Influence of pH on enantioselective extraction of aromatic acid enantiomers in centrifugal contactor separators: Experiments and simulation

Optimization of operational and design parameters of a Simultaneous Mixer-Separator for enhanced continuous biodiesel production

Nowadays, biodiesel is promoted as an alternative and renewable fuel. The mass-transfer limited transesterification reaction is commonly used for biodiesel production, but it could benefit from process intensification technologies. The Simultaneous Mixer-Separator (SMS) is a novel process intensification reactor capable of integrating the mixing and separation of reactants within a single unit. The current study aims to determine the ideal parameters for continuous biodiesel production using an SMS setup that was exclusively designed and fabricated in-home for enhanced biodiesel production. The research statistically analyzed the effect of the space between the rotor and the bottom of reactor (h) (0.7, 1.0, 1.3 cm), the diameter ratio between the rotor and the stator (Dr/Ds) (0.5, 0.7, 0.9), and the frequency of the rotor’s rotary speed (R f ) (20, 40, 60 Hz) on biodiesel yield using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Optimal oil to fatty acid methyl ester(FAME) conversion of 93.2% and the optimal volumetric production rate of 1,980 (kg FAME/m3·h) were obtained by setting the SMS to a rotational frequency of 39 Hz, an h of 0.7 cm, and a D r /D s of 0.85.

Optimization of Biodiesel Production over Chicken Eggshell-Derived CaO Catalyst in a Continuous Centrifugal Contactor Separator

Solid calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst was prepared via the calcination of chicken eggshells as an environmentally friendly waste resource and incorporated in a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS) for intensified biodiesel synthesis. Biodiesel or fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were produced via the transesterification of sunflower oil (containing 5 wt % tetrahydrofuran as a cosolvent) with methanol under 60 °C and separated from the glycerol and catalyst phases continuously in the CCCS. The influence of reaction parameters on biodiesel production was well modeled by response surface methodology. At an oil flow rate of 9 mL/min, an alcohol to oil molar ratio of 11:1, and a weight hourly space time (defined as the catalyst weight over the oil mass flow rate) of 0.050 h, an optimized FAME yield of 83.2% with a productivity of 638 kg_FAME/(m³ _reactor·h) was achieved. CaO catalyst was reused without significant activity loss for at least four cycles.