Exergy-efficient sustainable production of diesel additive in infrared energized continuous flow rotating real reactor: Optimization, heterogeneous kinetics, and life cycle analyses

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An exploratory expedited synthesis of a diesel additive viz., glycerol monooleate (GMO) was investigated for the first time in a novel energy-efficient infrared-energized continuous flow rotating catalytic fixed bed real reactor (IR-RFBR). Under statistically derived optimum condition maximum 98 ± 0.5 % per pass GMO selectivity was obtained. Using kinetic data from a rotating batch reactor under equivalent conditions, an inclusive non-catalytic and heterogeneous-catalytic kinetic model (R2=0.99) was developed. The IR-RFBR’s performance was evaluated using the derived kinetic model and accounting for axial dispersion (Pećlet Number: 70.15).Comparative exergy and exergo-economic analyses were performed on rotating and non-rotating IR-fixed bed reactors. In terms of lower product exergy cost (4.69 $/kJ), the IR-RFBR outperformed its non-rotating counterpart (11.85$/kJ) due to a 22 % higher GMO yield at reduced residence time (3.2 min). Furthermore, IR-RFBR manifested greater exergoeconomic efficiency (91 %) than conventionally heated RFBR (CRFBR, 69 %, 7.67 $/kJ). Life cycle analyses for IR-RFBR confirmed significant reductions in environmental impact categories such as global warming, fossil depletion, and human toxicity potentials by ∼ 88 %, ∼84.3 %, and ∼ 83 %, respectively, when compared to IR-non-rotating and CRFBR. Thus, the developed process for glycerol based diesel additive synthesis ensures more glycerol utilization in a sustainable and economic pathway.