Role of Mass-Transfer Interfacial Area in the Biodiesel Production Performance of Acid-Catalyzed Esterification

This work investigated the role of mass-transfer interfacial area in the biodiesel production using the acid-catalyzed esterification process. The interfacial area between alcohol and oil feedstock was determined by conducting acid-catalyzed esterification experiments using methanol and oleic acid (as free fatty acid) under ranges of five process parameters: reaction temperature (45–65°C), agitation speed (200–400 rpm), methanol-to-oil ratio (3:1–9:1 mol/mol), catalyst concentration (0.5–2.0%), and concentration of free fatty acid (5–30%). Effects of these parameters on the biodiesel conversion rate and the interfacial area were quantified. An empirical correlation for the interfacial area was developed as a function of process parameters. Results show that the enhancement of biodiesel production rate is attributed to reaction kinetics and/or interfacial area. The interfacial area is the sole contributor to the increase in biodiesel production rate due to the increase in methanol-to-oil ratio and agitation speed. Both kinetics and interfacial area contribute to the increase in biodiesel production rate due to the reaction temperature and catalyst concentration. The interfacial area plays negligible role in the change in biodiesel production rate due to the free fatty acid content

Screening and Evaluating Environmentally-Friendly Corrosion Inhibitors for Amine-Based CO2 Absorption Process

This chapter evaluated the performance of environmentally friendly organic corrosion inhibitors on carbon steel in the amine-based carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption process. The evaluation was experimentally conducted using electrochemical techniques in 5.0 kmol/m3 monoethanolamine (MEA) solutions in the absence and presence of process contaminants, namely formate and chloride, at 80°C and 0.55 mol/mol CO2 loading. The results show, in the absence of process contaminants, that 2-aminobenzene sulfonic acid, 3-aminobenzene sulfonic acid, 4-aminobenzene sulfonic acid, sulfapyridine, and sulfolane yielded 85–92% corrosion inhibition efficiencies, while sulfanilamide yielded the lowest efficiency of 20–42%. Sulfolane was the only tested inhibitor whose performance could be maintained in chloride- and formate-containing MEA solutions. On the contrary, the performance of 3-aminobenzene sulfonic acid and sulfapyridine was decreased by chloride. The performance of all the tested aminobenzene sulfonic acids was compromised by formate

CO2 Capture by Absorption with Potassium Carbonate

The objective of this work is to improve the process for CO{sub 2} capture by alkanolamine absorption/stripping by developing an alternative solvent, aqueous K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} promoted by piperazine. The final campaign of the pilot plant was completed in February 2006 with 5m K{sup +}/2.5m PZ and 6.4m K{sup +}/1.6m PZ using Flexipac AQ Style 20. The new cross-exchanger reduced the approach temperature to less than 9 C. Stripper modeling has demonstrated that a configuration with a ''Flashing Feed'' requires 6% less work that a simple stripper. The oxidative degradation of piperazine proceeds more slowly than that of monoethanolamine and produces ethylenediamine and other products. Uninhibited 5 m KHCO{sub 3}/2.5 m PZ corrodes 5 to 6 times faster that 30% MEA with 0.2 mol CO{sub 2}/mol MEA

Atmospheric Dispersion of Gaseous Amine Emitted from Absorption-Based Carbon Capture Plants in Saskatchewan, Canada

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key strategy to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial point sources. Gas absorption into aqueous amine solutions is an immediate technology for carbon capture that has been tested in many demonstration plants. One concern of using the amine-based carbon capture process is the environmental impacts and health risk caused by emissions of gaseous amines from the process to the atmosphere. This work applied the knowledge of air dispersion modelling to map out the atmospheric dispersion and resulting ground surface level concentration of gaseous amine, namely Monoethanolamine (MEA), from a coal-fired power plant (with a carbon capture unit) and in surrounding areas, in case of an accidental leaking of amine from the CCS system to the atmosphere. The chosen study area was centered on a coal-fired power plant in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Environmental Protection (EPA) approved air pollution model (CALPUFF), together with meteorological and geophysical data were used for gaseous amine dispersion simulation. The results were presented, and the ground amine concentrations were found to vary with wind patterns (wind direction and wind speed). The maximum ground surface amine concentrations standard is 15.2 µg/m3. However, the results showed that when using the water wash unit, the MEA concentrations were well below the standard level, compared to those without the water wash unit. It is essential for CO2 capture plants located in highly populated areas to be equipped with water wash units