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Biofuel and Biorefinery Technologies 8

Meisam Tabatabaei
Mortaza Aghbashlo Editors

Biodiesel
From Production to Combustion
Biofuel and Biorefinery Technologies

Volume 8

Series editors
Vijai Kumar Gupta, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn
University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Maria G. Tuohy, School of Natural Sciences, National University of Ireland
Galway, Galway, Ireland
This book series provides detailed information on recent developments in biofuels &
bioenergy and related research. The individual volumes highlight all relevant
biofuel production technologies and integrated biorefinery methods, describing the
merits and shortcomings of each, including cost-efficiency. All volumes are written
and edited by international experts, academics and researchers in the respective
research areas.
Biofuel and Biorefinery Technologies will appeal to researchers and post-
graduates in the fields of biofuels & bioenergy technology and applications,
offering not only an overview of these specific fields of research, but also a wealth
of detailed information.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11833

Meisam Tabatabaei Mortaza Aghbashlo
•

Editors

Biodiesel
From Production to Combustion

123
Editors
Meisam Tabatabaei Mortaza Aghbashlo
Biofuel Research Team (BRTeam) Department of Mechanical Engineering of
Karaj, Iran Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of
Agricultural Engineering and Technology,
and College of Agriculture and Natural
Resources
Microbial Biotechnology Department University of Tehran
Agricultural Biotechnology Research Karaj, Iran
Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural
Research, Education and Extension
Organization (AREEO)
Karaj, Iran

ISSN 2363-7609 ISSN 2363-7617 (electronic)

Biofuel and Biorefinery Technologies
ISBN 978-3-030-00984-7 ISBN 978-3-030-00985-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00985-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018955161

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface

This book is about biodiesel production presenting in-depth information on the state
of the art of global biodiesel production and investigates its impact on climate
change. Biodiesel is arguably the most commercialized type of petrodiesel alter-
native. A number of parameters including increasing energy demands and wors-
ening environmental conditions on one hand and similar physicochemical
properties of biodiesel to those of petrodiesel, on the other hand, are among the
main driving factors of the growing interest in biodiesel.
The present book, which is the eighth book in the series on Biofuel and
Biorefinery Technologies, offers a comprehensive reference guide to biodiesel
production by internationally recognized experts in the field of biodiesel production
from both academia and industry. The 10 chapters cover various aspects of bio-
diesel production technology from the basics, i.e., major principles of operation,
process control, and troubleshooting to production systems (reactor technologies) as
well as biodiesel purification and upgrading technologies. In addition, conventional
and emerging applications of biodiesel by-products with a view to further econo-
mize biodiesel production, economic risk analysis, and critical comparison of
biodiesel production systems as well as techno-economical aspects of biodiesel
plants are also comprehensively reviewed and discussed. Providing in-depth and
cutting-edge information on central developments in the field, “Biodiesel: From
Production to Combustion” also thoroughly investigates the important aspects of
biodiesel production and combustion by taking advantage of advanced sustain-
ability analysis tools including life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergy approaches.
In closing, the application of Omics technologies in biodiesel production is pre-
sented and discussed. The book is intended for all researchers, practitioners, and
students who are interested in the current trends and future prospects of biodiesel
production technologies.
It is expected that the present volume on biodiesel would assist both the sci-
entific and industrial communities in further developing this industry worldwide.
We are thankful to the authors of all the chapters for their efficient cooperation and
also for their readiness in revising the manuscripts. We also would like to extend
our appreciation to the reviewers who in spite of their busy schedule assisted us by

v
vi Preface

evaluating the manuscripts and provided their critical comments to improve the
manuscripts. We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Vijai Kumar Gupta and Dr.
Maria G. Tuohy and the team of Springer Nature, in particular, Dr. Andrea
Schlitzberger, Mr. Arumugam Deivasigamani, and Mr. Viju Falgon Jayabalan for
their cooperation and efforts in producing this book.

Karaj, Iran Meisam Tabatabaei

October 2018 Mortaza Aghbashlo
Contents

1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art

and Impact on Climate Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Mahbod Rouhany and Hugh Montgomery
2 Biodiesel Production Systems: Reactor Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Thomas Ernst Müller
3 Biodiesel Production Systems: Operation, Process Control
and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Nídia S. Caetano, Vera Ribeiro, Leonardo Ribeiro, Andresa Baptista
and Joaquim Monteiro
4 Biodiesel Purification and Upgrading Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Hamed Bateni, Alireza Saraeian, Chad Able and Keikhosro Karimi
5 Applications of Biodiesel By-products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Hajar Rastegari, Hossein Jazini, Hassan S. Ghaziaskar
and Mohammad Yalpani
6 Economic Risk Analysis and Critical Comparison
of Biodiesel Production Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Seyed Soheil Mansouri, Carina L. Gargalo, Isuru A. Udugama,
Pedram Ramin, Mauricio Sales-Cruz, Gürkan Sin
and Krist V. Gernaey
7 Techno-economical Aspects of Biodiesel Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Syed Taqvi, Mohamed Elsholkami and Ali Elkamel
8 Biodiesel Production and Consumption: Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar, Meisam Tabatabaei, Mortaza Aghbashlo,
Saeed Sadeghzadeh Hemayati and Reinout Heijungs

vii
viii Contents

9 Exergy-Based Sustainability Analysis of Biodiesel Production

and Combustion Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Mortaza Aghbashlo, Meisam Tabatabaei, Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar
and Marc A. Rosen
10 “Omics Technologies” and Biodiesel Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Reza Sharafi and Gholamreza Salehi Jouzani
Chapter 1
Global Biodiesel Production: The State
of the Art and Impact on Climate
Change

Mahbod Rouhany and Hugh Montgomery

Abstract Biodiesel is a diesel-equivalent alternative fuel derived from biological

sources such as edible and nonedible oils, animal fats, and waste cooking oils
through processing. In addition to being a transportation fuel, biodiesel is also used
in some jurisdictions for electricity generation in engines and turbines. The world’s
biodiesel supply grew from 3.9 billion liters in 2005 to 18.1 billion liters in 2010
and is expected to exceed 33 billion liters in 2016 and reach 41.4 billion liters in
2025, a 25% increase over 2016 levels. Biodiesel prices have been facing down-
ward pressure due to low global petro-diesel prices, however, blending mandates
have largely sheltered the biodiesel market by lending consistency to demand.
International prices of biodiesel are expected to increase in nominal terms over the
next 10 years driven by the recovery of crude oil markets and prices of biofuel
feedstock. It should be mentioned that the majority of countries producing biodiesel
feedstock also have a vibrant domestic market and most or all of their supply is
used to meet domestic mandate-driven demand. This dual role, as both producer
and consumer, partially explains the limited international trade in biodiesel feed-
stocks. Most of the limited biodiesel trade over the next 10 years is expected to be
composed of Argentina’s exports to the US. While there is a debate on the sus-
tainability of biodiesel, many studies using lifecycle assessment (LCA) have
demonstrated that biodiesel results in 20–80% less greenhouse emissions when
compared to petro-diesel. As crude oil becomes more energy intensive to extract
and refine, expected efficiency gains in biodiesel feedstock production and refining,
the commercialization of second-generation biodiesel using nonfood feedstocks,
combined with the growing market share of biodiesel will result in further reduction
of harmful climate-impacting emissions by replacing petro-diesel with biodiesel.

M. Rouhany (&)
Strategic Carbon Management Inc., Vancouver, BC V5Z 1Z1, Canada
e-mail: mrouhany@gmail.com
H. Montgomery
Division of Medicine, Centre for Human Health and Performance, University College
London, London, UK

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

M. Tabatabaei and M. Aghbashlo (eds.), Biodiesel,
Biofuel and Biorefinery Technologies 8,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00985-4_1
2 M. Rouhany and H. Montgomery

1.1 Introduction

Biodiesel, derived from processing biological sources such as edible and nonedible
oils, animal fats, and waste cooking oils, has similar properties to petro-diesel. It
can be used to enhance certain characteristics of petro-diesel, such as lubricity,
aiding fuel performance, and extending engine life (Traviss 2012; Pacini et al.
2014). Compared to petro-diesel, it has a higher cetane number (and thus better
ignition quality) but a lower heating value, higher density, and higher viscosity
(Taher and Al-Zuhair 2017) and is thus less suitable for colder climates due to
gelling, clouding, and overall reduced cold weather performance (Traviss 2012).
Biodiesel can be blended in all ratios and many jurisdictions use these, from farm
level to industrial scale, in preference to pure biodiesel. The quality of biodiesel is
determined by the quality of feedstock oil, the processing technology used, and the
process parameters (Knothe et al. 2010; Rathore et al. 2016). Biodiesel and ethanol
make up the majority of the renewable share of the world road and marine trans-
portation sector’s energy demand (REN21 2016). Biodiesel is also utilized in sta-
tionary machinery and in some jurisdictions for heat and electricity generation
(Rathore et al. 2016).
The net environmental benefit of biodiesel is a topic of continuing debate.
Biodiesel is biodegradable. Whether used pure or as a petro-diesel blend, it can
provide air quality benefits namely lower loads of carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides,
and volatile organic compounds (Pacini et al. 2014). In many cases, net greenhouse
gas emissions are reduced. The majority of criticism targets the negative impacts
that biodiesel sourced from agriculture-based biomass feedstock farming have on
forests and grasslands, food and animal feed prices, loss of biodiversity due to
mono-cropped fields, water resource management, food security, and air quality. To
date, edible oilseeds such as soybean and rapeseed have been the dominant bio-
diesel feedstocks. Biofuels developed from food or animal feed crops are referred to
as “first generation” or conventional biofuels. Developing biodiesel from crops that
can be grown on land that is not suitable for growing food, from biomass sources
that are less dependant on the availability of land, or from nonedible feedstocks or
by-products, can alleviate many of the sustainability concerns. Biofuels that are
developed from nonedible biomass except algae are known as “second generation”
or advanced biofuels. Biodiesel produced from microalgae would be considered a
“third generation” biofuel. Algae, municipal and industrial organic waste, sugar
cane bagasse, corn stover, perennial grasses, cereal straw, as well as forestry and
agricultural waste are examples of more sustainable feedstock. These sources, while
not yet produced at commercial scale, are receiving considerable attention due to
their smaller environmental footprint (Rathore et al. 2016; Anuar and Abdullah
2016; Royal Academy of Engineering 2017).
Important challenges for the biodiesel industry come from low petro-diesel
prices, fuel–food competition resulting in reciprocal price increases and destabi-
lization of the feedstock market, as well as negative socio-environmental impacts of
the feedstock oilseeds (Anuar and Abdullah 2016). The implementation of biofuel
1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art … 3

supporting policies and legislation, selection of low-cost sustainable nonedible

feedstock, and production process improvements for better quality and cheaper
production costs could eventually lead to a worldwide replacement of petro-diesel
with biodiesel.

