After bringing successfully ITAKA project to the end, a major knowledge was obtained for the technology of aviation fuel production from used cooking oil. Then our expertise started to expand on biofuel fields. An extensive activity is currently underway on Green Diesel and Improvement of cold flow properties of Biodiesel.
For Green Diesel a novel decarboxylation process is under development which allows having a process without utilization of hydrogen or catalyst. Moreover, non-condensable produced gases yield a self-sustainable process. In order to proceed with this line of research, we perform our experiments in a tubular stainless steel micro reactor equipped with and extremely fast heating system. Biodiesel cold flow proprieties improvement instead, is being developed via catalytic means. Solid acids doped with noble metals known as bifunctional catalysts are the principal materials for achieving this goal. Currently, the experiments are being carried out in engineering high pressure stirred autoclaves. Through these methods, biodiesel molecules undergo a skeletal transformation in which their chains become branched. A biodiesel containing more branched molecules is equal to a higher quality biodiesel that could be blended in higher percentages.
Taking advantage of the know-how acquired in this area, we can help industries and investors in the biofuel and cosmetics sectors. This could occur by transferring our technology on the basis of their needs. For example, in cosmetics industry there is a high demand for isostearic acid. This product is currently produced by costly processes from high value feedstock. This is where our knowledge sets the stage for productions of high added value materials with much lower costs by isomerization technique. Moreover, biofuel producers can count on us for conversion of animal fat waste to green fuels as well as the production of improved cold flow properties biodiesel from wastes of vegetable oil.
