This project aims to develop an enzymatic route for biodiesel production, using ethanol and palm oil as raw materials. Currently, biodiesel is obtained by a chemical reaction between an oil and an alcohol, accelerated by a chemical catalyst - mainly sodium hydroxide. The use of this catalyst, however, causes a number of problems, such as high energy consumption, difficult glycerol recovery and the generation of a large volume of effluent. In addition, it causes saponification when acid oils, suc

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2013

This is a broad research project on Barbados nuts, a crop with potential to become raw material for the production of biodiesel and aviation biokerosene. In spite of its high oil production, the plant has not been totally domesticated yet, that is, there are not different recommended cultivars or production systems for each region of the country yet. In this project, which is partially funded by Finep and CNPq, there are 22 participating research institutions in all Brazilian regions, 16 of whic

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2010