1.2 Brief History

The first known transesterification of a vegetable oil was conducted by E. Duffy and
J. Patrick in 1853. This was four decades before Rudolf Diesel’s engine first ran
independently in Augsburg Germany on August 10, 1893 (Abdalla and Oshaik
2013). The diesel engine, since its inception, could run on a variety of fuels
including vegetable oils. One of the first publicly demonstrated uses of biodiesel in
a diesel engine was in the year 1900 when, during the Paris exposition, the French
company Otto operated a small diesel engine on peanut oil. According to Rudolf
Diesel’s papers, published in 1912 and 1913, in addition to research by the French
on peanut oil, experiments were being conducted in St. Petersburg using castor oil
and train-oil (oil obtained from the blubber of marine animals) with excellent
results. France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the UK had varying interests in fuels
from vegetable oils during the first half of the twentieth century (Knothe et al.
2010). Triglycerides from easily available oil-rich feedstocks were contenders for
being the main fuel source for the diesel engine in its early years. However, natural
oils are viscose with relatively low cetane numbers compared to petro-diesel, which
resulted in them gradually being replaced by petroleum oil (Taher and Al-Zuhair
2017).
The petroleum industry has commonly dominated the global fuel market with its
cheaper production and price. Generally, when petroleum fuel supplies are plentiful
and inexpensive, interest in bio-sourced oils has been low. Disruption of petroleum
fuel supplies during World War II drove countries like Argentina, Brazil, India, and
China to use vegetable oil as fuel (Van Gerpen et al. 2007).
The petroleum oil embargo of the 1970s led to a renewed interest by the United
States, Austria, and South Africa in vegetable oils and their direct use in diesel
engines as fuel. Since the 1920s, diesel engine manufacturers had altered their
designs to match the lower viscosity of petroleum diesels (Van Gerpen et al. 2007;
Abdalla and Oshaik 2013). Thermal cracking, pyrolysis, transesterification, the
formation of microemulsions, and dilution of oils with solvent were, thus, experi-
mented with to address the viscosity limitations of vegetable oils. With the emer-
gence of suitable catalysts, the transesterification with short-chain alcohols, such as
methanol and ethanol, became the preferred and most commonly used method to
convert bio-oils to biodiesel (Taher and Al-Zuhair 2017). The term biodiesel was
most likely first used around 1984. The commercial production of biodiesel started
in the early 1990s and the first standard for biodiesel was published in 2001, the
ASTM D6751.
4 M. Rouhany and H. Montgomery

1.3 State and Future of Biodiesel Demand and Supply

The world’s market share of diesel in transportation fuels has been increasing in
comparison to gasoline and this share is expected to continue to grow globally at
varied rates mainly driven by non-OECD countries. Biodiesel production growth
has been following this trend and is increasing faster than that of ethanol.
International trade in biodiesel has also been considerably higher than the trade in
ethanol and, despite its small share compared to production, the international
biodiesel trade has been paramount in the development of the biodiesel industry in
developing economies. Pro-biodiesel policies in the EU and USA have driven the
development and expansion of biodiesel industries for export in agricultural
countries with established oilseed industries, namely palm-based biodiesel in
Indonesia and Argentina’s soy-based biodiesel (Naylor and Higgins 2017). Global
fuel demand in conjunction with domestic policies and trade interactions are the
main drivers for the global biodiesel sector.
Between 2005 and 2015, global biodiesel production expanded by more than
20% per year, which resulted in a sevenfold expansion in a single decade. This
occurred parallel to a rise in petro-diesel prices during the same period. Diesel and
oil prices have been in decline since mid-2014 and lower petroleum prices stimulate
petro-diesel use. However, despite the downward pressure from recent low oil
prices and policy uncertainty in some markets, biofuel production and demand
continued to increase in 2016, and ethanol and biodiesel still comprised the
majority of the renewable share of global energy demand for transportation with
roughly 4% of the world road transport fuel (REN21 2017; Naylor and Higgins
2017).
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and
the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization 2016 Agricultural Outlook, global
biodiesel use is expected to gradually increase over the next 10 years. The largest
demand increase will be from developing countries, mainly Indonesia, Brazil, and
Argentina, with an estimated 68% increase in 2025 compared to 2015 (OECD/FAO
2016).
The European Union and the United States are, together, the largest influencers
of biofuel demand. Implementation of biofuel mandates has led to an increase in
biofuel use in the United States. The current maize-based ethanol mandate is
expected to decline after 2018 and be replaced by an increase in the advanced
mandate covering biofuels from sources other than maize. This would result in
lower ethanol use and an increase in biodiesel use in the United States. In the
European Union, the Renewable Energy Directive target has to be met by 2020
which is expected to sustain an expansion of ethanol and biodiesel fuel use until
then. Thereafter, a decrease is expected in line with lower gasoline and diesel use
prospects. Palm oil is expected to decline as a feedstock in European biodiesel.
In developing countries, biodiesel use is also expected to expand steadily with
Indonesia, Brazil, and Argentina leading the way due to their domestic mandates.
Biofuel demand is expected to remain low in Central Asia and Eastern Europe as
1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art … 5

these regions are either oil and gas producers or lack biofuel incentive policies for
producers or blending mandates for consumers (OECD-FAO 2015). Global bio-
diesel supply grew from 3.9 billion liters in 2005 to 30.8 billion liters in 2016 and is
expected to reach 41.4 billion liters in 2025, a 34% increase over 2016 levels
(Onguglo et al. 2016; REN21 2016; OECD/FAO 2016). An estimated 72% of
biofuel production (in energy terms) was fuel ethanol, 23% was biodiesel, and 4%
was hydrotreated vegetable oil (REN21 2017). More than 80% of the world’s
biodiesel production is from vegetable oils, with the majority produced from
European canola and soybeans from the United States, Brazil, and Argentina.
Indonesian palm oil and other sources such as jatropha and coconut make up a
small share of vegetable-based biodiesel. Waste-based biodiesel accounted for 8%
of the global supply in 2015 (OECD/FAO 2016; REN21 2016). In 2015, biodiesel
was responsible for 162,600 direct and indirect jobs in Brazil while in the same year
the U.S. biodiesel sector provided 49,486 direct and indirect jobs (REN21 2016).
Whilst spread across many countries, biodiesel production is dominated by only
a few In 2016, the EU was the largest producer (with a 26% share of global
production), and 76% of the world’s fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel was
produced by the EU, United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Indonesia. No other
country outside of this group had a share larger than 5% (REN21 2016, 2017)
(Fig. 1.1).
The domestic policy incentives in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and
Indonesia and, to a lesser extent, the fulfillment of the Renewable Energy Directive
(RED) target in the European Union, are the main drivers for global biodiesel
production (OECD/FAO 2016).
The EU is experiencing a decline in investment in new biodiesel capacity mainly
due to a continuing decrease in policy and public support for first-generation

Other countries, United States,

19.8% 17.9%

Brazil, 12.3%

EU-28, 26.0%
Argentina, 9.7%

Thailand, 4.5%
Indonesia, 9.7%

Fig. 1.1 Major biodiesel-producing countries in 2016 (REN21 2017)

6 M. Rouhany and H. Montgomery

biofuels, including biodiesel, as a result of environmental concerns and an

increasing interest in electric mobility. Among individual countries, the US remains
the world leader in biodiesel production supported by its agricultural policy and by
the federal renewable fuel standard. Brazil is solidifying its place as the second
largest producer of biodiesel with 13% of the global share in 2016 (REN21 2017).
Figure 1.2 demonstrates the trends in US biodiesel production, consumption,
imports, and exports from 2001 to 2015 (U.S. EIA 2017). The peak in 2008 was
largely due to a biodiesel tax credit in the European Union, which drove up US
exports and production. Exports dropped after the tax credit was phased out. The
increase in production and consumption from 2010 onward was largely to meet the
requirements of the second phase of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS
is a federal mandate that requires a minimum volume of renewable fuels to be
blended in the transportation fuel sold in the United States. Its second phase
required the use of 34 billion liters of renewables in 2008 increasing to 136 billion
liters in 2022 with a cap on the share of corn-starch ethanol and a minimum
requirement for the share of cellulosic biofuels.
In 2013, the consumption of biodiesel in the US surpassed its production, and
the volume of biodiesel imported by the US exceeded exports and has continued to
increase. The growth in consumption and imports since then is likely due to the
favorable regulatory framework and increased efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.
With its substantial biodiesel production capacity, Argentina has been a leading
supplier of imported biodiesel for the EU, the United States, and other countries
since 2010. In 2013, the EU imposed a heavy anti-dumping import tax on
Argentinian biodiesel which resulted in Argentina’s biodiesel manufacturing
capacity being underutilized despite growing domestic demand (REN21 2017).
PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION = MILLION GALLONS

6000

U.S. Biodiesel Production, Exports,

IMPORT AND EXPORTS = THOUSAND BARRELS

5000
Imports, and Consumption
4000

3000

2000

1000

0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Production Exports Consumption Imports

Fig. 1.2 U.S. biodiesel 10-year production, consumption, imports, and exports from 2001 to 2015
(U.S. EIA 2017)
1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art … 7

Most biodiesel-feedstock-producing countries also have an active domestic

market and most or all of their supply is used to meet domestic mandate-driven
demand. This dual role, as both producer and consumer, partially explains the
limited international trade in biodiesel feedstocks. The European Union mostly
imports vegetable oil-based biodiesel from countries such as Argentina, Indonesia,
and Malaysia (Onguglo et al. 2016). Most of the limited biodiesel trade is com-
posed of Argentina’s exports to the US (Pacini et al. 2014). Figure 1.3 provides a
10-year overview of global biodiesel production, consumption, and exports from
2007 to 2016.
Biodiesel price is influenced by the type of feedstock, production volume,
production process, government incentives, food prices, and research and devel-
opment costs. As edible oils comprise more than 80% of the world’s biodiesel
feedstock, biodiesel prices closely follow vegetable oil prices. Policies which
support prices of vegetable oil also influence the demand for biodiesel (OECD/FAO
2016).
Biodiesel prices have been facing downward pressure due to low global
petro-diesel prices; however, blending mandates have largely sheltered the biodiesel
market by lending consistency to demand (REN21 2016). Figure 1.4 provides an
overview of the average U.S. Diesel and B99/B100 Biodiesel price over the last
10 years. International prices of biodiesel are expected to increase in nominal terms
over the next 10 years driven by the recovery of crude oil markets and prices of
biofuel feedstock (OECD/FAO 2016).

