Abstract
Development of green, clean, and sustainable processes presents new challenges in today’s science. Production of fuel is no exception. Considering the utilisation of various renewable sources, the synthesis of biodiesel, characterised as more environmentally-friendly then fossil fuel, has drawn significant attention. Even though the process based on chemical transesterification in a batch reactor still presents the most used method for its production, enzyme catalysed synthesis of biodiesel in a microreactor could be a new approach for going green. In this research, edible sunflower oil and methanol were used as substrates and lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (Lipolase L100) was used as catalyst for biodiesel synthesis. Experiments were performed in a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microreactor with three inlets and in glass microreactors with two and three inlets. For a residence time of 32 min, the fatty acids methyl esters (FAME) yield was 30% higher than the yield obtained for the glass microreactor with three inlets. In comparison, when the reaction was performed in a batch reactor (V = 500 mL), the same FAME yield was achieved after 1.5 h. In order to enhance the productivity of the process, we used proposed reaction kinetics, estimated kinetic parameters, and a mathematical model we developed. After validation using independent experimental data, a proposed model was used for process optimization in order to obtain the highest FAME yield for the shortest residence time.
Highlights
Applications of some traditional methods like micro-emulsification, pyrolysis, blending, or mostly transesterification, and alkaline catalysis [1,2,3,4,5] for biodiesel production are well known and established
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Edible sunflower oil and methanol were used as substrates and lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (Lipolase L100) was used as a catalyst for biodiesel synthesis
Summary
Applications of some traditional methods like micro-emulsification, pyrolysis, blending, or mostly transesterification, and alkaline catalysis [1,2,3,4,5] for biodiesel production are well known and established. Some studies suggest that the use of enzymes ( lipases) for the transesterification process could be a good alternative [12] Using this approach, energy consumption would be reduced compared to alkaline catalysis, the purity of the produced biodiesel would be higher, no soap would be formed, mild reaction conditions would be ensured, and easy catalyst recovery, if an immobilized enzyme is used, would be ensured, etc. Perhaps a step in that direction would be the application of continuous reactors that allow the purification and separation on a single unit Microreactors are definitely such a new technology; reactors that enhance mass and heat transfer, increase reaction rates, reduce cost and energy consumption, generate lower waste streams, etc. Once the process is optimised on a single chip, all the process characteristics remain the same even after capacity enlargement/numbering-up
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