Investigations into methanol recovery from biodiesel in a batch-type production facility

Abstract

The amount of unused methanol extracted, the volume of the reaction tank, and the power required to agitate the products of the transesterification reaction were extrapolated for 500ℓ/day (125ℓ/batch) and 1000ℓ/day (250ℓ/batch) biodiesel plants. Three dependent variables, namely the amount of methanol recovered, the time required, and the energy consumed, and one independent variable, the volume of biodiesel to be produced, were selected for the extrapolation. Graphs were plotted and an equation with the highest goodness of fit (R²) value was adopted. The predicted amounts of unused methanol to be recovered for 125ℓ and 250ℓ batch capacities of the batch-type biodiesel plant were found to be 10,684.19 g and 21,299.06 g, respectively. The time required and energy consumed during methanol recovery for the 125ℓ batch capacity was found to be 1,590.84 minutes and 36.02 kWh, respectively. In contrast, for the 250ℓ capacity, their values were found to be 3,251.22 minutes and 73.17 kWh, respectively. The volumes of the reaction chamber, having a cylindrical shape, for producing 125ℓ and 250ℓ of biodiesel per batch were calculated and found to be 0.29 m³ and 0.65 m³, respectively. The power required for agitating the mixture of end products of the transesterification reaction during the production of 125ℓ and 250ℓ of biodiesel per batch was found to be 1.94 kW and 6.18 kW, respectively.