What is “Pretreatment” and why is it needed?
Pretreatment describes any and all steps required to prepare feedstock for transesterification. This most commonly involves water removal and converting FFA into useable oil.
Any water left in oil causes soap production during transesterification
Soaps can clog lines, impede optimal reactions, and result in equipment downtime
FFA (Free Fatty Acids) are fats that exist in a variety of new and used oil sources:
Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) FFA are created when fatty foods are fried
New Oils: Corn Oil, Rapeseed, Jatropha and many other agricultural feedstocks make excellent oils for biodiesel, but all have FFA levels too high for transesterification. They must be pretreated first.