VAB 4042 ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY

ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY (VAB 4042) January 2011 Semester

Production of Biodiesel By Using Potassium Hydroxide

MOHAMAD HUSAINI BIN ABU BAKAR MOHD FIRDAUS BIN MUSTAFA SAFWAN BIN ABDUL SALAM MOHAMAD AZRIL BIN MOHD RADZALI SOFIAN BIN YAHYA CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 11599

11602 11616 11597 11618

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Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary ..1 2.0 Introduction ...2 3.0 Background of the Project ...4 4.0 Organization 5 5.0 Environmental Impact.. ..6 6.0 Work Breakdown .14 7.0 Activities Estimate 16 8.0 Cost Estimation ....18 9.0 Schedule .21 10.0 Health, Safety and Environmental Issues.22 11.0 Discussion and Recommendation .27

VAB 4042 ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY 12.0 Conclusions ..32 13.0 References 33

List of Figures
Figure 1 : Organization Chart of Biodiesel Production Figure 2 : Life Cycle Analysis for Conventional Versus Biodiesel Figure 3 : Work Breakdown Structure

List of Tables
Table 1 : Activities Estimated for Biodiesel Production Table 2 : Equipment Specifications and Procurement Cost with a Capacity of 1452 tonnes/ year Biodiesel Table 3 : Total Plant Investment Costs with Capacity of 1452 tonnes/year Biodiesel Table 4 : Variable Cost and Fixed Cost with Capacity of 1452 tonnes/year Biodiesel

VAB 4042 ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY Table 5 : Gantt Chart for Biodiesel Production Planning Table 6 : Types of Chemical Plant Accidents Table 7 : Degree of Toxicity LD50 (Dose per kg Body Weight)

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1.0 Executive Summary

This project is about production of biodiesel using homogeneous catalyst which is potassium hydroxide (KOH). It is processed in pilot scale production. Other catalyst that could serve replacement for KOH is sodium hydroxide, NaOH. This report will begin with introduction and background of the project. Both parts will cover the history and purpose of the biodiesel production. In addition we can see the benefit of the project on many aspects of development. Then we will move on to Organization which will touch on the structure of the projects team. As we move on to the next chapter on the environmental impact, it will show the impact from the environment standpoint including the measures taken to reduce, if not avoid the impact to population. The next chapter on work breakdown and activities estimate. Work breakdown structure will show the total scope of the project. Activities estimates will shows the activities in the project and its duration. Cost estimation and financial arrangements are show in the estimates cost. Schedule will show the outline of the project in a graphical representation while health and safety issues along with the proper measures planned is presented in health and safety chapter. The final two chapters will be on discussion and recommendation and conclusion. Discussion will try to discuss on the method use in the project management and the progress achieve by the project with proper recommendation to improve the project or to be implemented by other projects. Last but not least is conclusion which will cover the overall project structure and achievement.

2.0 Introduction
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The petroleum fuel is one of the most valuable things in the world. It plays a vital role in industrial development, transportation, agriculture sector and to meet many other basic human needs. However, the world energy demand is increasing rapidly due to excessive use of the fuels but because of limited reservoirs, the researchers are looking for alternative fuels. Another serious problem associated with the use of petroleum fuel is the increase in pollutants emissions. For instance, tons of the diesels is burnt in Lahore daily which leads to increase in CO 2, HC, NOx, SOx and many other nasty gasses. These polluted gasses are badly affecting the respiratory system, the nervous system of people and producing a large number of skin diseases. These gases also damage the health of animals and affect the plants and trees. Acid rain is also due to these pollutants emission gasses. So the need to search alternative fuels is inescapable. Biodiesel can be one of the best alternatives. It is made from the oils of various types of oilseed crops like sunflower, palm, cottonseed, rapeseed, soybean and peanut. The use of biodiesel is almost as old as diesel engine itself. Rodulf Diesel patented his engine in 1892 and introduced the first diesel engine intended to run on vegetable oil. In 1900 he ran the engine on peanut oil for several hours successfully. In 1912, he predicted that in future the vegetable oil will be a fuel like diesel oil. The duel fuel engines remained in use for long time. In 1940, huge reservoirs of petroleum were found, its extraction and refinement was easy and cheaper. In 1970s the monopoly of some nations and political circumstances developed a new situation, which forced the engineers and researchers to have an alternative and environment friendly fuel. Since then there has been a renewed interest in using vegetable oils in diesel engines for various reasons including political considerations, environmental concerns and economic aspects. The seed oil is filtered and treated chemically to reduce the viscosity and to improve the combustion and flow properties. Then it can be used as pure vegetable oil (B100) or by mixing it with diesel in any proportions. The results obtained by using a blend of diesel and vegetable oil, in an engine with a ratio of 80:20 (B20) were found to be the best. The biodiesel has a number of advantages over the diesel. It is a renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable. Since the biodiesel fuel (vegetable oils processed with methanol or ethanol) is a renewable fuel, so it is non-toxic and does not increase the level of CO2 at all in the atmosphere at global level. The exhaust emission of the fuel absolutely does not have SOx, and considerably less amount of NOx are produced.

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The scientist tested a number of different raw and processed vegetable oils like sunflower oil, cotton oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil. In this paper, the results of some of the scientists/researchers are compared and summarized.