35,000.00
MILLIONS OF LITRES BIODIESEL

30,000.00
25,000.00
20,000.00
15,000.00
10,000.00
5,000.00
0.00
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Exports consumpƟon ProducƟon

Fig. 1.3 Global biodiesel production, consumption, and exports 10-year overview (OECD/FAO
2016)
8 M. Rouhany and H. Montgomery

USD COST PER GASOLINE GALLON EQUIVALENT (GGE) $5.00

$4.50

$4.00

$3.50

$3.00

$2.50

$2.00

$1.50

$1.00
B99/B100 Diesel
$0.50

$0.00

Fig. 1.4 Average U.S. diesel and B99/B100 biodiesel 10-year price overview (USDoE 2017)

1.4 The Biodiesel Policy Landscape

The impressive growth of the global biodiesel market and industry during the last
decade at rates exceeding 20% per year despite downward pressure from low fossil
fuel prices is primarily driven by policies enhancing production and demand at the
national and regional level. Blending mandates, tax exemptions, subsidies, fuel
quality standards, import tariffs, and investment backings are examples of such
supportive regulations. Such policies are, in turn, driven and influenced by a
combination of factors, such as a desire for increased energy security, environ-
mental concerns and climate-related targets, lobby groups, feedstock availability,
effective use of co-products, enhancing rural development, and increasing the
demand and price for vegetable oils (REN21 2016; Cadham 2015; Naylor and
Higgins 2017).
Examples where biodiesel production has been profitable in the absence of
additional financial incentives are very few. Studies show that this has only been
achieved with palm oil as the feedstock and during times when feedstock prices
were low and oil prices were high. To improve the overall financial and opportunity
costs, governments often accompany quantitative targets with other policies such as
blending mandates, subsidies, and tax credits (Naylor and Higgins 2017).
The policy instrument that is most commonly used across various countries and
regions is the blend mandate. A blend mandate specifies a share or volume of
biodiesel to be blended with petro-diesel. Blending mandates lead to consistency in
demand which is instrumental in protecting biodiesel markets from the effects of
1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art … 9

low global petro-diesel prices. By the end of 2015, biodiesel blend mandates were
in place at the national level in 18 countries (REN21 2016).
The majority of mandates are in place in the EU, where its Renewable Energy
Directive requires a 10% renewable content in fuel by 2020. RED establishes
sustainability requirements for liquid biofuels, including greenhouse gas
(GHG) reductions, land use changes, and other environmental, social and economic
criteria. A 7% limit on the share of food-crop-based transportation biofuels to the
EU’s 10% renewable mandate and the exclusion of biofuels grown on land with
peat or high carbon stocks was introduced in the amendments to RED. Adoption of
second-generation biofuels is further incentivised through a 0.5% voluntary target
and by allowing the contribution of nonfood crop-based biofuels to be
double-counted toward meeting the overall EU target (Naylor and Higgins 2017;
Araújo et al. 2017).
Agricultural support and the expansion of renewable fuels and climate mitigation
have been the main motivations driving biodiesel policies in the EU. Recently, a
stronger focus on sustainability and reducing GHG emissions has resulted in
changes in EU policies regarding feedstock sourcing. The current regulations
require that all biofuels from existing plants must result in a 50% reduction in
lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to fossil fuels, beginning in 2018.
New plants should demonstrate a 60% reduction in GHG emissions in their biofuel
product considering emissions from cultivation, processing, and transport. A 2015
amendment to RED requires that calculations of indirect land use change (iLUC)
emissions associated with biodiesel feedstock be incorporated in GHG emission
calculations by fuel suppliers. iLUC emissions do not officially count in the GHG
reduction targets. As the majority of current biodiesel feedstocks will not meet the
50% reduction in GHG emissions target, EU member states are increasingly con-
sidering alternative feedstocks such as waste oils which provide significant GHG
emission reductions compared to fossil fuels and do not have land-use change
impacts. It is expected that the legislation that will replace the RED after it expires
in 2020 will have more stringent sustainability criteria, namely further limits on
GHG emissions, on the use of food crop feedstocks, and on land-use change
impacts. A reduction in the food crop share from the current 7 to 3.8% in 2030 and
raising the minimum greenhouse gas savings over fossil fuel alternatives to 70% by
2021 was proposed in the European commission in late 2016 (Naylor and Higgins
2017).
In the EU, petro-diesel is the primary fuel used for road transportation which
accounted for roughly 75% of the energy used in transportation in the EU in 2016.
The share of diesel fuel in the EU’s road transport grew from 52% in 2000 to 70%
in 2014. Historically, the European biodiesel industry was developed in order to
provide a substitute for petro-diesel. The EU introduced the Renewable Energy
Directive in 2009, which required 10% of all transportation energy to come from
renewable resources by 2020. RED allows member states flexibility in selecting
their own policies for meeting the target. Between 2005 and 2015, the EU’s bio-
diesel production tripled, and its production capacity expanded more than fivefold.
10 M. Rouhany and H. Montgomery

In 2016, 80% of the EU biofuels market was composed by biodiesel and ethanol
held the remaining 20% (EEA 2016; Naylor and Higgins 2017).
The EU has implemented a 3.5% import duty on biodiesel blends of B30 (30%
biodiesel content) and under, and a 6.5% import duty on B30–B100 (pure biodiesel
with no blending) fuels to protect its domestic rapeseed and biodiesel production.
Other EU trade policies include anti-dumping tariffs on biodiesel imports from the
USA, Canada, Argentina, and Indonesia. In September 2016, the EU terminated its
anti-dumping duties against Argentina and Indonesia (Naylor and Higgins 2017).
In the United States under the Renewable Fuel Standard, the Environmental
Protection Agency releases annual biomass-based diesel volume requirements. By
the end of 2015, biodiesel blend mandates were in place in 27 jurisdictions (REN21
2016). For 2017, the volume requirement for biomass-based diesel was 7.6 billion
liters (2.0 billion gallons). The RFS places a cap on the share of corn-starch ethanol
and a minimum requirement for the share of cellulosic biofuels. A $1-per-gallon
biodiesel blending tax credit was implemented in 2005, which expired at the end of
2016. Furthermore, the American Renewable Fuel and Job Creation Act of 2017
was introduced in the US Senate on April 26, 2017 to replace the Biodiesel
blending credit. The bill modifies and extends the income tax credit for biodiesel
and renewable diesel used as fuel, and the excise tax credit for biodiesel fuel
mixtures. The Act proposes a $1-per-gallon production credit for biodiesel pro-
duced in the United States from December 2016 until December 2020 and an
additional 10 cent-per-gallon credit for small US biodiesel producers (under 15
million gallons/year). The small producer credit would be available to biodiesel
produced from all feedstocks (Library of Congress 2017).
The political context within each nation forms its policy priorities, goals,
instruments, and methods. While national biodiesel policy implementation in major
producing countries seems to address a wide range of interests across several
objectives, in reality, the support of specific sectors and interests, such as farm
lobbies and energy groups, often determines policy design and implementation.
Large agricultural economies often install policies that indirectly support local
agriculture by enhancing the use of domestic oil crops for biodiesel feedstock to
support farm revenues throughout their agricultural supply chain. Consequently, all
large biodiesel producing nations are using their domestic agricultural products as
the main feedstock for biodiesel production, resulting in a complex interaction of
energy and agricultural interests. These interests provide the drive for governments
to maintain and even enhance their support for the biodiesel sector during the
current era of low crude oil prices (Naylor and Higgins 2017). In addition, there are
national and international interests in reducing fossil fuel use so as to reduce GHG
emissions and meet climate targets. Fossil fuel lobbies and political forces working
to expand fossil fuel use, as is currently seen in play in the US, are opposing and
complicating factors. This creates a state of affairs in which uncertainties exist that
could significantly change the projections for biofuel markets over the next decade.
US and EU policies on climate mitigation, feedstock sourcing, blending mandates,
and trade barriers together with fuel prices and the biodiesel sector’s ability to
1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art … 11

commercialize nonfood-based biodiesel will be the main factors determining the

future of biodiesel (OECD/FAO 2016; Naylor and Higgins 2017).

