Biodiesel Production by Reactive Flash: A Numerical Simulation

Abstract

Reactive flash (RF) in biodiesel production has been studied in order to investigate steady-state multiplicities, singularities, and effect of biodiesel quality when the RF system approaches to bubble point. The RF was modeled by an index-2 system of differential algebraic equations, the vapor split (ϕ) was computed by modified Rachford-Rice equation and modified Raoult’s law computed bubble point, and the continuation analysis was tracked on MATCONT. Results of this study show the existence of turning points, leading to a unique bubble point manifold,(xBiodiesel,T)=(0.46,478.41 K), which is a globally stable flashing operation. Also, the results of the simulation in MATLAB® of the dynamic behavior of the RF show that conversion of triglycerides reaches 97% for a residence time of 5.8 minutes and a methanol to triglyceride molar flow ratio of 5 : 1.

Transesterification Studies on Avocado Seed Oil Using Carbon Supported CuO Nano Catalyst: Rate Kinetics and Thermodynamic Aspects

“…However, the feedstock required for the production of biodiesel needs approximately 75% of the overall cost. The biodiesel feedstocks are selected based on some notable properties of the oil such as low price, good free fatty acid content and high content of oil, low cost for cultivation, controllable growth and effective harvesting, rate of maturity of the seeds, and comparable better market for byproducts [9,10].…”