The Assessment of waste animal fats (WAFs) biodiesel production potential as an alternative fuel for Zambia; A case study of Southern Province'
Journal Title: Engineering and Technology Journal - Year 2024, Vol 9, Issue 10
Abstract
The volatility in global fuel prices and the desire to reduce energy dependency on fossil fuels has necessitated the speeding up of alternative energy supply sources. Coupled to this is the global urgent need to reduce the accumulation of CO2 and green house gas (GHG) emissions as a result of fossil fuels production and use. Further, the mandate by united nations to move towards sustainably produced energy for the transportation, and power generation demands that we seek energy solutions that meet reduced negative impact on the environment. It is in this regard that this study seeks alternatives in waste animal fats (WAFs) biodiesel as an option that could meet the ever increasing demand for fossil fuel in the transport sector and power generation. For the transport sector and power generation , the biodiesel maybe blended with the fossil diesel in the approved ratios as stipulated by the Energy Regulation Board and the Zambia Bureau of Standards to help mitigate the net GHG and CO2 emissions. The biodiesel production in this study was based on the modified two-step process. These two steps involved passing the feedstock through esterification using sulphuric acid as catalyst and there after base catalysed using sodium hydroxide in a process referred to as transesterification. The resulting products in the esterification process are the esters and water whilst in the transesterification are the biodiesel and glycerol. The feedstock used are those of waste animal fats (WAFs) of cattle, pig and chicken that has been discarded from meat processing and animal slaughter houses. The feedstocks have been carefully selected based on the animals raised in the country with a bigger slaughtered population as well as reared. The population of animals reared and slaughtered annually are obtained from the Zambia Ministry of Agriculture animal population census records. Based on these records, the preferred feedstock sources where obtained. The study further 1. explored the economic potential of the biodiesel production for the Zambian government and beyond. 2. compared some of the characteristics of WAF biodiesel to that of imported fossil diesel 3. affirmed that WAF biodiesel has a very good impact in reducing environmental pollution as WAF dumping to land fills and the cost of disposal is reduced. Also,WAF biodiesel is bio-degradable. Thus, moving closer to an effective sustainable development as required by the united nations sustainability goals if full scale production is implemented in Zambia.
Authors and Affiliations
Peter Silungwe,
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP746995
- DOI 10.47191/etj/v9i10.02
- Views 66
- Downloads 0
An Experimental Investigation of the Effects MQL Using Nanofluids on Surface Roughness of Hard Milling Process
High cutting force and cutting heat are challenging problems that need to be overcome for the hard milling process. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) has been shown to be effective and suitable for use in hard milling d...
The Impact of Flow Patterns Due to the Cold Lahar Flooding of Mount Semeru on the Collapse of the Bridge Connecting Malang District and Lumajang District
The flow patterns that occur in rivers as a result of falling cold lava often cause damage here and there. This incident cannot be separated from the large volume of water mixed with material that crosses the open channe...
Drying Performance of Integrating Mesh Wire as Drying Space into the Inflatable Solar Dryer for Drying Coffee
The drying performance of coffee laid in a mesh wire that serves as a drying space in an inflatable solar dryer (ISD) was evaluated and compared to open sun drying (OSD) and ISD without mesh wire drying space in the Phil...
Improving the Functionality of the Electronic Health Record System through the Development of the Anesthesia Module
Background: With the advancement of healthcare technology, the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) has become more effective, providing benefits such as cost reduction, improved healthcare quality, and enhanced data r...
ANALYSIS OF MARSHALL CHARACTERISTICS WITH FLY ASH MATERIAL FOR STONE DUST SUBSTITUTION AS FILLER IN HRS-WC MIXTURE
Lataston asphalt mix is a thin layer of asphalt concrete that is often used on light-traffic roads because it produces roads with good flexibility and durability. An economical way of doing this is to vary the asphalt mi...