Title :
Biodiesel production from algal oil — A simulation study
Author :
Jabbar, Nabil Abdel ; Aidan, Ahmad ; Razouk, Heba ; Chihadih, Nasser ; Faraghat, Shabnam ; El-Tal, Youssef
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Chem. Eng., American Univ. of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Abstract :
Process simulation using ASPEN Plus is carried out to model a two-stage alkali catalyzed transesterification reaction for converting micro algal oil to biodiesel. A 6:1 methanol to algal oil feed ratio is assumed using NaOH as a catalyst at 60 °C reaction temperature, which results in almost 99 % biodiesel yield for the trans-esterification reaction. Product quality is assessed and compared with market bio-diesel and petro-diesel. It is shown that this project is technically feasible, which makes algal oil a much more competitive substitute to food-based plant oils.
Keywords :
bioenergy conversion; biofuel; catalysts; oxygen compounds; sodium compounds; vegetable oils; ASPEN Plus; NaOH; catalyst; food-based plant oils; market biodiesel; methanol to algal oil feed ratio; micro algal oil; petrodiesel; process simulation; product quality; temperature 60 C; two-stage alkali catalyzed transesterification reaction; Biofuels; Biological system modeling; Conductivity; Feeds; Heating; Inductors; Methanol; Aspen Plus; Transesteriflcation; biofuel; biomass;
Conference_Titel :
Renewable Energy Congress (IREC), 2014 5th International
Conference_Location :
Hammamet
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-2196-6
DOI :
10.1109/IREC.2014.6827022