3.0 Background of the Project

Biodiesel is defined as the fatty acid methyl ester derived from vegetable oils or animal fats. In simple term, biodiesel is the product obtained when a vegetable oil or an animal fat is chemically reacted with an alcohol (methanol or ethanol) to produce fatty acid alkyl esters. A
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catalyst such as calcium oxide or potassium hydroxide is required. Glycerol is byproduct of the reaction (J. Van Gerpen et al., 2004). Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel engines that is receiving great attention worldwide. It can be used either pure or in blends with diesel engine in unmodified diesel engine. Biodiesel also can be made from other feed stocks such as corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, mustard oil, palm oil, frying oil (restaurant waste oil), beef tallow or lard (animal fat), trap grease (restaurant grease trap), float grease (waste water treatment plants) and other. Purpose of producing biodiesel is a promising an alternative to conventional based diesel fuel, to reduce carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide gas emission and to overcome global warming (Alex H. West et al., 2007). There are some of advantages of biodiesel which are (Alex H. West et al., 2007): a) Derived from a renewable domestic resource (vegetable oil). b) Reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 78% compared to diesel fuel on a life cycle basis. c) Non-toxic and biodegradable. d) Environmental benign fuel. Today, biodiesel can be produce by many methods such as using supercritical methanol (Saka and Kusdiana, 2001), using microwave irradiation (Saifuddin et al., 2004), using fast and slow pyrolysis process and using catalyst (Alex H. West et al., 2008). Based on literature view being made, using catalyst method most preferred methods due some prove from experiment. There are a few reasons why we are using this method: a) Convenient to use catalyst in small scale operation. b) Easy to conduct experiment in laboratories. c) Cheaper compare to other methods For this project, we focus on biodiesel production using homogeneous catalysts which is potassium hydroxide (KOH).

4.0 Organization

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Figure 1: Organization Chart of Biodiesel Production

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5.0 Environmental Impact

Director of

In the Kyoto protocol, the European Union member Engineering and countries have committed to a reduction of their CO2 emissions by 8% relative to 1990 levels by the year 2010. The increase of Process Research renewable energy sources is an essential ingredient in meeting this goal.

(Dr. Lim Weng Soon)

Prior to the Kyoto commitment, energy consumption was predicted to increase from 1,366 Mtoe (million tons of oil equivalent) in the year 1995 to 1,583 Mtoe in the year 2010 (European Commission, 1998). The increased energy consumption was predicted to be supplied

Milling and

Energy and

entirely renewable energy sources, increasing their share from 8.1% in 1995 to 14.6% in Agroby Product Unit 2010. (Dr. Astimar A.

Processing Unit (Hj. Zulkifli A.

Environment Khoan)

There are climate change, biodiversity and Rahman) sustainable development. (a) Climate change

We Aziz) discussed the environmental impact of production biodiesel by 3 major elements.

(Dr. Loh Soh

Biodiesel are only one component of a range of alternatives for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on the policy objectives, Catalysis and other options may prove more costFibre Processing Groupand effective, including different forms of renewable energy, increased Energy energy efficiency conservation, and reduced emissions from deforestation and land degradation. Not with standing that the impacts of increased biodiesel production on greenhouse gas emissions, land, water and biodiversity vary widely across countries, biodiesels, feedstock sand production practices, there is a strong and immediate need for harmonized approaches to life-cycle analysis, greenhouse gas balances and sustainability criteria. Biodiesel Research Bioprocess Group Milling Group Greenhouse gas balances are not positive for all feedstock. For climate-change purposes, Group investment should be directed towards crops that have the highest positive greenhouse gas balances with the lowest environmental and social costs. Until recently, many policy-makers assumed that the replacement of fossil fuels with fuels generated from biomass would have signicant and positive climate-change effects by

Processing

Bio Composite generating lower levels of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Bioenergy
crops can reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions by directly removing carbon dioxide Group from the air as they grow and storing it in crop biomass and soil. In addition to biodiesels,
6

Clean and Emerging

Sustainability and Climate Change Group

Technology Group

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many of these crops generate co-products such as protein for animal feed, thus saving on energy that would have been used to make feed by other means. Despite these potential benet, however, scientic studies have revealed that different biodiesels vary widely in their greenhouse gas balances when compared with petrol. Depending on the methods used to produce the feedstock and process the fuel, some crops can even generate more greenhouse gases than do fossil fuels. For example, nitrous oxide, a greenhouse with a global- warming potential around 300 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, is released from nitrogen fertilizers. Moreover, greenhouse gases are emitted at other stages in the production of bioenergy crops and biodiesels: in producing the fertilizers, pesticides and fuel used in farming, during chemical processing, transport and distribution, up to nal use. Greenhouse gases can also be emitted by direct or indirect land-use changes triggered by increased biodiesel production, for example when carbon stored in forests or grasslands is released from the soil during land conversion to crop production. For example, while maize produced for ethanol can generate greenhouse gas savings of about 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year, and switch grass a possible second-generation crop can generate savings of 8.6 tonnes per hectare per year, the conversion of grassland to produce those crops can release 300 tonnes per hectare, and conversion of forest land can release 6001 000 tonnes per hectare.

