Diseño de un sistema de producción de biodiesel a partir de aceite del higuerilla

Abstract

A production system was designed to obtain biodiesel from higuerilla oil, a vegetable oil that represents a viable alternative for the production of biodiesel, without competing with the food industry. We found influential variables in the production process, arriving at a matrix, where the variables that influence the production of biodiesel are the amount of catalyst, the methanol-oil ratio, and the temperature. By using Yates' method, the different individual and combined interactions between the variables are calculated, establishing that the maximum biodiesel yield in the transesterification reaction is obtained under the following conditions: temperature 40 °C, a methanol/oil molar ratio of 4:1 and a catalyst concentration of 1.2%, variables that determined the phases of the production process such as: reception of raw material, preparation of sodium methoxide, tranasesetrification reaction, separation of faces, washing, drying, storage and distribution. The sizing of the equipment was carried out by means of engineering calculations and process simulations with mathematical models, for a capacity of 50 L/day, working under a Batch Operation System. The biodiesel presented a light yellow color, odor of alcohol, the glycerin obtained as a by-product has a honey color, the characterization of the biodiesel indicates excellent properties, recommending that it can be used as biofuel and be mixed with conventional diesel.