BIODIESEL PRODUCTION BY REACTIVE DISTILLATION OF STAGES

• Grant number: 10/09115-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2010
• End date: January 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Maria Regina Wolf Maciel
• Grantee: Guilherme Lopes Martins
• 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 microbial oil (algae, yeast, bacteria and fungi). The raw materials are converted to biodiesel through a chemical reaction involving alcohol and catalyst. This reaction is called transesterification or ethanolisys. This work presents the biodiesel production using reactive distillation process. This system is the simultaneous implementation of reaction and separation within a single unit of column. The influence of the process variable on biodiesel production using reactive distillation columns will be investigated.