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Figure 2: Life Cycle Analysis for Conventional Versus Biodiesel

Life-cycle analysis is the analytical tool used to calculate greenhouse gas balances. The greenhouse gas balance is the result of a comparison between all emissions of greenhouse gases throughout the production phases and use of a biodiesel and all the greenhouse gases emitted in producing and using the equivalent energy amount of the respective fossil fuel. This well-established, but complex, method systematically analyses each component of the value chain to estimate greenhouse gas emissions The starting point in estimating the greenhouse gas balance is a well-dened set of boundaries for a specic biodiesel system, which is compared with a suitable conventional reference system in most cases petrol. Several biodiesel feedstocks also generate coproducts, such as press cake or livestock feed. These are considered avoided greenhouse gas emissions and are assessed by comparing them with similar stand-alone products or by allocation (e.g. by energy content or market price). Greenhouse gas balances differ widely among crops and locations, depending on feedstock production methods, conversion technologies and use. Inputs such as nitrogen fertilizer and the type of electricity generation (e.g. from coal or oil, or nuclear) used to convert feedstock to biodiesels may result in widely varying levels of greenhouse gas emissions and also differ from one region to another. Most life-cycle analyses of biodiesels, to date, have been undertaken for cereal and oilseeds in the EU and the United States of America and for sugar-cane ethanol in Brazil. A limited number of studies have considered vegetable oil; biodiesel from palm oil, cassava and jatropha; and biomethane from biogas. Given the wide range of biodiesels, feedstock and
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production and conversion technologies, we would expect a similarly wide range of outcomes in terms of emission reductions which is indeed the case. Most studies have found that producing rst-generation biodiesels from current feedstock results in emission reductions in the range of 2060 percent relative to fossil fuels provided the most efficient systems are used and carbon releases deriving from land-use change are excluded. In addition to the impacts of feedstock production on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiesel processing and distribution can also have other environmental impacts. As in the hydrocarbon sector, the processing of biodiesel feedstock can affect local air quality with carbon monoxide, particulates, nitrogen oxide, sulphates and volatile organic compounds released by industrial processes (Dufey, 2006). However, to the extent that biodiesels can replace traditional biomass such as fuel wood and charcoal, they also hold potential for dramatic improvements in human health, particularly of women and children, through reduced respiratory diseases and deaths caused by indoor air pollution.
(b) Biodiversity

Biodiesel production can affect wild and agricultural biodiversity in some positive ways, such as through the restoration of degraded lands, but many of its impacts will be negative, for example when natural landscapes are converted into energy-crop plantations or peat lands are drained. In general, wild biodiversity is threatened by loss of habitat when the area under crop production is expanded, whereas agricultural biodiversity is vulnerable in the case of largescale mono cropping, which is based on a narrow pool of genetic material and can also lead to reduced use of traditional varieties. The rst pathway for biodiversity loss is habitat loss following land conversion for crop production, for example from forest or grassland. As noted, many current biodiesel crops are well suited for tropical areas. This increases the economic incentives in countries with biodiesel production potential to convert natural ecosystems into feedstock plantations (e.g. oil palm), causing a loss of wild biodiversity in these areas. While oil palm plantations do not need much fertilizer or pesticide, even on poor soils, their expansion can lead to loss of rainforests. Although loss of natural habitats through land conversion for biodiesel feedstock production has been reported in some countries, the data and analysis needed to assess its extent and consequences are still lacking. Researcher examined how rising commodity prices caused by increased biodiesel demand could induce land-use change and intensication in
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Brazil, and found that agricultural expansion driven by higher prices could endanger areas rich in bird species diversity. The second major pathway is loss of agro biodiversity, induced by intensication on croplands, in the form of crop genetic uniformity. Most biodiesel feedstock plantations are based on a single species. There are also concerns about low levels of genetic diversity in grasses used as feedstock, such as sugar cane (The Royal Society, 2008), which increases the susceptibility of these crops to new pests and diseases. Conversely, the reverse is true for a crop such as jatropha, which possesses an extremely high degree of genetic diversity, most of which is unimproved, resulting in a broad range of genetic characteristics that undermine its commercial value. With respect to second-generation feedstock, some of the promoted species are classier as invasive species, raising new concerns over how to manage them and avoid unintended consequences. Moreover, many of the enzymes needed for their conversion are genetically modied to increase their efficiency and would need to be carefully managed within closed industrial production processes. Positive effects on biodiversity have been noted in degraded or marginal areas where new perennial mixed species have been introduced to restore ecosystem functioning and increase biodiversity. Experimental data from test plots on degraded and abandoned soils show that low-input high-diversity mixtures of native grassland perennials which offer a range of ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, water ltration and carbon sequestration also produce higher net energy gains (measured as energy released on combustion), greater greenhouse gas emission reductions and less agrichemical pollution than do maizeethanol or soybean-biodiesel and that performance increases with the number of species. The authors of this study also found that switch grass can be highly productive on fertile soils, especially when fertilizer and pesticides are applied, but that its performance on poor soils does not match that of diverse native perennials.
(c) Sustainable development

