Title
Preparation of biodiesel and separation of hemicellulose from soap skimmings
Authors
HAO REN XIN DAI and SHIGETOSHI OMORI

Received March 11, 2014
Published Volume 50 Issue 2 February
Keywords biodiesel, soap skimmings, tall oil, reaction catalyst, hemicellulose

Abstract
Soap skimmings are an intermediate substrate in the production of tall oil from Kraft pulping black liquor. In this study, biodiesel was produced directly from soap skimmings before being processed into tall oil using acetyl chloride and sulfuric acid as accelerators. The effects of the accelerator amount, reaction time, and pH on the production yield were investigated. The yields of biodiesel reached 35%, and the hemicellulose by-product could be separated during the process and could be used as a chemical stock for other applications (e.g., carboxymethylated hemicellulose and biofuels).