Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Integration of Systems Engineering and Process Intensification in the Design of Processes for Utilizing Biobased Glycerol
EPA Grant Number: SU834699Title: Integration of Systems Engineering and Process Intensification in the Design of Processes for Utilizing Biobased Glycerol
Investigators: Seay, Jeffrey R. , Lu, Y. Charles , Thomas, Jacob , Rezek, Richard , Hayden, Ryan , Whipple, Wesley
Institution: University of Kentucky
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2010 through August 14, 2011
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2010) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Challenge Area - Chemical Safety , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
The principle objective of this student design project is to design a process to generate value added specialty chemical products from the waste crude glycerol generated from the production of biodiesel. The student group will apply the principles of statistical design of experiments with the tools of systems engineering and mechanical equipment design in achieving their project goal. Finally, the students will develop process and mechanical computer models of their process based on their designs. Design projects that are aligned with renewable motor fuels like biodiesel can provide benefits to people, prosperity and the planet since they are produced from sustainable feedstocks like vegetable oils or animal fats. Due to recent tax incentives, production of biodiesel in the United States and Europe has increased substantially. In fact, recently published estimates predict that the demand for biodiesel will grow from 6 to 9 million metric tons per year in the United States and from 5 to 14 million metric tons per year in the European Union in the next few years [1]. However, based on reaction stoichiometry, for every 9 kg of biodiesel produced, 1 kg of crude glycerol is produced as a byproduct. Developing economically viable processes for using this crude glycerol can potentially improve not only the economic performance of biodiesel production operations, but also increase the overall carbon utilization of the biodiesel process.
Numerous chemical products currently produced from crude oil derived propylene can also be produced from bio‐based glycerol. Products based on C3 chemistry such as acrylic acid, acrolein, 1,2‐propanediol, 1,3‐propanediol, propionaldehyde and hydroxyacetone can be manufactured from glycerol [2,3,4]. However, for small scale producers, building processes to convert glycerol into more profitable chemicals may not be practical. Therefore, the goal of this design project will be to design a pre‐engineered, self contained unit with a design capacity appropriate for a regional scale biodiesel producer. This research will be multidisciplinary in nature, integrating process systems engineering with process intensification and mechanical equipment design and configuration. Laboratory experimentation will be combined with process synthesis, equipment design and environmental impact assessment to develop an optimized conceptual process for a low‐cost, regional scale, pre‐engineered production unit to convert the waste crude glycerol from a biodiesel plant to economically viable specialty chemical products.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The P3 Design Team has completed a preliminary design of a multiproduct production facility to produce acrolein, acrylic acid, propylene glycol and 1,3‐ propanediol from the acid catalyzed dehydration of the glycerol generated as a side product of biodiesel manufacture. This project was a multidisciplinary effort among chemical and mechanical engineering students.
The team has investigated the use of a novel catalyst, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, for the production of acrolein. The use of this novel catalyst is significant because it is generated as a product of the crude glycerol purification process. Thus, the P3 Design Team has discovered that the original design project scope can be linked to the biodiesel product life cycle, thus determining an industrial use for the sodium‐phosphoric acid salt produced from the purification of crude glycerol. This discovery was facilitated by the innovative linking of process simulation and laboratory experimentation used in this design project.
The experimental work included with this project included determining the optimum operating parameters of the dehydration of glycerol to produce acrolein using the novel sodium dihydrogen phosphate catalyst. By utilizing statistical design of experiments techniques, the optimum feed temperature, feed composition and catalyst to feed ratio were discovered. This data was used as input data for the process simulation models. The process simulations were used to determine the total capital cost, return on investment and payback period for a facility to convert all the crude glycerol produced at a typical regional scale biodiesel facility.
Finally, the thermal and mechanical design of a novel fluidized bed reactor for the conduction of these reactions was also completed. The fluidized bed reactor design was selected to allow continuous operation, even though the life span of the catalyst used for glycerol dehydration is short. Research findings indicated that the catalyst life is on the order of 2 to 3 hours. This is too short for efficient industrial operation in a traditional packed bed reactor.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, through its investigations into glycerol dehydration chemistry, the P3 group has discovered a link that connects their process of interest even more closely to the biodiesel lifecycle. By utilizing a waste salt produced during the process of purifying crude glycerol, the team has shown a further improvement to the economic and environmental performance of the production of biodiesel from both oil seeds and waste cooking oil. Furthermore, by participating in an outreach project with a local high school, the project has had a positive impact on the public perception of biofuels and sustainable process design.
Supplemental Keywords:
Biofuel, Process integration, Process Design, SustainabilityThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.