1.5 Biodiesel, the Environment, and Climate Change

At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC)

22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh, Morocco in late 2016, more
than 100 countries had officially agreed to limit global warming to below 2 °C
under the Paris agreement. Additionally, leaders of 48 developing countries com-
mitted jointly to work toward achieving 100% renewable energy in their respective
nations under the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) (REN21 2016, 2017).
Given the real and imminent threat of climate change, it is now an issue high on
the agenda of governments and citizens around the globe. To meet the challenge of
increasing energy access and reducing poverty while reducing GHG emissions
enough to meet the COP22 target of limiting global temperature increase, extraction
of remaining fossil fuel reserves will have to stop altogether and the use of
renewable energy and energy efficiency instruments will have to be significantly
increased.
There are many drivers and advantages for the use of biofuels but due to the
increased global focus on biofuels’ environmental threats and social impacts, the
sustainability of biodiesel is more carefully considered and assessed today than was
the case when biofuels first became commercially available. There are a large
number of studies assessing the sustainability of biodiesel that come to a wide range
of conclusions, which is fueling the debate on biodiesel’s sustainability. The
diversity and sometimes conflict in results arise from differences in methodologies,
feedstock sources, land use and land use change impacts, selection of system
boundaries, and functional units, as well as allocation methods.
The controversy over the environmental and social impacts of first-generation
biodiesels commonly centers around the food versus fuel debate and the negative
climate impacts of land-use change (REN21 2017). There is little agreement on the
magnitude of the impact of biodiesel on food security. Using edible oils as biodiesel
feedstock could act as a buffer on the impact of food crop production variations in
different years (Naylor and Higgins 2017).
Greenhouse gas emissions from biodiesel are commonly assessed using a life-
cycle assessment (LCA). Such assessments calculate the amount of greenhouse
gases that are emitted per unit of fuel over its lifecycle from production to use. For
biodiesel, this includes emissions and/or carbon sequestration, in addition to
land-use changes from the growing of feedstock and allocation of by-products,
when applicable (Pacini et al. 2014).
The potential impact of biodiesel feedstock sources on indirect land use changes
(iLUC), such as deforestation, is a cause of concern for the sustainability and more
specifically the GHG emission savings of biodiesel. This could even, in some cases,
result in biodiesel generating more lifecycle GHG emissions than petro-diesel.
12 M. Rouhany and H. Montgomery

In one of the most extensive studies to date, the UK’s Royal Academy of
Engineering conducted an assessment of over 250 separate studies on the GHG
emission reductions of biofuels versus fossil fuels (Naylor and Higgins 2017).
In the UK study, the GHG emissions per unit of energy generated for
first-generation biodiesels produced from common feedstocks displayed a large
variation ranging from 4 to 505 grams of CO2 equivalent-per-Mega Joule (gCO2e/
MJ) across different LCA studies. As a point of comparison, it should be noted that
the carbon intensity of EU petro-diesel is around 84 gCO2e/MJ. However, the
average biodiesel GHG emissions from all the feedstocks considered were lower
than emissions from fossil diesel if no land use change (LUC) was involved. The
only type of first-generation biodiesel that would meet the EU RED requirement for
50% less GHG emissions compared to conventional diesel was palm oil biodiesel
without LUC (Naylor and Higgins 2017).
Where land-use change-related carbon emissions are included in the calcula-
tions, all varieties of first-generation biodiesels considered in the study had a higher
average carbon footprint than petro-diesel. Soybeans had the largest negative GHG
emission impact, which could be due to soybean cultivation in South and Central
America actuating both direct and indirect land use change (iLUC). Biodiesel
produced from palm oil harvested from peat and forest lands in Indonesia and
Malaysia demonstrated 3–40 times higher GHG emissions per unit of energy
compared to petro-diesel. A large variability was observed in results of the assessed
studies including LUC-related GHG emissions. This is due to the differences in
LUC GHG estimation methods and emission factors and the fact that some studies
included either direct or indirect LUC-related emissions and others included both
(Naylor and Higgins 2017).
The average GHG emissions per unit of energy for second-generation biodiesels
from nonedible feedstocks are considerably lower than petro-diesel, with the values
ranging from −88 to 80 gCO2e/MJ. Negative values are a result of credits for
co-products. The three feedstocks evaluated were Jatropha, Camelina and used
cooking oil/tallow. The average carbon intensity of Jatropha, used cooling oil/
tallow, and Camelina are, respectively, 26, 27, and 33 gCO2e/MJ. Similar to
first-generation biodiesels, the range of these results varied broadly due to regional
differences in yield and different estimation methods particularly in regard to
co-product allocation. In most of the studies assessed by the Royal Academy of
Engineering biodiesel from tallow and used cooking oil showed 60–90% lower
carbon intensity than petro-diesel. The average GHG intensity value for
third-generation microalgae biodiesel was 3.5 times higher than conventional diesel
also with a large variation in the individual results. Due to costly and
energy-intensive production, biodiesel produced from algae at its current phase of
development results in more GHG emissions than its petroleum counterpart and is
not yet a viable choice (Naylor and Higgins 2017).
Agriculture phase LUC is the major contributor to biodiesel GHG emissions
followed by the transesterification process. The EU is intent on a continuous
reduction in the share of first-generation biofuels in transport fuel and increasing the
share of climate-friendly advanced biofuels (REN21 2017). As crude oil becomes
1 Global Biodiesel Production: The State of the Art … 13

more energy intensive to extract and refine, the commercialization of

second-generation biodiesel using nonedible feedstocks, paired with efficiency
gains in production and refining techniques, will potentially result in further
reduction of harmful climate impacting emissions by replacing petro-diesel with
biodiesel (Pacini et al. 2014).
In terms of other pollutants, biodiesel can favorably reduce particulate matter by
nearly 88% relative to petro-diesel while in terms of NOx there are varied results,
with some claiming biodiesel emits greater amounts of nitrogen oxides than
petro-diesel. Using 100% biodiesel in heavy-duty highway engines produces on
average almost 70% less hydrocarbons, 50% less particulates and carbon monoxide,
and 10% more NOx emissions. Biodiesel has negligible sulfur oxide emissions and
half the ozone-forming potential of petro-diesel (Araújo et al. 2017).

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Chapter 2
Biodiesel Production Systems: Reactor
Technologies

Thomas Ernst Müller

Abstract The dwindling of fossil resources has prompted producers of fuels, fine
chemicals, and polymers to switch from fossil carbon sources and search for
renewable feedstock. Biomass holds one of the keys to this transition to a circular
economy. In this context, biodiesel obtained by transesterification of natural oils
with alcohols is gaining importance in the fuel sector. Various reactor concepts
have been developed for the transesterification reaction. Depending on the scale of
the biodiesel production plant, reactors with varying designs are operated in the
batch, semi-batch mode, or continuously. In this chapter, the optimal reactor
technologies are analyzed with respect to the stages the chemical conversion runs
through. The initial reaction mixture of natural oil and methanol, the most common
alcohol in biodiesel production, is characterized by a liquid–liquid two-phase
system. The high polarity difference of natural oil and methanol leads to a mixa-
bility gap and formation of a natural oil-rich phase and a methanol-rich phase. The
mass transfer of the reagents across the phase boundary is slow relative to the
chemical reaction, thereby resulting in diffusion limitations. Various mixing tech-
nologies, such as sonication, and the use of microreactors are explored to overcome
these diffusion limitations. Once the reaction is 15–20% complete, the reaction
mixture becomes homogeneous, reducing the need for intensive mixing. As the
reaction continues and higher conversions are obtained, the fatty acid methyl ester
separates from glycerin. The two phases are separated and purified. Recent tech-
nologies for process intensification aim at enhancing mass and heat transfer at all
stages of the reaction.

T. E. Müller (&)
Chemical and Process Engineering, Rheinische Fachhochschule Köln,
Schaevenstraße 1 a-b, Köln 50676, NRW, Germany
e-mail: thomas.mueller@rfh-koeln.de

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 15

M. Tabatabaei and M. Aghbashlo (eds.), Biodiesel,
Biofuel and Biorefinery Technologies 8,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00985-4_2
16 T. E. Müller

2.1 Introduction

The dwindling of fossil resources has spurred the need to switch the production of
fuels, chemicals, and polymers from fossil carbon sources to renewable feedstock.
Biomass holds one of the keys to the transition of a fossil-based unidirectional to a
circular economy. It is a renewable and widely available resource. In the fuel sector,
biodiesel has been on the market for some time and is gaining further in importance.
It is an environmentally benign, biodegradable, nontoxic fuel associated with
comparably low emissions (Chuah et al. 2017; Kumar et al. 2013). Currently, two
main types of biodiesel fuels are produced on a large scale—fatty acid methyl esters
and hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (Dimian and Rothenberg 2016). The term
biodiesel refers primarily to fatty acid methyl esters. For biodiesel production,
natural oils, i.e., the glycerol ester of fatty acids are used as raw material. The
primary feedstock can be vegetable oil crops derived from rapeseed, sunflower, soy
or palm (Dimian and Rothenberg 2016). Moreover, residual lipid materials and
nonedible vegetable oils derived from jatropha, camelina, and ricinus are suitable
(Dimian and Rothenberg 2016; Bhuiya et al. 2016; Demirbas et al. 2016). Future
raw material (Perego and Ricci 2012) may include algae biomass with a certain oil
contents (Brennan and Owende 2010) or lipids obtained by the conversion of
carbohydrates with special yeasts (Arous et al. 2016). The fatty acid moieties
comprise alkyl chains differing in the number of carbon atoms (R′, R″, R‴ = C14H29
to C20H41) (Feasibility report small-scale biodiesel production 2006). Besides sat-
urated alkyl chains, unsaturated chains are also present to a smaller extent. For
biodiesel production, natural oil is reacted with alcohol to the corresponding fatty
acid ester and glycerol in an equilibrium reaction (Eq. 2.1). The fatty acid ester is
then purified to yield biodiesel within the legal specifications (International A
2013).
O
O
O R' OH
RO R'
O [Cat.]
3 R OH + O R''
RO
O
R''
+ OH ð2:1Þ
O
O
O R''' OH
RO R'''

Methanol (R = H) is used typically as the alcohol in biodiesel production. The high

polarity of methanol, however, results in a mixability gap with natural oil.
Consequently, the initial reaction mixture of natural oil and methanol is a liquid–liquid
two-phase system comprising a natural oil-rich phase and a methanol-rich phase.
Once the reaction is 15–20% complete, the reaction mixture becomes homogeneous,
reducing the need for intensive mixing. As the reaction continues and higher con-
versions are obtained, the fatty acid methyl ester separates from glycerol.
Subsequently, the fatty acid methyl ester is separated from the glycerol and purified to
biodiesel. The initial stage of the reaction is characterized by severe diffusion limi-
tations caused by the limited mutual solubility of natural oil and methanol. The low
mutual solubility reduces the rate of mass transfer of the reagents across the phase
boundary. Altogether, the rate of biodiesel production is limited by the slowest step in
2 Biodiesel Production Systems: Reactor Technologies 17

