SELECTION OF PROCESS ROUTES

1. Chemical reaction involves:

For our process, we use cotton seed oil (CSO) as our vegetable oil to
produce biodiesel oil. We use Transesterification method, the seed cotton oil
is subjected to a chemical reaction and reacted in the presence of base
catalyst (sodium hydroxide, NaOH) with methanol (alcohol) to produce
methyl ester (alkyl esters/biodiesel).

2. Stochiometric equation:
Triglyceride + 3CH3OH C3H8O3 + Biodiesel
Stochiometry reaction between 1 mol of Triglyceride with 3 mol of methanol
to produce 1 mol of glycerol/glycerine and 1 mol of methyl ester (biodiesel)

3. Catalyst:
Catalyst used is the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) which is a base catalyst.
Although different kinds of base and acid catalysts are available for
transesterification processes, virtually almost all commercial biodiesel
producers use base catalysts. The most common alkali catalysts are:
1. Sodium hydroxide

(NaOH)

2. Potassium hydroxide

(KOH)

3. Sodium methoxide

(NaOCH3)

4. Potassium methoxide

(KOCH3)

In a comparative study of different alkaline catalysts used in

transesterification of vegetable oil with methanol (65 C, 6:1 molar ratio of
methanol to oil, and 1% wt catalyst). When changes in Biodiesel
concentrations in a biodiesel layer with reaction time are compared, the
results show that when sodium and potassium hydroxide were used to
catalyze the transesterification reaction, yields reached almost 100% in 5
minutes, while reactions catalyzed by sodium and potassium methoxide
(methylate) reached the equivalent concentration in 60 and 240 minutes,
respectively. Longer reaction time requires longer residence time or larger
reactor volume, which might not be possible for large biodiesel production
capacity. For this process simulation, NaOH catalyst at the optimal
concentration of 1.0 wt % is used.

Methanol is the most common alcohol used for making biodiesel. It is

sometimes called methyl alcohol or wood alcohol. It is very toxic, and
swallowing as little as a spoonful can cause blindness or even death.
Dangerous exposure can also occur from breathing methanol vapors or
absorbing methanol through skin contact. In the United States, ethanol is
usually more expensive than methanol, so it is used less frequently to make
biodiesel. It is the alcohol that is found in alcoholic drinks, so it is not toxic in
small amounts.
The chemical reaction used to make biodiesel requires a catalyst. A catalyst
is usually a chemical added to the reaction mixture to speed up the reaction.
Since the catalyst is not consumed in the reaction, it will be left over at the
end in some form. In biodiesel production, the actual compound that
catalyzes the reaction is called methoxide. One common way to make

methoxide is to dissolve sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide in

methanol.

4. Chemical Properties:
Chemical properties of Cottonseed oil:
Characteristic
Boiling point
Density
Moisture content
Refractive index
pH
Specific gravity

Value
232 C
0.917 g/mL to 0.933
g/mL
7.21 %
1.464
4.82
0.92

Chemical properties of Methanol:

Characteristic
Boiling point
Density
viscosity
Molecular weight

Value
64.7C
0.791 g/mL
0.544
32.04

Chemical properties of Biodiesel

Characteristic
viscosity
Density
Kinematic viscosity
Flash point
Molecular weight

Value
2.85.1 mm2/s
0.885 g/mL
4.8 at 40C
142
292.2

5. Kinetic controlled
Transesterification reaction kinetic enables prediction of the
extent of the chemical reaction (or the conversion) at any time under
particular conditions. It is also essential in the optimization of operating
conditions in industrial applications and in the design of reactors for
biodiesel production. In this study, transesterification of cottonseed oil
with methanol was carried out in a well-mixed reactor at temperatures
(35-65 oC) using sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. The methanol to oil
molar ratio of 6:1 was used and catalyst loading was 0.5% weight of
oil. Mass transfer controlled state was assumed to be minimal using
the above agitation speeds. A second order kinetic model was used to
determine the reaction rate constants. The goodness of fit predicting
the moles of methyl ester in the reaction products was determined by
correlation coefficient (R2) and least square curve fit. The forward
reactions were the most important as revealed by the rate constants.

6. Special condition for the reaction :

The special condition for this reaction is at Temperature of 60C because
the boiling point for methanol is 65C and the Pressure at 1atm

7. Single pass Conversion (reactor):

Inlet reactor = stream 1C and stream 2B
Outlet reactor = 4A

Single pass conversion =

reactant feed
reactant consumed reaction
the ractor

42.1021.263
42.102

=0.97
=97%