Abstract
Continuous production processes and an adequate supply of raw materials are necessary to satisfy the growing demand for biodiesel. The use of different feed oils could be necessary to ensure sufficient supply for biodiesel production in certain circumstances; however, changing feed oil during the operation of a continuous reactor causes process disturbances. The present study analyses the effect of feed oil changes on the continuous operation of a industrial continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) using a model which takes the dynamics of oil changes into account. The models previously reported only consider the operation of reactor with only one vegetable oil. The model in this work was developed by mass and energy balances. A methodology to model oil changes is presented. Glycerides and esters were characterized using adequate approaches. Moreover, accurate methods for predicting essential properties in the biodiesel manufacturing were used for the estimation of their thermo-physical properties. The kinetic parameters of the transesterifications were calculated from consistent studies selected from an exhaustive literature revision. The results show that temperature is practically not affected after oil changes; however, the ester concentration varies considerably. The ester mass fraction varying by up to 22.07% after an disturbance.
Highlights
Biofuels have become a recent focus for scientific research due to the fact that they are a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and that their combustion is of minor environment impact
Biodiesel, which is mainly obtained from vegetable oils via the transesterification process, is formed by a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)
The complete biodiesel production line in a plant equipped with technology of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering comprises the following: two pre-treatment sections processing the crude vegetable oil; a central section carrying out the transesterification process; and three post-treatment sections [2]
Summary
Biofuels have become a recent focus for scientific research due to the fact that they are a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and that their combustion is of minor environment impact. Biodiesel, which is mainly obtained from vegetable oils via the transesterification process, is formed by a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). It is produced in industrial plants comprising several sections that carry out the pre-treatment of raw materials, the transesterification reaction, and the post-treatment of the products. The complete biodiesel production line in a plant equipped with technology of the American Society of Agricultural Engineering comprises the following: two pre-treatment sections processing the crude vegetable oil (a degumming section and a refining section); a central section carrying out the transesterification process; and three post-treatment sections (an ester washing section, a glycerol separation section, and a methanol recovery section) [2]
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