Читать книгу Liquid Biofuels - Группа авторов - Страница 42

Ritesh S. Malani1, Vijayanand S. Moholkar2, Nimir O. Elbashir3 and Hanif A. Choudhury3*

1Department of Petrochemical and Energy Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai – IndianOil Odisha Campus, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

2Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India

3Chemical Engineering Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Education City, Doha Qatar

Abstract

Renewable energy and fuels have gained significant attention over the last two decades, with a remarkable increase in their production. Among the renewable fuels, biodiesel has emerged as a promising alternative to mineral diesel due to its performance characteristics in the diesel engine. To meet future demands, the production of biodiesel must be efficient in terms of energy, cost, and processing time. As the process involves the two immiscible phases, adequate mixing is necessary to produce appropriate intermixing between the reactants. The application of the heterogeneous catalyst further augments the mass transfer barrier in the reaction system. The conventional methods are insufficient to increase biodiesel production at the demanded rate. The application of ultrasound for the transesterification process opens new opportunities for researchers and engineers to fulfil the future renewable energy demand. The cavitation process in the reaction mixture will help reduce the surface tension between the reactants, improves their intermixing to form a fine emulsion. The present book chapter will emphasize the fundamental aspects of the cavitation phenomenon and its role in process intensification. The advancement in designing and developing the cavitational process for large scale biodiesel production has been explored and analyzed in terms of fundamental concepts.

Keyword: Biodiesel, transesterification, ultrasound, hydrodynamic cavitation, reactor design, process scale-up