Biofuel conversion process

Abstract

A process, method, apparatus and materials for efficient conversion of waste vegetable oils into biofuel that does not use methanol as a reactant or catalyst. The resulting biofuel is mixed with kerosene or heavy oil to form a stable diesel fuel grade fuel that is mixable with diesel fuel. In addition, the process and apparatus are also applicable to the conversion of virgin vegetable oils and other waste or virgin oils, such as used motor oil, into fuels or fuel additives.

1 . A biofuel production process comprising the steps of: 
 pumping a desired quantity of vegetable based oil into a mixing tank; preparing a catalyst powder composition having an aluminum sludge zeolite material (Na 2 O, SiO 2 , H 2 O) and a composition of calcium oxide, sodium monoxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and water in the formula 0.75CaO, 0.2Na 2 O, Al 2 O 3 , 2SiO 2 , 4.5H 2 O;    blending a mixture of catalyst powders and absorption powders;    mixing the catalyst powders and aborption powders into the vegetable based oil in the mixing tank;    heating the mixture in the tank to a temperature in the range of between about 60 and 80 degrees centigrade for a period of 40 to 60 minutes;    pumping the mixture through a filter system to remove substantially all of the particulate and powdered materials and obtain a filtered biofuel having neutral pH and an energy content in excess of 9000 calories/gram.    
   
   
       2 . The biofuel production process of  claim 1 , wherein the catalyst powders preferably include 25 to 35 weight percent of the aluminum sludge zeolite material Na 2 O, nSiO 2 , xH 2 O and 65 to 75 weight percent 0.75CaO, 0.2Na 2 O Al 2 O 3 ,2SiO 2 , 4.5H 2 O.  
   
   
       3 . The biofuel production process of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption powders are 78 to 82 percent silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), 11 to 13 percent aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), 2.5 to 3.5 percent iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), 3 to 4.5 percent magnesium oxide (MgO), and 0.5 to 1 percent calcium oxide (CaO).  
   
   
       4 . The biofuel production process of  claim 2 , wherein the absorption powders are: silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), magnesium oxide (MgO), and calcium oxide (CaO).  
   
   
       5 . The biofuel production process of  claim 1 , wherein the catalyst powders and the absorption powders comprise: 
 a catalyst composition powder having 25 to 35 weight percent of an aluminum sludge zeolite material and 65 to 75 weight percent of 0.75CaO, 0.2Na 2 O Al 2 O 3 ,2SiO 2 , 4.5H 2 O; and    an absorption composition powder having predominantly silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), and up to about 20 weight percent combined of aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), magnesium oxide (MgO), and calcium oxide (CaO).    
   
   
       6 . The biofuel production process of  claim 5 , wherein the powders are formed to a particle size of less than 500 μm.  
   
   
       7 . The biofuel production process of  claim 5 , wherein the mixture is pumped through a filter system having a filter media with a filter size of 150 mesh.  
   
   
       8 . The biofuel production process of  claim 5  wherein the ratio of catalyst powders to absorption powders is in the range of between about 1:2 and 1:6.  
   
   
       9 . The biofuel production process of  claim 5  wherein the amount of catalyst powders required for processing 100 liters of vegetable oil is in the range of between about 450 and 550 grams.  
   
   
       10 . The biofuel production process of  claim 5  wherein the amount of absorption powders required for processing 100 liters of vegetable oil is in the range of between about 1 kilogram to 6 kilograms.  
   
   
       11 . The biofuel production process of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of separating solids from the vegetable based oils in a separator prior to pumping the desired quantity into the mixing tank.  
   
   
       12 . The biofuel production process of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 pumping the filtered biofuel to a blending tank;    pumping a hydrocarbon based fuel selected from kerosene and fuel oil into the blending tank;    blending the biofuel and the hydrocarbon based fuel with an absorption powder composition in a ratio of between 1 and 3 kilograms of absorption powder to 200 liters of blended fuel for a time period of 30 minutes to 60 minutes; and    filtering the blended composition through a high pressure filtration system to remove substantially all of the absorption powder to yield a blended biofuel.    
   
   
       13 . The biofuel production process of  claim 12 , further comprising: 
 filtering the blended biofuel through a filter having a filter size of 250 to 300 mesh.    
   
   
       14 . A biofuel production process comprising the steps of: 
 pumping a desired quantity of vegetable based oil into a mixing tank;    preparing catalyst powders and absorption powders, wherein the catalyst powders comprise a catalyst composition powder having 25 to 35 weight percent of an aluminum sludge zeolite material, 65 to 75 weight percent of a composition of calcium oxide, sodium monoxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and water in the formula 0.75CaO, 0.2Na 2 O Al 2 O 3 ,2siO 2 , 4.5H 2 O; and the absorption powders comprise an absorption composition powder having up to 82 weight percent of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), up to 12 weight percent of aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), up to 3.5 weight percent of iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), up to 4.5 weight percent of magnesium oxide (MgO), and up to 1 weight percent of calcium oxide (CaO);    mixing the catalyst powders and absorption powders into the vegetable based oil in the mixing tank;    heating the mixture in the tank to a temperature in the range of between about 60 and 80 degrees centigrade for a period of 40 to 60 minutes;    pumping the mixture through a filter system to remove substantially all of the particulate and powdered materials and obtain a filtered biofuel.    
   