Good practices aim to apply available knowledge to address the sustainability dimensions of on-farm biodiesel feedstock production, harvesting and processing. This aim applies to natural-resource management issues such as land, soil, water and biodiversity as well as to the life-cycle analysis used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and determine whether a
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specic biodiesel is more climate-change friendly than a fossil fuel. In practical terms, soil, water and crop protection; energy and water management; nutrient and agrochemical management; biodiversity and landscape conservation; harvesting, processing and distribution all count among the areas where good practices are needed to address sustainable bioenergy development. Conservation agriculture is one practice that sets out to achieve sustainable and protable agriculture for farmers and rural people by employing minimum soil disturbance, permanent organic soil cover and diversied crop rotations. In the context of the current focus on carbon storage and on technologies that reduce energy intensity it seems especially appropriate. The approach also proves responsive to situations where labour is scarce and there is a need to conserve soil moisture and fertility. Interventions such as mechanical soil tillage are reduced to a minimum, and inputs such as agrochemicals and nutrients of mineral or organic origin are applied at an optimum level and in amounts that do not disrupt biological processes. Conservation agriculture has been shown to be effective across a variety of agro-ecological zones and farming systems. Good farming practices coupled with good forestry practices could greatly reduce the environmental costs associated with the possible promotion of sustainable intensication at forest margins. Approaches based on agro-silvo-pasture-livestock integration could be considered also when bioenergy crops form part of the mix. Although the multiple and diverse environmental impacts of bioenergy development do not differ substantively from those of other forms of agriculture, the question remains of how they can best be assessed and reected in eld activities. Existing environmental impactassessment techniques and strategic environmental assessments offer a good starting point for analysing the biophysical factors. There also exists a wealth of technical knowledge drawn from agricultural development during the past 60 years. New contributions from the bioenergy context include analytical frameworks for bioenergy and food security and for bioenergy impact analysis (FAO, forthcoming (a) and (b)); work on the aggregate environmental impacts, including soil acidication, excessive fertilizer use, biodiversity loss, air pollution and pesticide toxicity and work on social and environmental sustainability criteria, including limits on deforestation, competition with food production, adverse impacts on biodiversity, soil erosion and nutrient leaching.
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The biodiesel sector is characterized by a wide range of stakeholders with diverse interests. This, combined with the rapid evolution of the sector, has led to a proliferation of initiatives to ensure sustainable bioenergy development. Principles, criteria and requirements are under consideration among many private and public groups, along with compliance mechanisms to assess performance and guide development of the sector. The Global Bioenergy Partnerships task forces on greenhouse gas methodologies and on sustainability, and the round table on sustainable biodiesels, count among these, together with many other public, private and non-prot efforts. Such diversity suggests that a process for harmonizing the various approaches may be needed, especially in the light of policy mandates and targets that serve to stimulate further biodiesel production. Most of the criteria are currently being developed in industrialized countries and are aimed at ensuring that biodiesels are produced, distributed and used in an environmentally sustainable manner before they are traded in international markets. The European Commission, for example, has already proposed criteria that it considers to be compatible with WTO rules (personal communication). However, to date none have yet been tested, especially in conjunction with government support schemes such as subsidies or when designated for preferential treatment under international trade agreements. The term standards implies rigorous systems for measuring parameters against dened criteria, in which failure to comply would prevent a country from exporting its product. Such internationally agreed systems already exist for a range of food safety, chemical and human health topics. Is the biodiesel sector sufficiently developed for the establishment of such a system and are the risks sufficiently great that its absence would pose signicant, irreversible threats to human health or the environment? Should biodiesels be treated more stringently than other agricultural commodities? On the one hand, given that most environmental impacts of biodiesels are indistinguishable from those of increased agricultural production in general, it could be argued that equal standards should be applied across the board. Furthermore, restricting landuse change could foreclose opportunities for developing countries to benet from increased demand for agricultural commodities. On the other hand, there are also strong arguments that agricultural producers and policy-makers should learn from earlier mistakes and avoid the

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negative environmental impacts that have accompanied agricultural land conversion and intensication in the past. Solutions to this dilemma will require careful dialogue and negotiation among countries if the combined goals of agricultural productivity growth and environmental sustainability are to be achieved. A starting point might be found by establishing best practices for sustainable production of biodiesels, which can then also help transform farming practices for non-biodiesel crops. In time, and accompanied by capacitybuilding efforts for the countries that need it, more stringent standards and certication systems could be established. One option to explore could be payments for environmental services in combination with biodiesel production. Payments for environmental services were discussed in detail in the 2007 edition of The State of Food and Agriculture. This mechanism would compensate farmers for providing specic environmental services using production methods that are environmentally more sustainable. Payments could be linked to compliance with standards and certication schemes agreed at the international level. Payment schemes for environmental services, although challenging and complicated to implement, could constitute a further tool to ensure that biodiesels are produced in a sustainable manner.

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6.0 Work Breakdown

Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a technique to define and organize the projects total scope by using a hierarchical tree structure. Usually in a project, WBS developed and started with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size, duration and responsibility as to include all necessary steps to achieve the objective. The biodiesel project WBS consists of three main and important bodies which are project stakeholders & administration, the contractor team and also the project monitoring & evaluation team. Each bodies functions individually according to their task but as a whole, each contributes significantly and collaboratively with each other to ensure the project success.

