Effective Lipid Extraction from Fat Balls Using Liquefied Dimethyl Ether: Process Optimization with a Box-Behnken...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Renewable Energy
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Lipids from urban wastewater are emerging as sustainable feedstocks for biodiesel.
• Fat balls, a byproduct of sewage systems, represent a potential, underutilized resource.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate liquefied dimethyl ether (DME) for efficient lipid extraction from sewage fat balls.
• To optimize DME extraction parameters using response surface methodology (RSM) and a Box-Behnken design (BBD).

Main Methods:

• Liquefied DME was used for lipid extraction from fat balls.
• Response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box-Behnken design (BBD) optimized extraction parameters: sample size, DME velocity, and DME/sample ratio.
• Extracted lipids were converted to biodiesel, and fatty acid methyl ester composition was analyzed.

Main Results:

• Optimal DME extraction conditions yielded a maximum lipid recovery of 65.2%.
• The DME method outperformed mechanical shaking (49.0%) and Soxhlet extraction (62.0%).
• Biodiesel yield from extracted lipids ranged from 35.2% to 46.2%.

Conclusions:

• Fat balls from urban wastewater are a viable and sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production.
• Liquefied DME extraction is an effective technology for recovering lipids from this source.
• This research supports the development of advanced lipid extraction technologies for waste-to-biofuel applications.