   
       15 . A reaction powder composition for aiding the conversion of vegetable oils to biofuel, comprising: 
 a catalyst composition powder having 25 to 35 weight percent of an aluminum sludge zeolite material Na 2 O, SiO 2 , H 2 O, and 65 to 75 weight percent of a composition of calcium oxide, sodium monoxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and water in the formula 0.75CaO, 0.2Na 2 O Al 2 O 3 ,2SiO 2 , 4.5H 2 O; and    an absorption composition powder having silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), magnesium oxide (MgO), and calcium oxide (CaO).    
   
   
       16 . The reaction powder of  claim 15  wherein the powders are formed to a particle size of less than 200 μm.  
   
   
       17 . The reaction powder of  claim 15  wherein the ratio of catalyst composition powder to absorption composition powder is in the range of between about 1:2 and 1:6.  
   
   
       18 . The reaction powder of  claim 15  wherein the ratio of catalyst powder to absorption powder is in the range of between about 1:2 and 1:4.  
   
   
       19 . The reaction powder of  claim 15  wherein the amount of catalyst composition powder required for processing 100 liters of vegetable oil is in the range of between about 450 and 550 grams.  
   
   
       20 . The reaction powder of  claim 15  wherein the amount of absorption powder required for processing 100 liters of vegetable oil is in the range of between about 1 kilogram to 6 kilograms.  
   
   
       21 . A waste vegetable oil conversion slurry comprising: 
 waste vegetable oil;    a catalyst composition powder;    an absorption composition powder;    said waste vegetable oil, catalyst composition powder and absorption composition powder mixed together in a ratio of 100 liters oil to between about 400 and 600 grams catalyst composition powder and between about 800 and 3,000 grams absorption composition powder.    
   
   
       22 . The waste vegetable oil conversion slurry of  claim 21  wherein the catalyst composition powder and the absorption composition powder comprise 
 a catalyst composition powder having an aluminum sludge zeolite material (Na 2 O, SiO 2 , xH 2 O), and a composition of calcium oxide, sodium monoxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and water in the formula 0.75CaO, 0.2Na 2 O Al 2 O 3 ,2SiO 2 , 4.5H 2 O; and    an absorption composition powder having 75 to 85 weight percent of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), 10 to 14 weight percent of aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), 2 to 4 weight percent of iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), 2 to 5 weight percent of magnesium oxide (MgO), and 0.5 to 2 weight percent of calcium oxide (CaO).    
   
   
       23 . A fuel production process comprising the steps of: 
 pumping a desired quantity of mineral or petroleum based oil into a mixing tank; preparing a catalyst powder composition having an aluminum sludge zeolite material (Na 2 O, SiO 2 , H 2 O) and a composition of sodium monoxide, silicon dioxide and water in the formula: Na 2 O, nSiO 2 , xH 2 O;    preparing an absorption powder composition;    mixing the catalyst powders and aborption powders into the oil in the mixing tank;    heating the mixture in the tank to a temperature in the range of between about 60 and 80 degrees centigrade for a period of 40 to 60 minutes;    pumping the mixture through a filter system to remove substantially all of the particulate and powdered materials and obtain a filtered fuel having an energy content in excess of 9000 calories/gram.    
   
   
       24 . The fuel production process of  claim 23 , wherein the catalyst powders preferably include 25 to 35 weight percent of the aluminum sludge zeolite material (Na 2 O, nSiO 2 , xH 2 O) and 65 to 75 weight percent Na 2 O, nSiO 2 , xH 2 O.  
   
   
       25 . The fuel production process of  claim 24 , wherein the absorption composition powder is 75 to 85 weight percent of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), 10 to 14 weight percent of aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), 2 to 4 weight percent of iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), 2 to 5 weight percent of magnesium oxide (MgO), and 0.5 to 2 weight percent of calcium oxide (CaO).  
   
   
       26 . The fuel production process of  claim 23  wherein the ratio of catalyst powders to absorption powders is in the range of between about 1:2 and 1:6.  
   
   
       27 . The fuel production process of  claim 23  wherein the amount of catalyst powders required for processing 100 liters of oil is in the range of between about 450 and 550 grams.  
   
   
       28 . The fuel production process of  claim 23  wherein the amount of absorption powders required for processing 100 liters of oil is in the range of between about 1 kilogram to 6 kilograms.  
   
   
       29 . A reaction powder composition for aiding the conversion of contaminated petroleum oils to fuel grade oil, comprising: 
 a catalyst composition powder having 25 to 35 weight percent of an aluminum sludge zeolite material (Na 2 O SiO 2  H 2 O), and 65 to 75 weight percent of a composition of sodium monoxide, silicon dioxide and water in the formula: Na 2 O, nSiO 2 , xH 2 O; and    an absorption composition powder having silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ), magnesium oxide (MgO), and calcium oxide (CaO).    
   
   
       30 . The reaction powder of  claim 29 , wherein the absorption composition powder includes in excess of 70 weight percent silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ).