Abstract
Energy and exergy analysis was conducted for a vegetable oil refinery in the Southwest of Nigeria. The plant, powered by two boilers and a 500 kVA generator, refines 100 tonnes of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) into edible vegetable oil per day. The production system consists of four main group operations: neutralizer, bleacher, filter, and deodourizer. The performance of the plant was evaluated by considering energy and exergy losses of each unit operation of the production process. The energy intensity for processing 100 tonnes of palm kennel oil into edible oil was estimated as 487.04 MJ/tonne with electrical energy accounting for 4.65%, thermal energy, 95.23% and manual energy, 0.12%. The most energy intensive group operation was the deodourizer accounting for 56.26% of the net energy input. The calculated exergy efficiency of the plant is 38.6% with a total exergy loss of 29919 MJ. Consequently, the exergy analysis revealed that the deodourizer is the most inefficient group operation accounting for 52.41% of the losses in the production processes. Furthermore, a critical look at the different component of the plant revealed that the boilers are the most inefficient units accounting for 69.7% of the overall losses. Other critical points of exergy losses of the plant were also identified. The increase in the total capacity of the plant was suggested in order to reduce the heating load of the boilers. Furthermore, the implementation of appropriate process heat integration can also help to improve the energy efficiency of the system. The suggestion may help the company to reduce its high expenditure on energy and thus improve the profit margin.
Highlights
The production of edible oil has been in practice in Nigeria for centuries, and it remains an essential ingredient in much of the southwest of the country cuisine
The energy intensity for processing 100 tonnes of palm kennel oil into edible oil was estimated as 487.04 MJ/tonne with electrical energy accounting for 4.65%, thermal energy, 95.23% and manual energy, 0.12%
A total of 23 h was required to process a batch of 100 tonnes of palm kennel oil in edible vegetable oil
Summary
The production of edible oil has been in practice in Nigeria for centuries, and it remains an essential ingredient in much of the southwest of the country cuisine. It uses are found in animal feed, for medicinal purposes, and for certain technical applications. The vegetable oil industry has played a significant role in the national economy generating business worth more than 10 billion naira for transportation and allied sectors. It has provided over 25,000 direct employments and indirect employment for more than one million farming families. The Nigerian industries are seeking cost effective energy saving technology and practices that will minimize energy use while maintaining or increasing product quality and quantity
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