Prediction of normalized biodiesel properties by simulation of multiple feedstock blends.

A continuous process for biodiesel production has been simulated using Aspen HYSYS V7.0 software. As fresh feed, feedstocks with a mild acid content have been used. The process flowsheet follows a traditional alkaline transesterification scheme constituted by esterification, transesterification and purification stages. Kinetic models taking into account the concentration of the different species have been employed in order to simulate the behavior of the CSTR reactors and the product distribution within the process. The comparison between experimental data found in literature and the predicted normalized properties, has been discussed. Additionally, a comparison between different thermodynamic packages has been performed. NRTL activity model has been selected as the most reliable of them. The combination of these models allows the prediction of 13 out of 25 parameters included in standard EN-14214:2003, and confers simulators a great value as predictive as well as optimization tool.

[1]  M. P. Dorado,et al.  The Ideal Vegetable Oil-based Biodiesel Composition: A Review of Social, Economical and Technical Implications , 2009 .

[2]  Dora E. López,et al.  Synthesis of Biodiesel via Acid Catalysis , 2005 .

[3]  Samia Ashraf,et al.  Production of sunflower oil methyl esters by optimized alkali-catalyzed methanolysis. , 2008 .

[4]  J. V. Gerpen,et al.  BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM OILS AND FATS WITH HIGH FREE FATTY ACIDS , 2001 .

[5]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Relationships derived from physical properties of vegetable oil and biodiesel fuels , 2008 .

[6]  Bryan R. Moser,et al.  Influence of Blending Canola, Palm, Soybean, and Sunflower Oil Methyl Esters on Fuel Properties of Biodiesel , 2008 .

[7]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  Molecular structure based estimation of properties for process design , 1996 .

[8]  C. Nolasco-Hipólito,et al.  Biodiesel production from crude palm oil and evaluation of butanol extraction and fuel properties , 2001 .

[9]  K. Krisnangkura,et al.  An empirical approach in predicting biodiesel viscosity at various temperatures , 2006 .

[10]  Renzo Di Felice,et al.  Component Distribution between Light and Heavy Phases in Biodiesel Processes , 2008 .

[11]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Progress and recent trends in biodiesel fuels , 2009 .

[12]  D. Skala,et al.  The problems in design and detailed analyses of energy consumption for biodiesel synthesis at supercritical conditions , 2009 .

[13]  G Antolín,et al.  Optimisation of biodiesel production by sunflower oil transesterification. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[14]  Haiying Tang,et al.  Fuel properties and precipitate formation at low temperature in soy-, cottonseed-, and poultry fat-based biodiesel blends , 2008 .

[15]  H. Raheman,et al.  Biodiesel production from jatropha oil (Jatropha curcas) with high free fatty acids: An optimized process , 2007 .

[16]  M. Dubé,et al.  Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil: 1. Process design and technological assessment. , 2003, Bioresource technology.

[17]  George H. Thomson,et al.  A new correlation for saturated densities of liquids and their mixtures , 1979 .

[18]  Mustafa Canakci,et al.  Determination of the density and the viscosities of biodiesel–diesel fuel blends , 2008 .

[19]  Yongsheng Guo,et al.  Study on volatility and flash point of the pseudo-binary mixtures of sunflowerseed-based biodiesel+ethanol. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[20]  Esteban A. Brignole,et al.  Phase equilibria in ternary mixtures of methyl oleate, glycerol, and methanol , 2008 .

[21]  J. Agudelo,et al.  Basic properties of palm oil biodiesel–diesel blends , 2008 .

[22]  Li Yan,et al.  A Kinetic Study on the Transesterification of Glyceryl Monooleate and Soybean Used Frying Oil to Biodiesel , 2007 .

[23]  Naoko Ellis,et al.  Simulation, Case Studies and Optimization of a Biodiesel Process with a Solid Acid Catalyst , 2007 .

[24]  M. Berrios,et al.  A kinetic study of the esterification of free fatty acids (FFA) in sunflower oil , 2007 .

[25]  Mercedes Martínez,et al.  Optimisation of integrated biodiesel production. Part II: a study of the material balance. , 2007, Bioresource technology.

[26]  Shiro Saka,et al.  Thermodynamic study on cloud point of biodiesel with its fatty acid composition , 2006 .

[27]  Célio L. Cavalcante,et al.  Properties of biodiesel oils formulated using different biomass sources and their blends , 2009 .

[28]  Harold G. Rackett.  Equation of state for saturated liquids , 1970 .

[29]  Laurent Catoire,et al.  Estimation of Closed Cup Flash Points of Combustible Solvent Blends , 2006 .

[30]  M. Ramos,et al.  Influence of fatty acid composition of raw materials on biodiesel properties. , 2009, Bioresource technology.

[31]  Weiyang Zhou,et al.  Phase distributions of alcohol, glycerol, and catalyst in the transesterification of soybean oil , 2006 .

[32]  K. Watts,et al.  The viscosities of three biodiesel fuels at temperatures up to 300 °C , 2006 .

[33]  J. Encinar,et al.  Biodiesel from Used Frying Oil. Variables Affecting the Yields and Characteristics of the Biodiesel , 2005 .