Experimental data, thermodynamic modeling and sensitivity analyses for the purification steps of ethyl biodiesel from fodder radish oil production

Abstract

The goals of this work were to present original liquid-liquid equilibrium data of the system containing glycerol + ethanol + ethyl biodiesel from fodder radish oil, including the individual distribution of each ethyl ester; to adjust binary parameters of the NRTL; to compare NRTL and UNIFAC-Dortmund in the LLE representation of the system containing glycerol; to simulate different mixer/settler flowsheets for biodiesel purification, evaluating the ratio water/biodiesel used. In thermodynamic modeling, the deviations between experimental data and calculated values were 0.97% and 3.6%, respectively, using NRTL and UNIFAC-Dortmund. After transesterification, with 3 moles of excess ethanol, removal of this component until a content equal to 0.08 before an ideal settling step allows a glycerol content lower than 0.02% in the ester-rich phase. Removal of ethanol, glycerol and water from biodiesel can be performed with countercurrent mixer/settler, using 0.27% of water in relation to the ester amount in the feed stream.