PVDF HIGH PERFORMANCE PLASTICS  IN BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

extreme resistance to fuels• MINIMUM WEIGHT GAIN• HIGH DIMENSIONAL STABILITY• OUTSTANDING RETENTION OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Biodiesel is an additive to diesel fuel, a mono‐alkyl ester, which is produced when a vegetable oil or animal fatis chemically reacted (trans esterification) with an alcohol (ethanol/methanol).Organic fuels derived from plant and animal fats. Mineral fuels derived from decomposed fossil of organicmatter extracted from earth beneath. Everyone knows that the resources of fossil fuel are depleting, and thecost of extracting the last reserves will become increasingly high. There is an urgent need to find alternativesources before fossil fuel supplies run dry.It is also well known that burning of fossil fuels increases the level of carbon‐dioxide in the atmosphere as thecarbon locked within the earth's crust is released by burning into the atmosphere as exhaust gasses. This isthe main cause of the 'Green House' effect in which the overall temperature of the globe increases as itbecomes enveloped within a pool of carbon‐dioxide. This process is thought to be the main cause of globalwarming, which is now a well accepted fact even amongst those who were the most skeptical. All the time weburn normal petrol or mineral diesel we are therefore actively contributing to global warming.However, the burning of organically derived fuels does not contribute any additional CO2 into theatmosphere, as the carbon released is the same as the carbon absorbed by the plants as they grow. Usingorganic fuels is therefore beneficial to the environment and to the atmosphere.

Key Issues

The Advantages of biodieselBiodiesel is the most accepted and widely used biofuel today, in part because of the ability to operate instandard diesel engines with little or no modifications. Not only is biodiesel environmental friendly(renewable fuel, biodegradable, non toxic and clean burning‐ reduce CO by 50% and CO2 by 75%,); it alsoprovides horsepower, torque, and mileage similar to conventional diesel, as well as improved lubricity(increase in engine life‐time).

How It Is Made!When oil, alcohol, and a catalyst are mixed together, they undergo a chemical reaction, producing twosubstances, biodiesel and glycerin. The biodiesel is considered crude biodiesel at this point and containstrace amounts of glycerin, soap, and extra catalyst and alcohol. It must be cleaned using either water or adry‐wash system to remove these impurities.TransesterificationThe process of turning vegetable oil into biodiesel is a chemical reaction called transesterification. Thisprocess occurs when the oil is mixed with an alcohol and a catalyst. The catalyst is simply a substance thatcauses the reaction, or the chemical change, to happen faster. Without the catalyst, transesterificationwould take too long and not create enough biodiesel to be commercially viable. The catalyst used inbiodiesel production is usually potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH). A chemicalmixture of oil, alcohol, and catalyst is heated in a reactor creating two different layers, glycerin andbiodiesel. There are a few more steps involved, but that is basically it.

Biodiesel blends adversely effect material compatibility1.Biodiesel are electrically conductive > more corrosive (more  conductive than gasoline and diesel)The greater electrical conductivitycan cause galvanic metal corrosionin vulnerable metals copper, bronze, brass, aluminum, lead, tin, zinc…

2.Biodiesel can oxidize : producing corrosive peroxides

3.Biodiesel is often out‐of‐spec  and contaminated with corrosives (off spec contaminants: peroxide,water, & sulphur)

4.Biodiesel are solvents that can degrade elastomers under specific conditions (volume change may exceed100 %, hardness and tensile strength may decrease more than 50 %)

5.Biodiesel are more aggressive when water contaminated Water facilitates electrical conductivityWater accelerates oxidationWater often contains other contaminants such as salts ‐‐‐maintain dry tanks and insist on dry fuel

6. Biodiesel are more aggressive in acidic conditions (acids are a byproduct of biodiesel oxidation)

7. Biodiesel is more aggressive with age

Materials Compatibility

Biodiesel’s physical properties are similar to those of petroleum diesel, but the fuel significantly reducesgreenhouse gas emissions and toxic air pollutants. It is a biodegradable and cleaner‐burning alternativeto petroleum diesel. Biodiesel can be blended and used in many different concentrations. They includeB100 (pure biodiesel), B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel), B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% petroleumdiesel), and B2 (2% biodiesel, 98% petroleum diesel). The most common biodiesel blend is B20, whichqualifies for fleet compliance under the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992.

B100 (pure biodiesel) is not compatible with some metals, elastomers and plastics. B100 will degrade,soften, or seep through some hoses, gaskets, seals, elastomers, glues, and plastics with prolongedexposure. Nitrile rubber compounds, polypropylene, polyvinyl, polyethylen, polyamide materials areparticularly vulnerable to B100. In some cases, the vendor may need the chemical family name forbiodiesel (the methyl esters of fats and oils) to look up the information or even the exact chemicalname of some of the biodiesel components, such asmethyl oleate,methyl linoleate, methyl palmitate,or methyl stearate. Oxidized biodiesel and biodiesel blends can contain organic acids and othercompounds that can significantly accelerate elastomer degradation.

Biodiesel will degrade and form high sediment levels if contacted for long periods by copper or coppercontaining metals (brass, bronze) or with lead, tin, or zinc (galvanized surfaces). These high sedimentlevels may clog filters. B100 may also permeate some common plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene,polyamide) over time, so these should not be used for storing B100.

No change in weight after immersion at 40⁰C in biodiesel

No change in dimension after immersion at 40⁰C in biodiesel

PVDF shows excellent resistance to biodiesel blends. PVDF immersed up to 3000 hrs in biodiesel blends at 40°C,have seen no loss of physical properties minimal length change and minimal swelling. PVDF repels diesel, biodieseland their blends. (Source : www.arkema‐inc.com). Typically plastics materials such as polyethylen will swell inpresence of gasoline and diesel. Long‐term exposure results then in a loss of the mechanical resistance of theseplastics. Because of these fluoropolimers nature PVDF does not absorb diesel and keep its strength and physicalproperties.

Study :

Graphic : PVDF gain is minimal (<0,1%) in Diesel and Biodiesel fuels for a period of 16 weeks

PVDF successfully compete with metals and other materials for protection against corrosion inchemical processing and other demanding environments. Over the life of the unit they decreasethe maintenance and repair expenses for an overall lower cost of ownership.

THANK YOU

WWW.SUGISON.COMWWW.GRAHAMIKA.INDONETWORK.CO.ID