the sequence of physical and chemical steps. When diffusion limitations are present,
the overall reaction rate is reduced. To counter this effect the interphase area is
increased by technical means, and various mixing technologies, such as mechanical
stirring, static mixers, sonication, or microreactors, have been explored. A larger
interphase area leads to a higher flux of reagents across the phase boundary and helps
overcome the diffusion limitations. More recent technologies for process intensifi-
cation are aimed at overlaying chemical reaction with physical separation of products
and excess reagents.
Diverse reactor concepts have been developed for the transesterification of
natural oils with alcohols to biodiesel (Dimian and Bildea 2008). Depending on the
scale of the biodiesel production plant, the reactor designs comprise batch,
semi-batch, or continuous operation (He and Gerpen 2016).
Biodiesel production plants based on batch reactors require a vessel that is filled
with the reagents natural oil, methanol and catalyst as well as equipment for
work-up. This results in comparably small initial capital and infrastructure invest-
ment. The operation of batch reactors is flexible and allows accommodating vari-
ations in feedstock type, composition, and quantity. Even so, the major drawbacks
of biodiesel batch processes include low productivity due to the time needed to
charge and empty the reactor, a certain variation in product quality as every batch is
unique, and more intensive labor and energy requirements compared to continuous
operation.
Biodiesel processes based on reactors operated in the semi-batch mode are
similar to the batch process. The production commences with a smaller volume of
the reaction mixture than the vessel will hold. Reactants are then added until the
vessel is filled. This process, however, is relatively labor-intensive and rarely used.
Biodiesel processes based on continuous-flow reactors are preferred over batch
processes in large-capacity commercial production. The most common type of
continuous-flow reactor is the continuous stirred-tank reactor. Yet mixing of the two
phases present at the initial stage of the reaction can be a challenge. Conventionally,
mechanical stirrers ensure macro-mixing of the reaction mixture. The use of static
mixers can enhance the mixing. Micro-mixing can be improved by ultrasound or by
operation at supercritical conditions. Fixed bed tubular reactors have been intro-
duced to overcome intrinsic limitations in conversion caused by the use of
back-mixed reactors. Even though reactive distillation has been explored to intensify
the process, it has not yet been used to produce biodiesel on a commercial scale.
Compared to biodiesel production in batch processes, continuous operation
results in a more constant product quality. In addition, lower operating costs are
obtained per unit of product. Certain capital investment, however, is needed to build
the plant. In general, continuous-flow processes require intricate process controls
and online monitoring of product quality. Pumps for natural oil and methanol and
the dosing system for the catalyst are operated continuously. Moreover, the pumps
used for product removal and the equipment in downstream processing are operated
continuously. Feedback loops of process analytics to the operation parameters
conform to the principles of Green Chemistry (Gupta et al. 2010; Jessop et al. 2009;
Anastas and Eghbali 2010). Within certain constraints, the production capacity can
18 T. E. Müller

be adjusted to the availability of natural oil by adjusting the feed rate. Since the
vessel size is usually fixed, such changes in the feed rate lead to a different resi-
dence time of the reaction mixture in the vessel. Adjusting the ratio of
methanol-to-natural oil as well as the catalyst concentration helps to compensate for
the resulting changes in conversion.

2.1.1 Mixing in Biodiesel Production

In biodiesel production, natural oil and methanol form a two-phase system. The
limited mutual solubility of natural oil and methanol results in diffusion limitations
across the phase boundary restricting the overall rate of reaction (Gerpen et al.
2005). The difference in solubility is particularly relevant at the onset of the
reaction. Creating a large interphase between the natural oil-rich phase and the
alcohol-rich phase enhances mass transfer across the phase boundary. Thus, good
reaction engineering is required in biodiesel production. If the interphase area is too
small, the chemical reaction rate is slowed down by the limited availability of one
of the reactants. The reaction rate over conventional catalysts depends on the
concentration of natural oil and methanol (Wei et al. 2014), and the highest reaction
rates are observed when the concentrations of both reagents are approximately
equal. This holds for homogeneous catalysts, such as sodium or potassium
hydroxide. With potassium hydroxide, the conversion of triglyceride to diglyceride
is the rate-determining step with an activation energy of 30.2 kJ/mol and 26.8 kJ/
mol for palm oil and mustard oil, respectively (Issariyakul and Dalai 2012). In the
case of heterogeneous catalysts, the concentration of methanol and natural oil on the
surface of the catalyst ought to be similar (Ilgen and Akin 2012).

2.1.2 Batch Reactors

The batch reactor is typically a vessel that is equipped with some type of agitation.
The main characteristics of a batch reactor are that the vessel is first filled with
unreacted material, the reaction then proceeds, and the reaction mixture is removed
sometime later on. Consequently, the vessel holds a reaction mixture with different
compositions depending on which time one happens to look at it. For biodiesel
production, the tank is filled with the reactants, i.e., natural oil, alcohol, and cata-
lyst. The reaction mixture is then heated and agitated for a certain period. After the
required time has elapsed, the contents of the vessel are drained out, fatty acid ester
and glycerol are separated, and the two products are further processed. Batch
reactors are generally used in small biodiesel production plants, but they are rela-
tively inflexible in terms of productivity. To increase production, it may be nec-
essary to reduce the cycle time, set up further vessels or replace the vessel with a
larger vessel.
2 Biodiesel Production Systems: Reactor Technologies 19

2.1.3 Continuous-Flow Reactors

The most common continuous-flow system in biodiesel production is the continuous

stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). As for the batch process, the reactor is conventionally a
vessel that is equipped with some type of agitation. The reactor is set up in a
continuous-flow system. The reactants are added continuously, and an equal mass
flow of the product mixture is continuously withdrawn. Adequate agitation is required
to increase the interphase area between the two phases as well as to ensure uniform
chemical composition and temperature in all volume elements of the reaction mixture.
Characteristic for the operation of a CSTR is that the incoming stream of reactants
becomes mixed with the reaction mixture contained in the vessel. Due to the resulting
low concentration of the reactants in the reaction mixture, the productivity of a CSTR
for biodiesel production is low compared to that of a vessel operated in batch or in a
plug flow reactor. When a CSTR is operated at steady state, the concentration of
reactants, intermediates, and products is even in all volume elements of the vessel and
with time. The chemical composition of the reaction mixture at the reactor outlet is
equal to the composition in the reaction mixture. Because of this so-called
back-mixing of the reaction mixture, there is always a certain concentration of unre-
acted reactants and intermediates at the outlet of the reactor. To address this issue, the
percentage of conversion can be raised by increasing the reactor size and, hence, the
residence time of the reaction mixture inside the vessel (Fig. 2.1).
To enhance conversion, more than one reactor can be used in a cascade. In
biodiesel production, the process often involves an arrangement of two consecutive
CSTRs (He and Gerpen 2016). In the first reactor, the natural oil is reacted with
approximately 80% of the alcohol. Then, the outlet stream goes through a glycerol
removal step before entering the second reactor. The remaining 20% of the alcohol
is then added to this reactor. As a result, this system generates higher conversions of
the natural oil. A lower excess of alcohol is needed compared to a process involving
a single CSTR (Fig. 2.2).

Fig. 2.1 Relative size of a 1000

continuous-flow reactor in
Volume VR,CSTR / Volume VR,Batch

400
comparison to the size of a
batch reactor to achieve a
certain conversion (adopted 100
from Emig and Klemm 2005).
The analysis assumes a 40
first-order reaction A ! B
10

1
99.9 99.6 99 96 90 60 0
Conversion [%]
20 T. E. Müller

Dried oil

Methanol

Catalyst

Biodiesel

Phase Phase
separaƟon separaƟon

Glycerol
First reactor Second reactor

Fig. 2.2 Biodiesel production in a process with a cascade of two continuous stirred-tank reactors
(adopted from He and Gerpen 2016)