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Figure 3: Work Breakdown Structure

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7.0 Activities Estimate

This section provides an overview of the activities carried out in the Production of Biodiesel Project. The estimated activities for the whole project are shown in the table below. The duration is estimated based on the agreed arrangements with the management of the company and vendor. The precedence is the estimated activities that should be completed prior to the implementation of the activity planned.
Table 1: Activities Estimated for Biodiesel Production PERIOD PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL PROJECT (MONTH) PRECEDENCE

I A B II C D E III F G IV H V I VI J K L M VII N O VIII P Q

Information campaign Validation of Resettlement Action Plan Project information campaigns Acquisition of land Declaration of transferability Negotiation of compensation Estimation of compensations (in case of disagreement during the initial negotiations) Invitations to bids Preparation of bidding documents Invitations to bid an negotiation of contracts Construction and development of the new site Development and construction of the new site Chemical plant controls Controlling of production process within unit operation Feedstock preparation Refining Bleaching Deodorization Rendering Plant safety Identifying hazards Designing for safety Monitoring and evaluation Monitoring of RAP implementation Monitoring and evaluation of development measures

0.5 continuous A 1 A 3 C 4 D 3 3 F 24 G

continuous H 3 3 J 3 K 3 L continuous H,I,J 6 N continuous 12

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8.0 Cost Estimation

This section will gives us some general idea about the cost needed to produce biodiesel in a big scale. Basically, there are different alternatives that can be choosing to produce biodiesel and different batch processes were designed. In this report, KOH-W process has been chosen as the process, which is characterized by a homogeneous KOH catalyst and hot water purification process. The production capacity of this plant is expected to be 1452 tones/year. a) Equipment cost The procurement costs or fabrication costs of the equipment for obtaining a capacity of 1452 tones/year, as shown in Table 1, were evaluated on the basis of the prices quoted by several engineering firms.
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Table 2: Equipment Specifications and Procurement Cost with a capacity of 1452 tonnes/year Biodiesel

*Estimated as 110/$

b) Plant Cost
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The total investment plant costs with a capacity of 1452 tonnes/year were estimated by using the cost factored method. As shown in Table 2, the total plant cost factor was determined to be 333% for a total equipment cost of 100% on the basis of the factors responsible for the commercial biodiesel batch plant. Consequently, the total plant cost for the KOH-W processes with a capacity of 1452 tonnes/year is $ 2.10 million.
Table 3: Total Plant Investment Costs with a Capacity of 1452 tonnes/year Biodiesel

*Estimated as 110/$

c) Manufacturing Cost The manufacturing cost for the processes with a capacity of 1452 tones/year is estimated, as shown in Table 3.

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Table 4: Variable Costs and Fixed Costs with a Capacity of 1452 tonnes/year Biodiesel

* Estimated as 110/$ *Estimated as 330 operation days/year

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9.0 Schedule
Scheduling is a process of converting an outline plan of a project into a time-based graphic representation, based on the available resources and time constraints. For Production of Biodiesel Project, the schedule implementation are focused its three main part. First is the biodiesel plant construction, secondly is on the feedstock preparation and lastly is the product quality. Each of the part contains its main construction and event component that has its own timeline and milestone. Hence, it is best to represent the scheduling of the project based on Gantt chart. The project Gantt chart is constructed as below based on its three main project component.
Detail Work scope

2011

2012

2013

2014

PLANT CONSTRUCTION - Concessionary company recruitment - Plant work construction FEEDSTOCK PREPARATION - Refining - Bleaching - Deodorization - Rendering PRODUCT QUALITY - Controlling of production process - Monitoring of RAP implementation - First production achieved
Table 5: Gantt chart for Biodiesel Production Planning

10.0 Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Issue

a) Introduction on HSE To establish a very healthy, safe and environmental friendly biodiesel production plant, there are several important issues needed to be taken into consideration which becomes a vital responsibility of many individuals related. The responsibility for the safe and healthy operation of any chemical process facility, including a biodiesel plant, begins with the CEO of the company and extends to every employee and visitor on the plant site. Safety is a result of training, operating, maintaining, and preparing to prevent unplanned and dangerous events in the plant. It is a way of thinking and acting during routine activities and in response to extraordinary situations. There are numerous regulatory requirements associated with training and housekeeping to monitor and improve health and safety in the workplace. Regulations and procedures
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dictated by OSHA, EPA, and other agencies apply to biodiesel plants of any size. Some of these requirements are covered in other modules. In addition, every plant should have one person with the designated responsibility for overseeing the training and inspections in the workplace. Given this information, this project is focusing on some of the key elements of a plant safety program, safe design, and safe operation. The emphasis is on elements of safety associated with the operation of a chemical process facility. This module is intended to be a reminder for what must be known and taught, more than detailed instruction in all of the elements of plant safety. In order understand furthermore in this matter, the following definitions have been included. Basic Definitions: i. ii. iii. iv. Health: a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Safety: The prevention of accidents by the use of appropriate technologies to identify the hazards of a chemical plant and to eliminate them before the accident occurs. Hazard: Anything with the potential for producing an accident. Risk: The probability of a hazard resulting in an accident.

b) Types of Chemical Plant Accidents In a biodiesel production plant, the facility being used is first and foremost a chemical process facility. As such, the plant is subject to the same dangers as any other chemical process plant in terms of health, safety and environmental concerns. Table 1 lists categories of accidents that are uniquely associated with chemical plants. Note that the likelihood of an event and its potential impacts are not closely related.

