Production of Biodiesel From Safflower Plant Cultivated Using Membrane Bioreactor (Mbr) Effluent Discharged From Wastewater Treatment Plant

BACKGROUND: Increased water demand caused by population growth has forced the reuse of wastewater after treatment. Safflower is a salt‐tolerant plant that can be irrigated with moderately saline water. Cultivation of safflower plant can be achieved by irrigation with membrane bioreactor (MBR)‐treated wastewater and further utilized in oil and then biodiesel production according to standard (TS EN 14214). Irrigation water quality can impact oil and biodiesel yield and content. RESULTS: In this study, safflower plants were cultivated using different irrigation strategies in a field next to a wastewater treatment plant in Menderes‐Izmir, Turkey. These strategies were: irrigation weekly with MBR‐treated wastewater or with tap water; with MBR‐treated wastewater just three times during phenological periods; and without irrigation. Oil yields for seeds of the plants irrigated by these strategies were 103.8, 98.7, 63.7 and 57.4 (kg oil daa⁻¹), respectively. Oil yield was found to be highest following weekly irrigation with MBR‐treated wastewater that has a high salinity of 4 mS cm⁻¹. Safflower oil methyl ester (SOME) contents of biodiesel were 94.6 and 94.5% (g SOME:g biodiesel), and ester yields of biodiesel were 71.3 and 81.4% (g biodiesel:g oil–¹) for safflower irrigated weekly with MBR‐treated wastewater and tap water, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that SOME yields and contents of safflowers irrigated with MBR‐treated wastewater and tap water weekly are so close. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry