesel produced using waste cooking oil, combining two residues to obtain both high-quality biodiesel and highly adsorbent activated carbon. The study first optimizes the biodiesel production conditions, achieving the highest ester yield at 30 degrees C, with a 1:9 oil-to-ethanol molar ratio, 1 wt.% NaOH catalyst, and a reaction time of 1 h. Additionally, activated carbons were prepared and characterized from cork waste, showing significantly higher BET surface areas than the raw material. The most promising cork-based materials were then applied to optimize glycerol removal from crude biodiesel through adsorption. A preliminary study identified milled raw cork and its KOH-activated carbon (SBET = 2057 m2/g) as the most effective. Kinetic and equilibrium studies demonstrated that optimal glycerol removal was achieved after 6 h at 25 degrees C using 2 wt.% of KOH-activated cork-based adsorbent, resulting in 88% glycerol removal and a final glycerol content of 0.017 wt.%. These findings demonstrate that cork waste-derived activated carbon is highly effective for biodiesel purification, successfully meeting the quality specifications required by European Standard EN 14214:2012+A2:2019 and offering an innovative solution for waste valorization and sustainable fuel production.

Keywords

Biodiesel purification Glycerol removal Adsorption equilibrium Adsorption kinetics Activated carbon

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35128

Citation

Garção, Maria Isabella Lima; Milani, Eduardo Candido; Camilo, Gabriel Lamino; Diaz De Tuesta, Jose L.; Gomes, Maria Carolina Sérgi; Ribeiro, António E.; Queiroz, Ana; Brito, Paulo (2025) Cork waste-based adsorbents for glycerol removal from biodiesel: a sustainable alternative to wet washing. ISSN 1759-7269. p. 1-17