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Table 6: Types of Chemical Plant Accidents

c) Causes for Loss in a Chemical Plant Accident For a biodiesel plant, the greatest risk is associated with methanol. It presents a fire and explosion hazard as well as being toxic through oral ingestions of skin contact. In order to better understand how accidents occur in a chemical plant, it is useful to examine the causes for loss with respect to the source of the loss event. The followings are the possible causes for loss in a chemical plant accident: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. Mechanical Failure Operational Error Unknown Miscellaneous Process Upset Natural Hazard Design Error Arson Sabotage Since the most common cause for loss is mechanical failure, it is useful to examine the specific equipment items responsible for the failures. These items are listed below: i. ii. iii. Piping Systems Miscellaneous of Unknown Storage Tanks
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d) Hardware Associated with Losses

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iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. x.

Reactor Piping Systems Process Holding Tanks Heat Exchangers Process Towers Compressors Pumps Gages It is rare that there is a single causal event that leads to a loss accident. Indeed, one of the

e) Accident Sequence most important ways to prevent accidents is to examine carefully the chain of events that result in an accident and that bring the accident sequence to an end. These lessons learned provide the basis for anticipating potential accident situations and planning interventions that halt the accident process before a loss occurs. The accident sequence can be described as follows; i. ii. iii. Initiation event that begins the accident Propagation event(s) that sustain or expand the accident Termination event(s) that stop the accident or diminish it is size

The propagation steps in an accident sequence are generally associated with potential hazards that exist accidents ready to happen. In many cases these steps are the results of intentional acts with unintended consequences. For example, turning off alarms and sensors during servicing makes the service personnel vulnerable to accidents that would have been prevented if the alarms were operational. f) Categories of Chemical Process Hazards The chemical process industry has a special category of hazards present because the industry is based on the utilization and transformation of chemical raw materials into new chemical products. These hazards are linked to the physical and chemical reactivity properties of the various chemicals present. The categories of chemical process hazards the may be present in a chemical facility are listed as follows; i. ii. iii. Explosion Gases toxic, flammable, compressed Flammable Liquids
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iv. v. vi. vii. viii.

Flammable Solids Oxidizers and Organic Peroxides Poisons, Pesticides, Carcinogens Radioactive Corrosives In such chemical process industry there is the hazard of exposure to chemicals that are

g) Toxic Hazards toxic. Toxicity is defined as the ability of a chemical substance to cause physical harm to the health of a living organism. The harm may range from a temporary irritation to permanent loss of function, to death. The toxic effect may be the result of a long term, cumulative effect (chronic toxicity) or a rapid response to the presence of the toxicant (acute toxicity). In either case, a key factor in the response is the amount of material presented in the exposure (dose) and the degree of toxicity exhibited by the material. The dose is typically measured in terms of amount per kg of body weight. The degrees of toxicity based upon the dosage required to cause death in 50 percent of the exposed subjects is shown in the following table.
Table 7: Degree of Toxicity LD50 (Dose per kg Body Weight)

Dose per kg Degree body weight < 1.0 mg 50 500 mg 5 15 gm 1.0 50 mg 0.5 5 gm > 15 gm

of

Toxicity

LD50 Dangerously toxic Highly toxic Slightly toxic Seriously toxic Moderately toxic Extremely low toxicity

When working with and around various chemicals, there are a number of paths for toxic materials to enter the body. These routes include; i. ii. iii. iv. Ingestion mouth or stomach Inhalation mouth or nose Injection skin cuts Dermal absorption
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The toxic hazards can be eliminated from the body by excretion (kidneys, liver, lungs, other), detoxification through internal biotransformation, or by storage, typically in fatty tissue or bones. Methanol is the primary issue for toxic exposure in a biodiesel plant. Because of the risks from chronic exposure, there are limits to allowable exposures to most chemicals. These limits are based on a combination of time and concentration. These limits are termed threshold limit values and are described below. h) Threshold Limit Values i. ii. iii. TLV-TWA: Time weighted average, 8 hr Day TLV-STEL: Time weighted average, short-term exposure, < 15 min TLV-C: Ceiling limit, do not exceed at all A required source of information on the hazards associated with chemicals in use in the workplace is the Material Safety Data Sheet. There must be copies of the MSDS for every chemical in use in each area of the chemical plant and associated laboratories available in a public, easily located place. The hazard properties and recommended methods of handling each compound are included in the MSDS. All employees must be familiar with the chemicals that they are working with and must follow the recommendations for their handling, use and disposal.

