Browsing by Author "Ajala, MA"

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    Design, construction and performance evaluation of a mini-scale batch reactor for biodiesel production: A case study of shea butter
    (Prince of Songla University, Thailand, 2018) Ajala, EO; Aberuagba, F; Olaniyan, AM; Ajala, MA; Sunmonu, MO; Odewole, MM
    This study developed a mini-scale batch reactor after evaluating the kinetics of biodiesel production. The reactor was evaluated for its performance by two-stage and one-pot syntheses methods using shea butter. The biodiesel produced was characterized and compared with the ASTM standards for biodiesel and diesel. The reactor was designed for 6.5 L total and 4.5 L working volume; the power rating and power delivery were 2.0 and 1.5 hp, respectively. The operating conditions for the reactor to attain its highest yields of 91.01% and 76.67% with the two alternative methods had 800 rpm agitation speed and 40oC temperature. The reactor achieved the design objective of better than 90% biodiesel yield with the two-stage method only. The biodiesel quality satisfied the ASTM standards. Therefore, the reactor could be scaled up for industrial production of biodiesel.
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    One-pot synthesis of biodiesel from high FFA shea butter in an optimisation study using response surface methodology
    (Taylor and Francis, 2017) Ajala, EO; Olaniyan, AM; Aberuagba, F; Ajala, MA; Odewole, MM
    Optimisation of biodiesel production from high free fatty acids (FFA) of 6.86% shea butter (SB) using a base catalyst, potassium hydroxide, was studied. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed as a model for the optimisation of the process by varying temperature, agitation speed, mole ratio and catalyst loading in the range of 40–60 C, 200–1400 rpm, 8:1–12:1 (w/w) and 1–2% (w/w) respectively. The significance of the variables in both linear and nonlinear forms of the model was analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA results showed that the temperature, agitation speed, mole ratio and catalyst loading had a significant effect on the shea biodiesel yield with a p-value of < 0.0001 for each of the variables, adjusted R2 of 0.9517 and predicted R2 of 0.8625. The maximum %yield of shea biodiesel obtained was 90.83% at optimal operating temperature of 50 C, agitation speed of 800 rpm, mole ratio of 12:1 (w/w) and catalyst loading of 1% (w/w). This showed that the RSM optimised the one-pot synthesis of biodiesel from high FFA SB, an indication that it can be adopted successfully in the industry to maximise the yield of biodiesel from high FFA SB.