Biodiesel from microalgae oil production in two sequential esterification/transesterification reactors: Pinch analysis of heat integration Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • New sources of biomass for biofuels production had been studied in recent years. Microalgae as oil donors for biodiesel production are a very attractive alternative due to their several benefits but it still is a process that must overcome several technological barriers. Oil composition and the amount of free fatty acid (FFA) makes the microalgae oil a difficult yet promising alternative. In this paper, sequential stages of esterification and then transesterification were studied to convert the microalgae oil (MAO) in biodiesel, glycerol, and water mostly. A more realistic microalgae oil composition was simulated using 9 triglycerides (TG) and 9 FFA's in contrast with other studies were 1-5 components are used to represent the oil. A sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the temperature effect on the glycerol and water concentration. Finally, energy integration alternatives were analyzed to find a cost-effective way to produce biodiesel from MAO. 2011 Elsevier B.V.

published proceedings

  • CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL

author list (cited authors)

  • Sanchez, E., Ojeda, K., El-Halwagi, M., & Kafarov, V.

citation count

  • 39

complete list of authors

  • Sánchez, E||Ojeda, K||El-Halwagi, M||Kafarov, V

publication date

  • December 2011