Impact of biodiesel production on wastewater generation

Postaue, Najla; Fonseca, Jhessica Marchini; Bergamasco, Rosangela; Silva, Camila da

doi:10.1590/S1413-415220210086

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Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental

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Literature Review • Eng. Sanit. Ambient. 27 (2) • Mar-Apr 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-415220210086 copy

Impact of biodiesel production on wastewater generation

Impacto da produção de biodiesel na geração de águas residuais

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Biodiesel production has intensified in recent years and the traditionally applied method for its production is homogeneous alkaline transesterification, with the formation of esters and glycerol, which need to be separated. Also, the crude biodiesel needs to be purified at the end of the reaction to remove the remaining catalyst, glycerol, soap, oil, and alcohol, which can impair engine performance. This process generates large quantities of wastewater that need to be properly disposed of to avoid polluting the environment. This article provides a review of the biodiesel production process and the need for a purification step, focusing on wastewater generation. Traditional and advanced methods for treating wastewater originating from biodiesel production are described and discussed. Details regarding patents published in the past 5 years, related to techniques for the treatment of these wastewaters, are also included.

Keywords:
advanced treatments; biodiesel; conventional treatment; pollution; purification; wastewater

Properties	Unity	ANP Nº 45/2014	ASTM D6751	EN 14214
Ester content, min	% wt	96.50	–	96.50
Acidity index, max	mg KOH g⁻¹	0.50	0.50	0.50
Free glycerol, max	% wt	0.02	0.02	0.02
Total glycerol, max	% wt	0.25	0.24	0.25
Na + K content, max	mg kg⁻¹	5.0	5.0	5.0
Methanol or ethanol, max	% wt	0.20	0.20	0.20

Process	Advantages	Disadvantages
Wet washing	Simple and effective; allows use of aqueous acid solutions and biodiesel to meet standard	Longer time; large amount of effluent and reduction of biodiesel yield (formation of free fatty acids and emulsion)
Dry washing	Low-cost natural adsorbents; less time compared to wet washing and allows continuous operation	Requires separate mixing and filtering unit and high cost of commercial adsorbents

Source	pH	COD	O&G	TSS	Reference
Previously treated wash water	7.29	3,051	–	3,820	*Sassi et al. (2017*SASSI, P. G. P.; CALIXTO, C. D.; SANTANA, J. K. DA S.; SASSI, R.; SASSI, C. F. C.; ABRAHÃO, R. Cultivation of freshwater microalgae in biodiesel wash water. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, p. 18332-18340, 2017. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9351-4 http://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9351-4... )
Pretreated by a step of acidification using H₂SO₄	2.90	5,960	1,440	1,000	*Costa et al. (2017*COSTA, N. M.; SILVA, V. M.; DAMACENO, G.; SOUSA, R. M. F.; RICHTER, E. M.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROV, A. G. Integrating coagulation - flocculation and UV-C or H2O2/UV-C as alternatives for pre- or complete treatment of biodiesel effluents. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 203, p. 229-236, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.07.069 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.0... )
Treated by coagulation–flocculation followed by filtration	9.70	17,016	2,095	3,440	*Gonçalves et al. (2017a)*GONÇALVES, B. R.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROVÓ, A. G. Treatment of a biodiesel effluent by coupling coagulation-flocculation, membrane filtration and Fenton reactions. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 142, p. 1918-1921, 2017. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.092 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11...
Alkaline transesterification (lab-scale)	9.70	26,376	2,166	5,004	*Gonçalves et al. (2017b)*GONÇALVES, B. R.; NETO, W. B.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROVÓ, A. G. Biodiesel Wastewater Treatment by Coagulation-Flocculation: Evaluation and Optimization of Operational Parameters. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, v. 28, n. 5, p. 800-807, 2017. https://doi.org/10.21577/0103-5053.20160231 https://doi.org/10.21577/0103-5053.20160...
Alkaline transesterification (lab-scale)	2.90	9,935	1,012	–	*Costa et al. (2018*COSTA, N. M.; SILVA, G. D.; MARSON, E. O.; RICHTER, E. M.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROVÓ, A. G. Enhanced treatment of a biodiesel effluent using ferrioxalate in a photo- Fenton process based on the use of solar radiation. Fuel, v. 221, p. 110-115, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.02.086 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.02.0... )
Alkaline transesterification (lab-scale)	6.50	4,550		1,001	*Bashir et al. (2018*BASHIR, M. A.; THIRI, M.; YANG, X.; YANG, Y.; SAFDAR, A. M. Purification of biodiesel via pre-washing of transesterified waste oil to produce less contaminated wastewater. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 180, p. 466-471, 2018. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.126 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01... )
Alkaline transesterification (lab-scale)	7.30	5,556	730	–	*Stroparo et al. (2018*STROPARO, E. C.; MOLLINARI, K. C.; SOUZA, K. V. DE. Use of chitosan in the remediation of water from purification of biodiesel. Polímeros, v. 28, p. 400-405, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1428.02416 https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1428.02416... )
Fuel plant	8.30	–	650	3,126	*Torres et al. (2018*TORRES, N. H.; LIMA, Á. S.; FERREIRA, L. F. R.; DE ANDRADE OLIVEIRA, J.; CAVALCANTI, E. B. Treatment of wastewater from biodiesel generation and its toxicity evaluation by raphidocelis subcapitata. Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering, v. 35, n. 2, p. 563-574, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.20180352s20170048 https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.201803... )
Fuel plant	3.85–6.56	88,005	–	–	*Daud et al. (2018*DAUD, N. M.; ROZAIMAH, S.; ABDULLAH, S. Response surface methodological analysis for the optimization of acid-catalyzed transesterification biodiesel wastewater pre-treatment using coagulation – flocculation process. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, v. 113, n. 2014, p. 184-192, 2018. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.10.006 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.10.00... )
Alkaline transesterification (lab-scale)	1.66	24,210	2,237	–	*Brito et al. (2019*BRITO, G. F. DA S.; OLIVEIRA, R.; GRISOLIA, C. K.; GUIRRA, L. S.; WEBER, I. T.; DE ALMEIDA, F. V. Evaluation of advanced oxidative processes in biodiesel wastewater treatment. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, v. 375, p. 85-90, 2019. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2019.01.013 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2019... )

