Biodiesel production from an industrial residue: Alperujo

Alperujo is a combination of liquid and solid waste of olive oil processing, being dangerous for the environment. This residual does not have common commercial interest, and companies usually dispose of it in landfills where it can be toxic to the environment. The traditional method used in the Chilean olive oil industry produces 20% oil and 80% waste (alperujo). This study was undertaken to know the proper transesterification, amount of biodiesel production (ester) and physical properties of biodiesel from alperujo. In our lab, we obtained 94.7% high quality biodiesel and 5.3% glycerin from alperujo. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.