Introduction
Biodiesel, or biological diesel, is a type of fuel produced from the processing and modification of vegetable oils. This fuel was first introduced in the 1970s as an alternative to petroleum diesel but did not receive much attention at that time. Today, due to the decline in oil resources and the increasing demand for various types of fuel, the use and production of biodiesel have gained significant importance.
The molecular sizes in biodiesel and petroleum diesel are similar; however, these two fuels differ in their chemical structures. Biodiesel molecules are primarily composed of methyl esters of fatty acids, which contain unsaturated aliphatic compounds. On the other hand, 95% of petroleum diesel (with low sulfur content) consists of saturated hydrocarbons, with the remaining 5% being aromatic compounds.
If ethanol is used instead of methanol in biodiesel production, the resulting molecules will be ethyl esters of fatty acids. The chemical differences between these two fuel types also lead to variations in physical properties, which will be addressed in terms of advantages and disadvantages later.
Biodiesel Production Process
Biodiesel can be produced from vegetable oils, yellow grease, cooking oils, or animal fats. This is accomplished through a process called transesterification, which produces biodiesel and glycerin as products. Approximately 100 weight parts of oil or fat react with 10 parts of a short-chain alcohol (usually methanol) in the presence of a catalyst (commonly sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) to ultimately yield 100 parts of biodiesel and 10 parts of glycerin.
Simulation of the Biodiesel Production Process
In this project, the simulation of the biodiesel production process has been carried out using Aspen HYSYS software.
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