Preparation of Lignin Diesel : Experimental and Statistical Study of the Biodiesel Preparation Process from a Pulp- and Paper Industry Residual Product

Sammanfattning: The use of fossil fuels is depleting the petroleum resources and the emissions exhausted during the use is contributing to the planets temperature rise, glaciers reciding and rised sea level etc. In a global perspective, the liquid petroleum fuels are dominating the fuel market. In the coming ten years, the use of liquid fuels is expected to grow.   In this work a method of preparing a biodiesel microemulsion between petroleum diesel and kraft lignin has been examined. Lignin is a renewable by-product from the pulp- and paper industry, extracted from black liquor. In its natural appearance, lignin is not soluble in water and has to be modified to work as the hydrophilic phase in the microemulsion. The modification is achieved in a oxidative ammonolysis process. As an indication of how well the modification is performing, the amount of dissolved lignin in water were measured. The influence by the reaction time, pH-value and water content on the amount of dissolved lignin were examined in a statistical model in the software MODDE. A screening examination was performed to find the most influential factors. The MODDE model was optimized and could thereafter be used as a predictive tool and predict the outcome of responses within the experimental range. Ultrasonication was used to create the microemulsion. A stabilization test was performed by observing the created lignin diesel samples during three weeks. The operational cost of producing lignin diesel was calculated based on the chemical cost and the cost of electricity consumed during the production process.   A microemulsion was not created between diesel and modified lignin, rather an emulsion was achieved. The highest amount of dissolved lignin in the oxidative ammonolysis process were 99.77 %. The most influential factor was the pH-value in the oxidative ammonolysis process. The water content also affected the amount of dissolved lignin, while the reaction time factor within its range did not affect the amount of dissolved lignin. The statistical model design, execution and predictive ability were evaluated in MODDE and given a satisfying grade. In the stability test, a separation in the bottom of the samples were observed after 0.5 h time. After one week, there was a small colour gradient in the top of one of the samples. After two weeks, the same colour gradient were observed in all of the samples. In none of the samples, a total phase separation was observed under the three weeks.