11.0 Discussion and Recommendation

Based on other projects in the country, there are several lessons that should be learnt and applied in this project. This project development of a biodiesel plant is a complex task comprising many interrelated activities starting from the feasibility study till the plant handing over. The plant owner and the engineering contractor must work synergistic during the plant development stages after awarding the contract. Some problems encountered in the stage of basic engineering regarding to the site locations have been solved after thorough considerations on maintenance problems, health and safety issues, and potential future development. In this project, we have discussed on the environmental impact of production biodiesel by three (3) major elements which are climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development. In order to overcome these elemental problems, here are some recommendations made for
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suggestions as researches on this matter have still been carries out in the meantime to improve the latter. Biodiesels are claimed by environmentalists and government leaders as the most promising renewable alternatives to achieve the goals of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and lowering CO2 emissions, and in some cases, of supporting local agriculture and developing economies. Coupled with effective energy conservation measures, increased biodiesel use has the potential to slow the effects of global climate change which has led to a proliferation of biodiesel production and legislation. Policy makers at all levels are rushing to stimulate rapid expansion of biodiesels, and most biodiesel legislation requires benchmark percentages of ethanol or biodiesel be sold in coming years. Nevertheless, to achieve environmental goals and avoid harm to biodiversity, policies also need to outline environmental standards for biodiesel production. Currently, there are few or no legislative provisions that delineate principles and standards to follow to protect the environment. We have outlined three (3) general principles that can guide development of biodiversityfriendly biodiesel policies and recommend promising feedstock choices and desirable practices in biodiesel production. To date, decisions regarding biodiesel production have been driven primarily by economic and political factors, with substantial subsidies going toward development of corn ethanol, in particular. Few policies have been drafted that include provisions to protect biodiversity and ecosystem. However, the central goals of any biodiesel policy also must minimize risks to biodiversity and to our climate changing. Conservation biologists should play a major role in guiding the creation and implementation of policies that ensure alternative fuel targets are met without a loss in biodiversity, and moreover, in helping to establish practices that improve biodiversity and ecosystem health. Conservationists can contribute by applying their expertise toward defining biodiesel certification standards and by promoting research agendas on strategies to enhance prospects for biodiversity. By focusing on research questions such as how to produce biodiesels without degrading natural habitats, how to manage production lands for both economic and ecological sustainability, and how biodiesel cultivation might be used to restore severely degraded lands, conservation biologists can influence biodiesel policy in meaningful and powerful ways.

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There are a number of avenues for research and education that conservationists can explore to support the case for developing biodiversity-friendly biofuels. These three (3) general principles should guide investigative efforts to strengthen biofuel practices and policies; i. ii. iii. promote sustainable and low-impact feedstock with a small ecological footprint maintain native and essential food crop habitats, and, at a minimum require net carbon neutral biofuels The knowledge of cost estimation for the biodiesel production plant was obtained from the planned activities to be carried out during the whole project and have been classified into three which are; i. ii. iii. Equipment cost Plant cost Manufacturing cost Besides these costs, transport cost is another matter of fact a major cost problem in building a biodiesel production plant. Transport costs are increasingly seen as a major disadvantage to such businesses given their general remote locations and distance from the main markets either in England or abroad. As a recommendation, the handling and movement of goods add considerable costs to any supply chain and effort should be taken when designing new business models to minimize these costs where possible. With this in mind and the need to ensure flexibility of feedstock supplies and movement of by-products it was decided that any future medium sized plant would really need to be located at a port. In some situations, a recommendation is made by existing grain co-operatives or un-utilized grain stores that would also make attractive sites reducing the investment required. That is why to locate a plant at a port is an apparently a vintage idea. This has advantages in terms of ease of acceptance of industrial businesses particularly the 24-hour operation, access to existing infrastructure and potential to tap into major ports labor pool. In a nutshell, here are some key lessons learned in order to establish a good overall cost management for the evaluation of a biodiesel production plant; i. ii. iii. Scale is important unless can secure nice markets. Quality control is paramount. The oil is the most valuable component, so the most efficient extraction technology is worthwhile providing cost effective.
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iv.

Site selection is crucial to keep costs down and minimize any problems at a later date. As we further discuss about the important things needed to be taken into consideration when

dealing with health, safety and environment issues as impact to the making of biodiesel production plant, these are several steps studied for safety of plant personnel when it comes to emergency response. i. Health and Safety Knowledge Every person associated with the plant must know what the materials used in the plant are and what their hazards are. The people must be trained in the correct, healthy and safe operation of the processing equipment, and know how to respond in an emergency situation. ii. Safety Experience Training is more than a lecture, a video module, or reading a manual. Personnel must have hands-on training in proper operation of equipment and develop an understanding of how to recognize and correct dangerous situations. The use of process simulators is needed, as is training with actual safety equipment. iii. iv. v. Technical Competence The ability to use training in proper operation and proper safety precautions must be demonstrated and documented on a regular basis. Safety Management Support Safety must be modeled and monitored throughout the management chain. Commitment Demonstrated commitment to safety in the workplace and beyond must begin with the CEO and permeate all employees. Breaches of safe procedures must be clear dismissal grounds and enforced. As for hazard analysis, the most fundamental tasks in developing a safety program for a chemical process facility are summarized in the sequence shown below. i. ii. iii. iv. What are the hazards? Identification What can go wrong and how? Scenario Building What are the chances? Risk What are the consequences? - Results There are a number of formalized procedural tools for hazard identification. Any given facility may choose to use one or more of these tools. The tools include: i. Process Hazards Checklist Use a standard checklist that covers possible hazardous conditions in the operation. When a hazard is noted, the action step is to remove the hazard, or to mitigate its effect.
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ii.

