DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION PROCESS USING A REACTIVE DISTILLATION COLUMN

• Grant number: 11/22905-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Rubens Maciel Filho
• Grantee: Nivea de Lima da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oils, animal fats and oil from microbial sources (algae, fungi and bacteria). The raw materials are converted into biodiesel through a chemical reaction called transesterification, which consists of a mixture of alcohol, vegetable oil, in the presence of a catalyst. In this work, biodiesel will be produced using a reactive distillation system. First, the development and optimization of biodiesel production from soybean oil will be realized. Second, the optimization of biodiesel production from cottonseed oil will be investigated. Third, the optimization of biodiesel production from palm oil will be realized like the previous two raw materials. After that, the determination of the boiling point temperature of ethyl esters by simulated distillation (SimDis) will be realized. Finally, analysis of the economic viability of biodiesel production process using the reactive distillation system, connected with the glycerin purification system will be realized.