ARS | Publication request: Biodiesel from Waste Salmon Oil

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASABE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: April 10, 2008
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Citation: Chiou, B., El-Mashad, H.M., Avena Bustillos, R.D., Dunn, R.O., Bechtel, P.J., Mc Hugh, T.H., Imam, S.H., Glenn, G.M. 2008. Biodiesel from Waste Salmon Oil. Transactions of the ASABE. 51(3):797-802.

Interpretive Summary: We converted salmon oil from Alaskan fish processing by-products into biodiesel. We then compared their thermal, physical, and combustion properties to biodiesel derived from corn oil. The salmon and corn oil biodiesels have very different fatty acid profiles. However, they have comparable thermal, physical, and combustion properties. This indicated that salmon oil can be a viable feedstock for biodiesel production.

Technical Abstract: Salmon oils separated from salmon processing waste and hydrolysate and their derived methyl esters were analyzed and compared with corn oil and its methyl ester. These materials were characterized for their fatty acid profiles, viscosity, volatility, thermal properties, low temperature properties, oxidative stability, and heating value. The salmon oil methyl esters contained 26.64% saturated fatty acid methyl esters compared to 13.68% for corn oil methyl ester. Also, salmon oil methyl esters contained relatively high concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5) and docosahexaenoic (C22:6) acid methyl esters. Despite these differences in fatty acid composition, salmon and corn oil methyl esters had comparable physical properties. In addition, the methyl esters produced from salmon oils extracted from fish processing by-products and hydrolysate showed little difference in their physical properties.