Continuous Process of Reactive Distillation to Produce Bio-additive Triacetin From Glycerol

Abstract

Glycerol as byproduct of biodiesel production is a very promising low-cost feedstock for producing a wide variety of special and fine chemicals. This great amount of glycerol needs to be converted into higher valuable products. One of glycerol's derivatives potential is triacetin, a good bio-additive as anti-knocking agent. In previous work triacetin synthesis from glycerol and acetic acid using sulfuric acid catalyst has been conducted in batch and continuous process. In this work, triacetin was synthesized using reactive distillation. The continuous process has 98.50% of glycerol conversion with 8.98% of triacetin selectivity.

Acetylation of Glycerol over Highly Stable and Active Sulfated Alumina Catalyst: Reaction Mechanism, Kinetic Modeling and Estimation of Kinetic Parameters

“…Despite the significance of the reaction, minimal research attention has been devoted to the reaction kinetic study of glycerol acetylation reaction with acetic acid . Reaction kinetic modeling and estimation of kinetic parameters are essential toward robust catalyst design, scale‐up, and optimization of chemical process.…”

“…Reaction kinetic modeling and estimation of kinetic parameters are essential toward robust catalyst design, scale‐up, and optimization of chemical process. Previous studies reported acetylation of glycerol with acetic acid as a combination of series–parallel reaction pathways. Zhou et al studied the reaction kinetics of acetylation of glycerol with acetic acid by using Amberlyst‐15 as catalysts.…”

“…Patel and Singh reported that the esterification reaction followed first‐order kinetics, and the rates were not mass transfer limited in the presence of 1,2‐tungstophosphoric acid anchored to different supports. Most of the previous works reported the first‐order rate equation for acetylation of glycerol. Mufrodi et al suggested that, in the presence of sulfuric acid, triacetylglycerol synthesis was an exothermic reaction, and hence higher temperatures (>118°C) were not beneficial.…”

“…Most of the previous works reported the first‐order rate equation for acetylation of glycerol. Mufrodi et al suggested that, in the presence of sulfuric acid, triacetylglycerol synthesis was an exothermic reaction, and hence higher temperatures (>118°C) were not beneficial. In addition, they have also found that the selectivity to triacetin decreased at high temperature (>115°C) due to the evaporation of acetic acid.…”

Avaliação Do Comportamento Reológico E Propriedades De Escoamento a Frio Do Biodiesel De Sebo Bovino E Suas Misturas Com Diesel

“…A triacetina (triacetato de glicerol) é um importante derivado da glicerina, sendo um composto químico artificial que apresenta diversas aplicações industriais, possuindo maior valor agregado comparado a glicerina, podendo ser utilizado como aditivo antidetonante para combustíveis e para melhorar as propriedades de escoamento à frio do biodiesel em baixas temperaturas (Mufrodi et al, 2013). Saka et al (2009), estudaram o efeito da adição da triacetina sobre propriedades como número de cetano, massa específica, viscosidade cinemática e propriedades de escoamento a frio em biodiesel de canola produzido sob condições supercríticas.…”