Abstract
The conventional biodiesel process, although it reaches high conversion yields and productivity, faces problems related to the use of homogeneous catalysts. This work aims to study mixtures of calcium oxide (CaO) and niobium oxide (Nb2O5) as the heterogeneous catalyst. It was used a full 23 factorial design with four central points to analyze how the mass percentage of the oxides, the molar ratio of reactants, and the reaction temperature affect the conversion yield to methyl esters. The best conversion yield was found near to 89% using 1.8% of catalyst, a 1:36 oil to methanol ratio and at 77 oC as reaction temperature. Finally, it was performed a simplified simulation to compare the heterogeneous catalyst process with the conventional process, and an algorithm to compare the effects of the exit streams of each process would have on the environment. The simulations results display a better performance for the heterogeneous catalyst process studied.
Highlights
The production of biofuels such as biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and others, is a strategic aspect when looking for energy, environmental, social and agronomic autonomy among other aspects
Biodiesel is defined as a fuel consisting of a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters derived from vegetable oils or animal fats
The main goal of this study was to analyze the variables that affect the methyl esters production using a mixture of calcium oxide and niobium oxide as a heterogeneous catalyst
Summary
The production of biofuels such as biogas, bioethanol, biodiesel and others, is a strategic aspect when looking for energy, environmental, social and agronomic autonomy among other aspects. Biodiesel is defined as a fuel consisting of a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters derived from vegetable oils or animal fats. It is a complement or substitute to petroleum fuel, biodegradable, nontoxic, has a high oxygen content (10 to 11%), high heat value, has a favorable energy balance, and does not contain aromatic compounds and sulfurs.[1,2] Typically, methanol is used for the transesterification producing methyl esters and glycerin as a byproduct. Homogeneous chemical catalysts are used on a large scale industrially.[3] the traditional process presents high conversion yields and high productivity, it faces some problems, generating a demand for the study of alternatives, including new raw materials, the development of heterogeneous catalysts, the study of different mixing conditions
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