The effect of electric field on glycerine sedimentation and reaction acceleration using multiple high voltage electrodes designed for biodiesel production

Abstract

Biodiesel is produced from fatty acids, using palm oil that is widely used in food industry as a raw material. This research aims to introduce an innovative method of acceleration in biodiesel production process. The biodiesel production was prepared by 1 liter substrate and conducted in the reactor chamber. The chamber was designed and built with coaxial cylindrical electrode consisted of multiple inner rod electrode and outer electrode. Supply high voltage level was at 10 kV and exposure time was 30 minutes. It is found that strong electric field can accelerate the rate of reaction on biodiesel production. The rate of glycerine sedimentation resulting from electric field process using single rod, double rod, triple rod and quadruple rod calculated from the results are 3.6, 4.2, 5.9 and 9.1 mL/min respectively. Electric field enhancement can be obtained by utilizing multiple rod electrodes so that the biodiesel reaction is confined within controlled environment. The fastest reaction process is by utilizing quadruple rod inner electrode. Glycerine yield separation was obtained at 100 milliliter within 11 minutes. This is 2.5 times faster than single rod configuration.