PEME5451/3451 SUSTAINABLE ENERGY PROCESSES
Assignment 5: Transport fuels
VLE submission deadline is Friday 24th February
PART 1: (worth 40%, all parts marked equally)
1.
Using the data in the table below, (i) calculate the land requirements for each crop (in km2) to make enough biodiesel to displace 5% by volume of diesel fuels assuming the total annual amount of UK diesel usage is 20 billion litres (ii) Calculate the displacement by energy from 5% biodiesel by volume (assuming a volumetric energy density of 38.6 MJ/L for diesel and 35.6 MJ/L for biodiesel) (iii) Comment on the suitability of each feedstock for biodiesel production based on its yield and its composition (i.e. its saturated fatty acid (saturates), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content.
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Crop
Average L oil/ha/yr
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Average Composition of oil Saturates MUFA PUFA
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Soybean
?
446
15% 23% 58%
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Sunflower
?
952
10% 20% 66%
???Palm
?4150
?85% 13% 2%
?Assume volumetric energy densities: diesel =38.6 MJ/L biodiesel =35.6 MJ/L
Assume density of biodiesel is 0.86 kg/L
2.
Calculate the theoretical yield (in litres) of bio-ethanol that can be achieved from 10kg of starch using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (assume the density of ethanol is 0.79 kg/L)