Tubular reactors provide higher conversions than back-mixed reactors in

continuous-flow operation, resulting in a higher efficiency than reactions in CSTR
at comparable residence times (Emig and Klemm 2005). Furthermore, the use of a
back-mixed reactor followed by a tubular reactor has been suggested (Suryanto
et al. 2015). Oscillatory flow provides enhanced mixing of the phases (Suryanto
et al. 2015; Harvey et al. 2001). In combination with a heterogeneous catalyst, a
fixed bed reactor is frequently used. Adiabatic reactors with upstream or down-
stream heat exchangers make the individual apparatus simpler. As with a CSTR, a
two-stage reactor concept is advantageous. In typical operation, methanol and
natural oil are fed into a first transesterification reactor. Favorable conditions are,
e.g., a temperature range of 200–220 °C, a pressure range of 40–70 bar at a liquid
hourly space velocity of 0.5–1 h−1 and a methanol-to-oil ratio of 1:2 (Dimian and
Rothenberg 2016). To limit the pressure drop, relatively large catalyst particles are
employed. Typical catalyst beds comprise 3 mm extrudates. The exit stream of the
first reactor is decompressed thereby removing a large fraction of the unconverted
methanol. To shift the equilibrium, the phases are separated and glycerol is
removed by decantation. The fatty acid ester phase is mixed with a feed of methanol
and enters a second fixed bed reactor operated at similar conditions as the first
reactor, and the conversion is increased from 90–93% to up to 99.5%. The product
mixture then undergoes work-up in a separation train, thereby removing excess
methanol and glycerol from the biodiesel. An advantage of using heterogeneous
catalysts for biodiesel refining is that the neutralization step can be omitted. This
reduces the need to wash the biodiesel and glycerol and thus limits waste salt
production.
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 There were two sisters living in the sultan’s harim, the eldest was
his concubine. He one day entered her room and found her absent
with her mother, and, on inquiry, he heard that she was in the habit
of fetching both her daughters away for the purpose of intrigue, as
the sultan allowed them nothing but what I have stated as the usual
fare. He determined to make an example: so when she brought back
the girls, he told her the pañgeran shabandar wanted to speak to
her; she went, and, on entering the room saw on the table the fatal
instrument, the garotte; she guessed her fate, but fell on her knees
before the pañgeran and begged for her life, offering to confess the
names of those who had received her daughters at their houses:
upon this, pañgeran Mahomed, a dissipated young man, struck her
on the mouth with his slipper, and, the signal being given, the
assistants slipped the skein of thread over her head, fixed the board
at the back of her neck, and turning a short stick, strangled her, and
then delivered the body to her astonished husband.
The board used has two holes in it, through which the thick skein
of brownish thread is passed, and once the latter is round the neck, it
is easy to tighten it by the stick fixed behind.
The eldest daughter was expelled the harim, and given in
marriage to the sultan’s old favourite, while the younger one was
disgraced to slaves’ duties.
The pañgeran tumanggong, discovering a woman assisting his
concubines from the house, slew her with his own kris, in the
presence of his wife.
The sultan’s wife and favourite concubines dress well in European
silks and satins, and possess an abundance of gold ornaments, but
the others are, as I have said, poorly provided for.
The women delight in every practice that can deceive their lords,
and they have invented a system of speaking to each other in what
may be called an inverted language—in Malay, “Bhasa Balik.” It is
spoken in different ways: ordinary words have their syllables
transposed, or to each syllabic another one is added. For “mari,” to
come, they say, “malah-rilah;” they are constantly varying it, and girls
often invent a new system, only confided to their intimate
acquaintances; if they suspect they are understood by others, they
instantly change it.
As might be expected, the education of the women is very much
neglected; few can write, and none spell correctly. I often had love-
letters shown me by amorous but ignorant swains, who were afraid
to trust the discretion of any native writer, and they have invariably
been ill-written and worse spelt; this, however, is not said in
disparagement, as few of the men can either read or write.
The women are fond of making vows, and to that practice I am
indebted for my only glimpse of a Bornean harïm. During my first
expedition to Molu, my boat snapped on a snag, and I was left to
return through the jungle. The report spread that I was dead, and
various vows were made; among others, the wives and daughters of
some of the rajahs made a vow, if I returned in safety, I should visit
them and be showered over with yellow rice for good luck’s sake.
The pañgerans consented, thinking I was dead; but, on my safe
return, the ladies insisted upon carrying out their vow; they were
anxious to see a white man within their walls.
The nobles came and asked me; I at first declined, but, on being
pressed, consented. The whole place was very paltry; about twenty
middle-aged women were present, while a crowd of young girls, half
hidden by a curtain, occupied the lower end of the room. On my
displaying the most perfect indifference as to whether I saw them or
not, they gradually emerged. I observed no pretty faces, and
constant confinement to the house had rendered their skins of a very
light yellow. I am afraid we were mutually disappointed, as the only
remark I heard them make about me was, “How very dull his eyes
are;” and so they were compared to their flashing black ones.
Full of faults as the Bornean rajahs doubtless are, oppressors of
their subjects, and totally unfitted to rule, yet they are, in my opinion,
the most agreeable natives I have ever met. As a companion, few
Europeans could be more interesting than was the shabandar, the
Makota of Keppel’s book, and “the serpent,” as he was popularly
called. I never wearied of his society, and always enjoyed the little
picnics to which he invited me. His death, which I have related in my
Limbang Journal, was tragic, though he deserved his fate. They all
display, in the most exciting discussions, a propriety of behaviour
and gentleness of manner that wins those who have dealings with
them. Procrastination is their greatest fault, and sometimes trying to
the temper.
They are very tenacious of their dignity, and only the royal family
can use yellow; and for a trader to fly streamers or flags from the
mast-head is a great offence to the nobles. It used to be, and will
probably be again after the present sultan’s death, a punishable
offence for a person of inferior rank to pass the palace steps with his
umbrella spread, or to sit in the after-part of a boat, that being the
place for nobles. A man wearing yellow would be punished, while
even the slave girls may dress in that colour. The distinctions of rank
are kept up with great strictness, yet the sultan will talk to the people
with perfect familiarity, but they always reply in a most respectful
tone; though during the evening free conversation is encouraged.
The sultan and nobles deplore the decay of their country, but
cannot, or rather will not, understand that it is their own unreflecting
rapacity which destroys the springs of industry.
There are no fixed impositions, but the aborigines suffer from the
exactions of all, until, they have told me that, in despair, they are
planting yearly less and less, and trusting to the jungle for a
subsistence. The price of uncleaned rice has risen four hundred per
cent. during my experience of Brunei. This partly arises from the
ravages of the Kayans, who have lessened the agricultural
population, and greatly narrowed the area of cultivation; and partly,
as I have observed, from the dependencies ceasing to yield so much
to the nobles, they are compelled to depend more on the
neighbouring tribes.
I have not yet mentioned the people who inhabit the hills which
surround the capital; they are called Kadayans, and are evidently
aborigines converted to Islamism. It is a tradition among them that
they and the Perambat and Pablat sections of the city inhabited by
the fishermen were formerly Muruts, and joined the Mahomedans
about four hundred years ago. In digging near the consulate, I found
a large jar, with the remains of bones and a skull, almost dissolved
by time, very similar to the ones used for the same purpose by the
Muruts of the present day. It is supposed by the Kadayans to have
been buried there before their conversion.
As a rule, these hill-men are never oppressed; a few, however,
who seem to have had claims over them, originating in debts due by
their ancestors, were seized in April, 1861, by the widow of the late
sultan, and put in irons until some demands of hers should be
satisfied. The whole city was thrown into confusion by this
proceeding; all the Kadayans assembled under their chiefs, stopped
the supplies of food, and threatened an attack from the neighbouring
hills; deputations of nobles waited on the lady, and begged her to let
go the men, but she sturdily refused. For three days every man was
prepared to defend his portion of the town; business was suspended,
and fears and panics prevailed; till at last her relations gave way to
the anger of the rest of the inhabitants, and insisted upon her letting
her prisoners go.
The Kadayans have great influence in the city, on account of their
agricultural pursuits; they supply large amounts of rice, and nearly all
the fruit and vegetables. I have wandered over their districts, and
never have I seen more lovely spots than are to be found at Upper
Butil, Limapas, and in the interior of the Kadayan river. The groves of
fruit-trees are immense, and no idea can be formed of them, unless
we imagine our pear and apple trees of the size of the most gigantic
elms. They are generally planted on the gentle slopes of low hills,
and the cool and well-shaded paths among them are dry and
pleasant to tread.
The Kadayans are devoted to the pañgeran tumanggong, and will
not, I believe, consent to any other noble succeeding to the present
sultan. They are not a warlike race, but they are united. In
commercial affairs this may be especially noticed: a meeting of their
chiefs takes place, they settle the price of rice, and none of their
followers will swerve from it.
About a thousand of these men have lately gone over to our little
colony of Labuan, to settle there as planters, and the heavy forest is
falling in all directions before them. Having mentioned this island, I
will make a few remarks upon it. Labuan possesses one of the finest
forests I have seen in Borneo, and is admirably situated for three
objects—to suppress piracy, to influence the neighbouring countries,
and to increase commerce by many means. Among the last, I may
mention the numerous coal seams which are found in the island; that
they have not been yet developed is no matter of surprise to those
who are familiar with the early management; and that they will be
hereafter of the utmost importance is the confident belief of those
who are best acquainted with the island. My own opinion is, that the
working will prove a most lucrative speculation, if proper care be
taken in the choice of those who are to conduct the affairs of the new
Labuan coal company.
No better spot could be chosen as one of the stations for the
telegraph wires on their way’ to China. From Singapore, stated in
round numbers, to Sarawak is 400 miles; to Labuan, 350 miles; to
Manilla, 600 miles; to Hong Kong, 600 miles more. If Manilla be
avoided, a station might be formed on one of the isles off Palawan.
Labuan, managed by an officer who made himself well acquainted
with the character of the people inhabiting the neighbouring
countries, might, with a slight support from the navy, exert great
influence. I must mention one good Labuan has already done: it has
changed the character of slavery. Formerly, the Bornean masters
could treat their dependants as harshly as they pleased; now it is a
common saying, “If we are not gentle towards our slaves, they will
run to Labuan.” In fact, latterly very little restraint was laid on the
freest intercourse with this island on the part of the masters, as far
as concerned the males; but the females they tried by every means
to prevent leaving. Yet hundreds of women visit Labuan, and can
stay there if they please.
The trade of our colony is small, though it is increasing, while that
of Brunei is rapidly decreasing, and recent arrangements will tend to
accelerate its fall. I should mention that there are many districts in
the neighbourhood of Labuan in which pepper is cultivated, and this
produce is slowly increasing in quantity in the market; but could the
Governor of Labuan have the means at his disposal to influence the
neighbouring coast, the pepper cultivation would rapidly advance. It
is now grown in the districts of Kalias, Bundu, Tanah Merah, Qualla
Lama, Membakut, Papar, Mengkabong, and Tawaran.
Sago at present is the principal export, though some valuable
products, as white birds’ nests, camphor, wax, rattans, and
occasionally pearls are brought from the north. No place could be
better situated than Labuan to draw to it the trade of the Sulu
