Isolation and analysis of wax esters from activated sludge.

Neutral lipid from activated sludge (AS) as a potential source for biodiesel production has recently received considerable attentions. The utilization of useful compounds in AS may help reducing the cost of biodiesel production from AS. One of these compounds is the valuable wax esters (WEs) found in AS from a food processing company in Taiwan.

Extraction and analysis of neutral lipids from activated sludge with and without sub-critical water pre-treatment.

Activated sludge with its high lipid content is a potential raw material for producing biodiesel. Sub-critical water (SCW) treatment has been known to be a cheap and effective method for reducing organic compounds, especially carcinogenic aromatic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or polychlorobiphenyls in activated sludge as well as increasing the amount of extractable lipids. In this work, the amount of neutral lipids and fatty acid profiles in neutral lipids extracted from activated sludge both with and without SCW pre-treatment were investigated.

Biodiesel production from rice bran oil and supercritical methanol.

In this study, production of biodiesel from low cost raw materials, such as rice bran and dewaxed-degummed rice bran oil (DDRBO), under supercritical condition was carried out. Carbon dioxide (CO2) was employed as co-solvent to decrease the supercritical temperature and pressure of methanol. The effects of different raw materials on the yield of biodiesel production were investigated.