The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the polymethyl acrylate (PMA) additive on the formation of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emission from a diesel coconut and/or Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel-fueled engine. The physicochemical properties of 20% of coconut and/or C. inophyllum biodiesel-diesel blend (B20), 0.03 wt% of PMA with B20 (B20P), and diesel fuel were measured and compared to ASTM D6751, D7467, and EN 14214 standard. The test results showed that the addition of PMA additive with B20 significantly improves the cold-flow properties such as pour point (PP), cloud point (CP), and cold filter plugging point (CFPP). The addition of PMA additives reduced the engine's brake-specific energy consumption of all tested fuels. Engine emission results showed that the additive-added fuel reduce PM concentration than B20 and diesel, whereas the PM size and NOX emission both increased than B20 fuel and baseline diesel fuel. Also, the effect of adding PMA into B20 reduced Carbon (C), Aluminum (Al), Potassium (K), and volatile materials in the soot, whereas it increased Oxygen (O), Fluorine (F), Zinc (Zn), Barium (Ba), Chlorine (Cl), Sodium (Na), and fixed carbon. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) results for B20P showed the lower agglomeration than B20 and diesel fuel. Therefore, B20P fuel can be used as an alternative to diesel fuel in diesel engines to lower the harmful emissions without compromising the fuel quality.
The ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19 has devastatingly influenced the environment, society, and economy around the world. Numerous medical resources are used to inhibit the infectious transmission of the virus, resulting in massive medical waste. This study proposes a sustainable and environment-friendly method to convert hazardous medical waste into valuable fuel products through pyrolysis. Medical protective clothing (MPC), a typical medical waste from COVID-19, was utilized for co-pyrolysis with oil palm wastes (OPWs). The utilization of MPC improved the bio-oil properties in OPWs pyrolysis. The addition of catalysts further ameliorated the bio-oil quality. HZSM-5 was more effective in producing hydrocarbons in bio-oil, and the relevant reaction pathway was proposed. Meanwhile, a project was simulated to co-produce bio-oil and electricity from the co-pyrolysis of OPWs and MPC from application perspectives. The techno-economic analysis indicated that the project was economically feasible, and the payback period was 6.30-8.75 years. Moreover, it was also environmentally benign as its global warming potential varied from -211.13 to -90.76 kg CO2-eq/t. Therefore, converting MPC and OPWs into biofuel and electricity through co-pyrolysis is a green, economic, and sustainable method that can decrease waste, produce valuable fuel products, and achieve remarkable economic and environmental benefits.
Biodiesel is gaining prominence as a superior alternative source of energy to replace petroleum-based fuel in transportation. As of today, the biodiesel market continuous to rise up as the biofuel has been introduced to more than 60 countries worldwide. The aim of the present review is to highlight on the scenario of the biofuel implementation in transportation sector towards sustainable development in Colombia and Malaysia. Colombia serves as an ideal comparative case for Malaysia in terms of biodiesel development since the country is the main palm oil producer in Latin America region and the pioneer in bioethanol industry. The first section shows an overview on the biodiesel as an alternative fuel in transportation. The next section will focus on a comparative study between Malaysia and Colombia biodiesel sector in terms of energy supply, resource, production and consumption, standards, techno-economic cost and their biodiesel policies. A comprehensive review was studied to discuss on the sustainability of palm cultivation and biodiesel, impact of palm industry and biodiesel policy in transportation sector and potential international collaboration between Malaysia and Colombia to improve their existing policies, strategies and blueprints related to the palm biodiesel industry, thus overcoming the challenges when dealing with global energy issue.