archipelago and of the north-east coast of Borneo, and its doing so
will depend on the amount of influence it is permitted to exercise.
It is a curious circumstance, that the natives of many of the
districts to the north of Labuan assert that before civil strife and
pirates drove trade from their coasts, they used to supply the
Chinese and Javanese markets with a large amount of cotton. This
plant is still cultivated, though to a very limited extent.
I have referred to the very fine forest which clothes the surface of
Labuan: among the forest trees are the camphor and the damar; the
former produces the valuable Kapur barus of commerce, and is a
very handsome tree, rising in a fine stem ninety or a hundred feet
before it throws out a branch, and then presents a well-shaped head,
with dense foliage. Its timber is lasting, and is much liked for planks
and beams of houses. In the forests of Labuan I have often come
across fine trees felled by the natives in search of the camphor, as
this product can only be obtained by destroying the tree, as it exists
in a concrete form in the interstices of the trunk. But I have heard
natives say, that occasionally they cut down one which has a
decayed portion, and in this they find the finest camphor. It is
possible that these decayed portions may arise from former seekers
cutting holes in the tree to discover whether there were sufficient
camphor to render it worth while to fell the tree, a practice they carry
on to the present day. An oil is also collected from this tree, which
rubbed over a chest of drawers will effectually prevent the invasion
of insects.
This method of obtaining the camphor is very wasteful compared
to the way gamboge is collected. I have never seen an account
given of it, so I will introduce it here:—The tree is found in Kambodia,
the province of Chantibun in Siam, the islands on the eastern coast
of the Gulf of Siam, and the southern part of Cochin China. The
small plants which were brought to Bangkok were woody, with thick
ovate leaves; the tree in full growth is large, measuring often five feet
in circumference, and rising to a considerable height. At the
commencement of the rainy season, the gamboge seekers start for
the forest in search of the trees, which are occasionally plentiful.
Having found a full-grown one, they make a spiral incision in the
back round half its circumference, and place a joint of bamboo to
catch the sap, which percolates slowly from it for many months.
When it first issues from the tree, it looks like a yellowish fluid, which
after passing through a viscous state, hardens into the gamboge of
commerce with a crystal-like fracture. The flowers of the tree are
said to resemble those of the egg-plant, and the fruit is small and
globular. The time of gathering it depends much on the fancy of the
people, as some declare that it is injurious to seek it in wet weather,
and prefer the very driest months. The trees grow both in the valleys
and on the mountains, and an average one will yield three joints of
bamboo, twenty inches in length, by one and a half in diameter. The
tree appears to suffer no injury if the gamboge be collected every
other year, but if it be tapped each season, it shortens its life. Like
every other nation, the Kambodians are fond of adding adulterations,
and mix with it rice, flour and sand, while others pulverise the bark,
to add to its weight; but this last operation is soon found out, as it
imparts to the article a greenish tinge.
The damar trees in Labuan are remarkably fine. I have seen one
measured one hundred and twenty feet to the first branch, and
eighteen feet in circumference above twenty feet from the ground.
Labuan is also stocked with excellent trees for spars. I may add that
petroleum is found in considerable quantities floating on the surface
of water in the jungle; but I think no examination has been made as
to the probable yield of these oil-springs.
Before concluding my observations on Labuan, I may remark it
possesses a very excellent harbour, of easy approach. The great
success of our colony will depend, however, on its yield of coal.
 The coal-fields of Borneo are as extensive as the island. It is
reported in Maludu Bay; found in Gaya Island; is everywhere
discoverable on the mainland opposite Labuan; has been traced in
Baram, in Bintulu, through the Sarawak districts to Banjermasin on
the southern coast. They must some day prove of the greatest
importance.
Continuing my notice of the capital, I may explain that the whole
direct revenue of the sultan does not exceed 2,500l. a year, except
what he may obtain in produce from his dependent tribes, which
scarcely supports the current expenses of his household.
The Brunei government possesses no armed force beyond the
power of calling out the population as militia, who rarely respond to
the call, as they are neither fed nor paid during their time of service,
and are generally required to perform acts repugnant to their real
interests. It possesses neither war boats nor police, and is incapable
of organizing an expedition to attack a neighbouring district, and is,
without exception, one of the most contemptible semblances of
power that ever existed. As I have said before, it has the name of
government, but not the reality.
Crime is unpunished, if committed by a relative or a follower of a
high noble, as no one will act against him for fear of the enmity of his
chief. There is a man in Brunei, named Sirudin Buñgkul, who is the
most notorious thief in the capital. He lives in very good style on the
result of his achievements, and is admitted into the best society. He
is never punished, as he is a follower of the chief minister, the
pañgeran bandhara. He appears to be clever, as he manages to
quiet the dogs, and has never been taken in the act of robbery; in
fact, few would dare to attempt to seize a man naked to the waist,
well oiled, and carrying a drawn kris in his hand. When in want of
funds, he makes a visit to the different shops to inspect; he is always
treated with a kind of familiar deference, and the Chinese are kept in
a state of nervousness till his coup has come off. Petty thefts are
common, but few extensive robberies; and yet it is not difficult to get
into leaf-houses, particularly of the Chinese, who sleep heavily after
their opium and spirits.
 It is not surprising that these men occasionally commit crimes
when an example is set by the highest officers of state. Makota, who
was in the habit of getting into debt, and seldom troubling himself
about payment, owed a Chinese trader, Si Panjang, a considerable
sum of money. The constant dunning of this creditor at last produced
a quarrel, and the Chinese used some expressions which Makota
considered very insulting; so next morning he sent the Bindari, one
of his officers, to affix a notice to Si Panjang’s door, giving notice that
he was no longer under the protection of government. Five days
after a fire burst out in that dwelling, which not only consumed the
trader’s house, but extended so as to burn down half the Chinese
quarter, and the loss was estimated at 20,000l. Though long
suspected, the fact was not made clear till after Makota’s death. The
fire took place in July, 1856, two months before I took up my
residence in Brunei.
Thefts and robberies are nominally punished by cutting off the
hand, but this penalty has fallen into disuse since the advent of the
English. There are, however, two men to be seen about the town
who have lost a hand as a punishment. Sometimes a fine is inflicted,
but generally the culprit is let off after a few days in the stocks.
It is an interesting fact, that the sultan and many of the older men
always fix an event by saying this occurred before or after the fall of
ashes, referring to that awful eruption which took place in April,
1815, when the mountain of Timboro in Sambawa burst forth and
covered every country near with a fall of ashes. Sir Stamford Raffles
has given a graphic account of it in his “History of Java”, and I only
mention the fact now, as Brunei, where some of the ashes fell, must
be above nine hundred miles from the volcano. At Sarawak it is also
constantly referred to.
I have described in a previous chapter the appearance of the
river, but I have not mentioned that here I have most often heard the
singing or hummingfish, which sticks to the bottom of the boats, and
produces a sound something like that of a Jew’s-harp struck slowly,
though sometimes it increases in loudness so as to resemble the full
sound and tones of an organ. My men have pointed me out a fish
about four inches long as the author of the music. It is marked with
alternate stripes of black and yellow across the back.
They have a curious method of catching prawns in this river: a
man sits in the stern of a canoe, a little on one side, so as to make
its edge towards the bank almost on a level with the water, and but a
foot from the mud. On the same side he has an immense comb
fastened at the stern, which, at an angle, stretches beyond the bows
of the canoe, and sweeps the bank. The prawns congregating at the
very edge of the mud, make a spring to avoid the teeth of the comb;
and in doing so, nearly always fall into the boat. The comb is simply
a long bamboo, with holes drilled into one side, into which are
inserted pieces of thin bamboo or wood about two feet long at the
farther end, and gradually lessening as they approach the fisherman.
I may also mention that the Malays are very fond of the following
sport. They collect many hundred bundles of the roots of the tuba-
plant, and beat them out in their canoes, keeping them wet, and
permitting the juice, which has an intoxicating property, to flow into
the bottom of their boats. When they have sufficient, they throw it
into the water at the mouths of the rivers just at the turn of the flood-
tide; and the fish, feeling its effects, either rise to the surface
completely intoxicated, or, in the case of the large ones, sufficiently
stupefied to be easily speared. It is an exciting sport when several
hundred men in light canoes are engaged in it. It is a superstition
that while they are occupied in this amusement, should a boat pass
the mouth of the river, and the crew beat the water with their
paddles, the tuba would lose its intoxicating power.
Until late years, the general use of money was unknown in the
capital. When I first visited it, ordinary commercial transactions were
carried on in pieces of gray shirting, valued at 12s. 6d.; of nankin,
valued at 10d.; and of bits of iron, worth about a farthing: the last
were manufactured by cutting off pieces of an inch long from a bar of
English iron, the common size of which was an inch and a half in
breadth by half an inch in thickness. Now, neither the nankin nor the
iron circulates, their places being taken by English copper coin and
China cash. The gray shirting still holds its place, but its value is
fallen, and lately it has ranged from 6s. to 8s. The Brunei
government, to prevent the constant disputes that arose, made it a
legal tender at 6s. 8d. Mexican dollars are now becoming plentiful.
One other article is also much used as money, and that is brass
guns. In buying and selling you constantly hear, “I will give so many
pounds, or hundredweights, of gun-metal.”
The Borneans are famous for their manufacture of brass guns,
which are constantly cast in their frail houses to the imminent danger
of the neighbourhood. They principally turn out small wall-pieces,
and now trust much for their metal to selected Chinese brass cash.
The Malays are clever at this work: a Javanese has lately cast an
excellent 12-pounder brass howitzer for the Sarawak Government.
Sulu used to be very famous for its krises; now Brunei is attempting
to rival her, and has produced some very handsome weapons. In
both places they prefer the iron that is taken off the bales of English
cotton goods, as the toughest and the best.
The custom my brother Bayle mentions in his Levantine Family of
preserving an article for years, rather than lower its price, is very
common in Brunei. Jeludin Hitam, a rich trader, purchased, in his
younger days, a large quantity of camphor, white birds’ nests, and
pearls, and received, in payment of some other goods, several
hundred pieces of gray shirting, at 12s. 6d. The breaking out of the
Chinese war of 1841 lowered the price of all articles intended for that
market. He tried to sell at former rates, but no one would buy; he
refused to lower his price, so kept the goods till his death in 1859.
On examining them it was found that the gray shirtings were rotten,
and had to be thrown away, while all his other goods were sold for
half their former value. A native always asks a higher price than he
intends to take, as he knows his customer will “tawar,” or cheapen.
I may add that on the death of Jeludin Hitam the sultan declared
himself his heir, and succeeded to all his property, which, however,
did not amount to half that was expected, as it was whispered the
daughter concealed a large amount of the gold. When Makota was
slain, the sultan took possession of his property, but the most active
search failed in finding any gold, though it was well known that he
had been accustomed to invest all his money in moidores. But the
fact was, Makota did not trust his wife, and therefore always carried
his wealth about with him in a box, and after his death it was
secreted by one of his sons who happened to be in the same district
at the time his father was killed.
 CHAPTER XI.
SARAWAK AND ITS DEPENDENCIES.