Hazard Survey Use an individual or a team to inspect a specific process or operational area, looking for hazardous conditions. Again, the action step is to eliminate or mitigate the hazard.

iii.

Hazard and Operability Studies HAZOP This is a formalized approach that examines every piece of equipment in a process on the basis of its function. The questions of cause and effect for each operation are framed in terms of the item not functioning, under functioning and over functioning (NOT, LESS, MORE, etc.). The effect of each condition is estimated, along with the likelihood of the cause being present. This process helps identify likely, significant faults for correction.

iv.

Safety Review An independent, experienced team reviews operations and safety procedures in use at a facility. The review includes simulated incidents and monitors the response to the incidents. There are a number of safety enhancement strategies that can be applied during the design

phase for any chemical plant. They include; i. ii. iii. iv. Substitution Less hazardous chemicals and equipment Attenuation Less hazardous operating conditions = less Isolation Isolate equipment from sources of hazard or from risk of harm to personnel Process intensification smaller/higher throughput; smaller inventory Similarly, there are safety enhancement strategies to be applied during the operating phase of a chemical plant; i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Enclosures Local Ventilation Dilution Ventilation Wet Methods and Cleaning Good Housekeeping Personal Protection Thus, in order to obtain a healthy and safe plant environment, the following quotes strongly hold for the safety issues; i. ii. Safety is PREPARED Safety is PREPLANNED
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iii. iv.

Safety is PREVENTION Safety is PREEMINENT

12.0 Conclusions
In this study, in order to create a biodiesel production or manufacturing costs for the processes, we developed a basic and fundamental analysis and we estimated the plant costs and the manufacturing costs for obtaining a capacity of 1452 tones/year. As we can see for most part of this project, it is handled with care in every detail. However there is still room for improvement. Through proper plan and experience, modification can be made on the implementation of the project. Adjustment can be done in order to meet the timeline and yet did not compromise on safety and quality issues. However the nature is one of the important factors. Previous factor highlighted that a soil problem in one of the highway section require a certain measure to overcome the problem. Besides that it is not only to rely on technology and engineering factor but also on how they deal with the bank. People in charge with the capital were given proper training on the bank policy on how the money will be channeled for the project. With proper communication, we can overcome all problems in this project. As final words, through proper management skills implemented, in the initial stage and till the implementation there are fewer problems occurred for such huge project. Project
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management is important for a project to be successful in every aspect. None should compromise the environment and safety for the sake of meeting the timeline and saving cost. Proper safety studies and measure required which result in fluent project flow.

13.0 References
1. Saka, S., Kusdiana, D. (2001). Biodiesel fuel from rapeseed oil as prepared in supercritical methanol. Fuel, 80, 225-231. 2. Alex H. West, Dusko Posarac and Naoko Ellis. (2007). Simulation, Case Studies and Optimization of a Biodiesel Process with a Solid Acid Catalyst. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL REACTOR ENGINEERING, 5, 1-8. 3. Alex H. West, Dusko Posarac and Naoko Ellis. (2008). Assessment of four biodiesel production processes using HYSYS. Plant. Bioresource Technology, 99, 6587-6601. 4. Saifuddin, N. and K. H. Chua. (2004). Production of Ethyl Ester from used Frying Oil: Optimization of Transesterification Process using Microwave Irradiation. Malaysian Journal of Chemistry, 6, 77-82. 5. J. Van Gerpen, B. Shanks, and R. Pruszko, D. Clements, G. Knothe. (2004). Biodiesel Production Technology. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden CO. 6. Ali Vatani, Mehdi Mehrpooya and Farhad Gharagheizi. (2007). Prediction of Standard Enthalpy of Formation by a QSPR Model. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2007, 8, 407-432. 7. Biodiesel Production and Quality. (2007).
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8. G. El Diwani, N. K. Attia, S.I. Hawash. (2009). Development and evaluation of biodiesel fuel and by-products from jatropha oil. International Journal Environment Science Technology, 6(2), 219-224. 9. Small Scale Biodiesel Production, Feasibility Report. 10. Anton A. Kiss, Alexandre C. Dimian, Gadi Rothenberg. (2005). Solid Acid Catalysts for Biodiesel Production-Towards Sustainable Energy. Advance Synthesis Catalyst, 348, 7581. 11. Mortimer, N. D., P. Cormack, M. A. Elsayed, R. E. Horne. (2003). Evaluation of the comparative energy, global warming and socio-economic costs and benefits of biodiesel. Retrieved May 1, 2008 from Sheffield Hallam University.
12. European Environment Agency. (2006). Transport and environment: facing a dilemma:

TERM 2005: indicators tracking transport and environment in the European Union. Copenhagen. Retrieved May 1, 2008 from Luxembourg. 13. IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change): Greenhouse Gas Inventory Reporting, Instructions Vol. 1. IPCC Draft Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, (1995). 14. MARTHA J. GROOM, ELIZABETH M. GRAY, AND PATRICIA A. TOWNSEND. (1971). The Nature Conservancy; Biodiesels and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biodiesel Production Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences (Essay). 15. Ejaz M. Shahid, Younis Jamal. (2008). A review of biodiesel as vehicular fuel. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 12, 2484-2494.

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