Treatment	Wastewater characteristics*	% Removal				Reference
Treatment	Wastewater characteristics*	TOC	BOD	COD	O&G	Reference
Electrooxidation (Ti/RuO₂)	BOD 168,000–300,000 COD 321,000–855,000 O&G 18,000–22,000	nr	41	63	97	*Jaruwat et al. (2016*JARUWAT, P.; PITAKPOOLSIL, W.; HUNSOM, M. Treatment of biodiesel wastewater by indirect electrooxidation : Effect of additives and process kinetics. Korean Journal Chemical Engineering, v. 33, n. 7, p. 2090-2096, 2016. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-016-0045-2 http://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-016-0045-2... )
H₂O₂/UVC	COD 5,960 BOD₅ 2,890 O&G 1,440	nr	76²	78	nr	*Costa et al. (2017*COSTA, N. M.; SILVA, V. M.; DAMACENO, G.; SOUSA, R. M. F.; RICHTER, E. M.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROV, A. G. Integrating coagulation - flocculation and UV-C or H2O2/UV-C as alternatives for pre- or complete treatment of biodiesel effluents. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 203, p. 229-236, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.07.069 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.0... )
FM¹ and Fenton	COD 17,016 O&G 2,095	nr	nr	90	98	*Gonçalves et al. (2017a)*GONÇALVES, B. R.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROVÓ, A. G. Treatment of a biodiesel effluent by coupling coagulation-flocculation, membrane filtration and Fenton reactions. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 142, p. 1918-1921, 2017. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.092 http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11...
Oxidation and Coagulation	COD 2,954	nr	nr	82	nr	*Yang et al. (2017*YANG, Y.; ZHOU, Z.; LU, C.; CHEN, Y.; GE, H.; WANG, L. Treatment of chemical cleaning wastewater and cost optimization by response surface methodology coupled nonlinear programming. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 198, p. 12-20, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.009 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.0... )
Wet air oxidation	COD 4,310 TOC 1,050	45	nr	55	nr	Solís, Rivas and Sol. (2019SOLÍS, R. R.; RIVAS, F. J.; SOL, R. R. Toxic / Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering Peroxymonosulfate promoted wet air oxidation of a real wastewater from a biodiesel production plant. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, v. 0, n. 0, p. 1-9, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2018.1530538 https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2018.15... )
Electrocoagulation	TOC 98,120 COD 399,800 O&G 25,000	92	nr	92	nr	Tanatti, Sengil and Ozdemir (2018TANATTI, N. P.; ŞENGIL, İ. A.; ÖZDEMIR, A. Optimizing TOC and COD removal for the biodiesel wastewater by electrocoagulation. Applied Water Science, v. 8, n. 2, p. 1-10, 2018. http://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0701-2 http://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0701-2... )
Flocculation/coagulation and electrochemical	TOC 6,004	78	nr	nr	nr	*Torres et al. (2018*TORRES, N. H.; LIMA, Á. S.; FERREIRA, L. F. R.; DE ANDRADE OLIVEIRA, J.; CAVALCANTI, E. B. Treatment of wastewater from biodiesel generation and its toxicity evaluation by raphidocelis subcapitata. Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering, v. 35, n. 2, p. 563-574, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.20180352s20170048 https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-6632.201803... )
Flocculation/coagulation and photo-Fenton	COD 9,935 BOD₅ 5,390 O&G 1,012	nr	88²	72	78	*Costa et al.* (2018**COSTA, N. M.; SILVA, G. D.; MARSON, E. O.; RICHTER, E. M.; MACHADO, A. E. H.; TROVÓ, A. G. Enhanced treatment of a biodiesel effluent using ferrioxalate in a photo- Fenton process based on the use of solar radiation. Fuel, v. 221, p. 110-115, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.02.086 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.02.0... )
HMBB³	TOC 1,257 COD 4,061 BOD 1,649 O&G 1,232	68	nr	69	nr	*Gonçalves et al. (2019*GONÇALVES, L. DE O.; STARLING, M. C. V. M.; LEAL, C. D.; OLIVEIRA, D. V. M.; ARAÚJO, J. C.; LEÃO, M. M. D.; AMORIM, C. C. Enhanced biodiesel industry wastewater treatment via a hybrid MBBR combined with advanced oxidation processes: analysis of active microbiota and toxicity removal. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, v. 26, n. 5, p. 4521-4536, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2710-y https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2710-... )
Fenton	TOC 1,275 COD 4,061 BOD 1,649 O&G 1,232	nr	nr	90	nr	*Gonçalves et al. (2019*GONÇALVES, L. DE O.; STARLING, M. C. V. M.; LEAL, C. D.; OLIVEIRA, D. V. M.; ARAÚJO, J. C.; LEÃO, M. M. D.; AMORIM, C. C. Enhanced biodiesel industry wastewater treatment via a hybrid MBBR combined with advanced oxidation processes: analysis of active microbiota and toxicity removal. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, v. 26, n. 5, p. 4521-4536, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2710-y https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2710-... )