First Visit—Appearance of the Country—Scenery—Lovely Isles—

Turtle—Method of Securing their Eggs—Their Enemies—Fish—
The Dugong—Method of Capturing them—Graves of Englishmen
at Po Point—First Evening in Borneo—A Welcome to the Rajah—
Boats—Salute and Manning Yards—The Muaratabas Entrance—
The River—The Town of Kuching—Sunset—Arrival—A noisy
Procession—Extent of Sarawak—A well-watered Country—The
Rejang—Extent of fertile Soil adapted to Sugar—Its Inhabitants—
Different Races and Tribes—Population—Kuching, the Capital—
Increase—Trade—Sago districts—Cotton—Seed sent by the
Cotton Supply Association—Imported Labour required—
Increased Production—Inferior Cultivation—Soil adapted to most
Tropical Productions—Water communication—Minerals—Coal,
Antimony, and Gold—Indications of other Minerals—Former
Condition of the Country—Difficulties of Management—Forced
Trade—Comfortable Position of the Dayaks—Influence of New
System on the Malays—Distant Voyages—Remarkable Honesty
—Anecdote—System of Government—An Unteachable Chief—
Sons of Patinggi Ali—Their Good Conduct—Effect of Associating
the Natives in the Government—The System introduced into all
the Dependencies—Effect of Sir James Brooke’s Government—
Anecdote of an old Chief—Gradual Development—Necessity for
Support—The Chinese an Industrious and Saving Nation—
Soundness in the System of Government—England with a
Chinese Colony—Future of Borneo—Chinese amalgamate with
Native Population—Female Emigration from China—
Administration of Justice—The Sarawak Courts—Character of the
Malays.
 T. Picken, lith.
Published by Smith, Elder & Day & Son, Lithrs to the Queen.
Co. 65, Cornhill, London.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE __ SARAWAK 1860.
Sarawak and its dependencies next claim my attention, and I will
give an account of my first visit to that place, as the notes I then
made are more likely to present a true picture than any written
subsequently. On August 31, 1848, we came in sight of Borneo; it
was a dull and misty day, and the shores were not clearly visible, but
the next morning it was bright and showed us in all its perfection the
lovely country that skirts the shore between Datu and Sipang points.
At first it appeared a confused mass of mountains, but the eye soon
began to distinguish its varied features. The massive and lofty range
of Poé bounded the scene to the westward, while the Matang
occupied the centre of the picture, and the peak of Santubong and
the Sipang hills completed it to the eastward. Between these are
many lower ranges, and beyond could be seen various ridges and
single mountains forming a background.
 Though these high lands first attract the eye, yet it rests with
greater pleasure on the beautiful valleys between, and none more
beautiful than that at the foot of the Poé mountains, which stretches
as far as the eye can reach, and imperceptibly mingles with the
neighbouring hills. Taken as a whole, it is a very beautiful bay, and
lovely are the isles scattered about it. Every traveller is enthusiastic
about the appearance of these little gems, which rise verdant from
the water’s edge to the very summit; or rendered more bright by a
narrow beach of shining yellow sand that skirts the shores.
The first two are called Talang Talang, and on these are collected
the turtles’ eggs. From the larger a broad sandy flat extends to the
southward, and on this, during the prevalence of the south-west
monsoon the turtles lay their eggs. There are men on the look-out
near, and as soon as the animals have dug holes, deposited the
eggs, and carefully covered them over, the watchers stick little flags
in the sand to mark the spots. In the morning they open them out
and procure immense supplies of these eggs, which are exported to
all the neighbouring countries. Though the turtles do occasionally
frequent the surrounding isles, it is only here that they are plentiful.
The Malays are eager in the search, yet fortunately very many
nests escape their rapacity. But the dangers to the turtle do not end
here: when the little things burst up from the sand, they find enemies
in every direction. The voracious kites soaring above pounce on their
defenceless prey, even the land crab seizes them and bears them
away, and when the remainder escape to the water, hundreds of
sharks and other voracious fish are there to devour them; it is
astonishing that so many elude their enemies. A turtle’s egg tastes to
me like a stale and fishy duck’s egg. The sandy beaches of these
isles are always to the southward, as they are not exposed to the
fierce blasts of the north-east monsoon. The next islets near the
Santubong entrance of the Sarawak river, are Sampadien and the
two Satangs. On all are at present extensive groves of cocoa-nut
trees, which form a marked contrast to the neighbouring jungle.
It is very curious that the fish should frequent this bay so very
irregularly. Some years the supplies are ample, at other seasons it
scarcely pays to search for them. The dugong, called by the Malays
duyong, is occasionally secured off the small islands in this bay;
there is a famous fisherman in Sarawak, named Pa Sipi, who is
expert in all accomplishments appertaining to his craft, and I have
heard the natives say that when a duyong is seen, he used
cautiously to approach it, and being always the foremost man, he
hurled his fishing spear at it, and very shortly after, if he were obliged
to let go his hold of the weapon, the animal would rise again to the
surface. The fishing spear is called a sarampang, and is usually
made with a treble-pronged iron point, fitted loosely into the end of
the spear, and secured by a stout lashing of rattans to the wood.
When the iron has entered into the animal, it comes loose from the
shaft of the spear, which is then only held to it by the rattan rope, and
it would be impossible for an animal thus encumbered to escape far.
Pa Sipi brought us once a very fine duyong, which measured nearly
eight feet in length, and its flesh tasted very much like coarse beef.
We moved along under easy sail, and anchored near the
Muaratabas entrance of the Sarawak river. The land here is very
bold, particularly Sipang and Po points.
We sent a boat up the Santubong as we passed the entrance, to
give notice at the town of our arrival, and in the evening we landed
for a walk in a deep nook to the westward of Point Po; here, just
above the sandy beach, were the graves of several Englishmen,
among others of Lieutenant Mathews, of H.M.S. Iris: a simple granite
stone marked the spot; the wild pigs, however, had desecrated the
graves and overturned the tablet; so the latter was subsequently
removed to the church-yard in Sarawak. We amused ourselves
about the edges of the forest in searching for a good watering-place.
To me this evening was inexpressibly delightful, as I wandered about
this quiet pretty spot, and thought how agreeable an introduction it
was to Bornean life. After dark we waded to our boats, and the crews
enlivened the evening by singing in chorus till we neared the ship.
Twenty deep voices sounded well over this still and starlit sea. For
the first time I saw some Lingga Dayaks to-day, and as they
happened to be dressed as Malays, my first impression was that it
would be difficult to distinguish between them.
 About ten o’clock the following morning native war-boats
commenced issuing from the Muaratabas, and sailing towards us.
They were the Sarawak people come to welcome back their English
rajah. There were twenty long light war prahus with tapering masts
and lateen sails, ornamented with flags and streamers, and all the
chiefs and crews were dressed in gala costume. The principal men
came on board, and it was interesting to observe the warmth they
showed to their adopted chief. Some of the Sarawak men were
striking-looking, but the nobles from the capital were the most
insignificant creatures I had ever seen; they were only remarkable
for the gold lace with which their jackets were profusely ornamented,
and that they were very gentlemanly, and more polished in manner
than their provincial neighbours.
About one o’clock Sir James Brooke left the Meander under a
salute, and the manning of the yards; the latter has always a very
pretty effect, and rather surprised our native visitors. When the firing
was over, the blue jackets gave three hearty cheers, and swarmed
down the rigging. Now was the turn of the war-boats, and they kept
up a desultory fire for an hour.
The Muaratabas entrance of the Sarawak river is a very fine one,
and has a depth of three fathoms and a half at the very lowest water
at spring tides; the contrast of the banks is striking: to the right a high
bold shore and pretty isolated hills; to the left a low flat plain with
mountains showing in the distance.
We pulled up with the flood tide, our way being enlivened by races
between the native prahus, but the frigate’s barge had no chance
against them; near the entrance is a rock that marks the watering-
place; it was here that Sir James made his first acquaintance with
the Dayak pirates, who attacked a Malay prahu under the very guns
of the Royalist.
With few exceptions the banks of the Sarawak river are
uninteresting; for many miles nothing but swampy ground and low
jungle of mangrove trees and nipa palms, with occasional glimpses
of distant mountains. Near the town, however, it improves, the land
becoming dry and bearing heavy jungle; between the mouth and the
town there were only a few fishing huts, and not a sign of cultivation.
Evening was closing in as we approached Kuching, the capital of
Sarawak, and the sun set brilliantly behind the Matang range, gilding
as it disappeared as wild and picturesque a scene as I had ever
witnessed. Our barge led the way up the broad reach, and was
followed by the twenty war prahus, and dozens of Dayak and other
boats that had joined the procession:—not a decorous Lord Mayor’s
pull on the river, but in the utmost confusion, amid gun-firing, gong-
beating, racing, wild and frantic yells of delight, shouts of laughter
and of anger, as one prahu ran into another in their eagerness to be
in the foremost rank. As we rounded the last point we were surprised
to find the whole town brilliantly illuminated, and as all the houses
are built on the water’s edge, which reflected back the lights above,
the effect was very fine. Crowds were assembled to witness our
arrival, and yell, and answering yell, increased the confusion. Having
described my first arrival at Sarawak, I will proceed to give a short
account of its present position.
Sarawak, including its dependencies, extends from Cape Datu to
Kidorong Point, a coast line of about three hundred miles, and
presents every variety of surface, from the low fertile soil skirting the
river’s banks to the lofty mountains which rise in every direction
throughout the various districts.
It is one of the best watered countries in the world, possessing
several rivers of the first class, as the Rejang, the Sarawak, and the
Batang Lupar; and many of the second, as the Samarahan, the
Sadong, the Seribas, the Kalaka, the Egan, a branch of the Rejang,
and the Bintulu; rivers of the third class are also numerous, as the
Lundu, the Mato, the Oya, and the Muka.
The last three, though small, are still very important, as they run
through the great sago-producing districts, possessing forests of that
palm, which are as yet perfectly unexplored, having only lately been
ceded to Sarawak.
The finest river, however, is the Rejang, which has a deep
entrance, not less than five fathoms at high water, and, when inside
the bar, never carries less, for above one hundred and thirty miles. A
geographical description of the country, however, is not necessary,
as I have in previous chapters given an account of the principal
districts, nearly all of which I visited in the course of my tours.
Sarawak possesses an immense extent of fertile soil, a very large
amount being composed of alluvial deposit stretching for miles on
either side of the banks of the Samarahan, the Sadong, the Batang
Lupar, and nearly all the rivers before named.
Much of the soil is especially adapted for sugar cultivation, being
of a similar quality to that on the banks of the Pontianak, which I
have been informed by Dutch officers and planters has been found
far superior for sugar cultivation to the best in Java. In fact, nothing
but the want of labour has prevented the extensive cultivation of the
cane in the Pontianak districts: Chinese could be introduced with
facility, but these people have already given the Dutch so much
trouble, as to render the Netherlands government very jealous of any
increase in their numbers.
But before entering on the subject of products, I must briefly
enumerate the various tribes speaking different languages who are
now subject to Sarawak.
The Malays are scattered along the banks of almost every river
and creek, but the largest number is assembled at the capital,
Kuching.
The Chinese, of whom I shall treat hereafter, are principally found
in Sarawak, though a few hundreds are now working gold on the
Batang Lupar, and traders abound at every place where profit can be
obtained.
The Indian races are represented by very few members.
The Land Dayaks occupy a portion of Lundu, with the entire
interior of Sarawak, Samarahan, and Sadong.
The Sea Dayaks include the Sibuyaus, who are scattered through
the various districts, and the inhabitants of the Batang Lupar, the
Seribas, Kalaka, and the branch streams on the left-hand bank of the
Rejang.