Patent	Treatment type	Reference
CN105984999	Conventional	*Bingna et al. (2016*BINGNA, S.; XINQUAN, C.; YULAN, L.; BENGANG, F.; ZHENDONG, Z. Treatment technology for biodiesel wastewater, 2016.)
CN106365380	Conventional	*Xin et al. (2016*BINGNA, S.; XINQUAN, C.; YULAN, L.; BENGANG, F.; ZHENDONG, Z. Treatment technology for biodiesel wastewater, 2016.)
BR 1020150309759	Combined¹ 1 Application of two or more methods (conventional and advanced method).	*Soletti et al. (2017*SOLETTI, J. I.; TONHOLO, J.; PAIVA, C. L. DE; ZANTA, I.; UCHÔA, S. B. B.; ARAÚJO, J. L. Tratamento de efluente proveniente da lavagem de biodiesel com uso de eletroflotação/eletrooxidação e fenton acoplados, 2017. Disponível em: <https://gru.inpi.gov.br/pePI/servlet/PatenteServletController?Action=detail&CodPedido=1361207&SearchParameter=AGUARESIDUALBIODIESEL&Resumo=&Titulo=> https://gru.inpi.gov.br/pePI/servlet/Pat... )
CN106830504	Conventional	*Zhenhong et al. (2017*ZHENHONG, Y.; HIUWEN, L.; ZHIBING, L.; PENGMEI, L.; ZHONGMING, W.; WEN, L.; LINGMEI, Y.; CHANGLIN, M. Resource recovery method for assisted comprehensive treatment of biodiesel production waste water by using eichhornia crassipes, 2017.)
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[1] * Corresponding author: camiladasilva.eq@gmail.com