GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGIES
Author Lech Hys, Krystian Klementowicz www.krystian.us
The whole process of production of fatty acid esters from rapeseed includes three separate technologies, i.e:
- Technology of extracting crude oil from rapeseed by extraction,
- Technology of preparing vegetable oil for esterification
- Technology of vegetable oil flow esterification
TECHNOLOGY OF EXTRACTING CRUDE OIL FROM RAPESEED BY EXTRACTION
List of techniques and technologies protected by copyright and patent right
- Method and device for the production of liquid fuels patent no. PL 196514 – beneficiary: Lublin University of Technology: J. Sawa, L. Hys.
- Design solutions for the flow extractor – copyrights reserved for the bidder
Technology characteristics
Basic operations within the technology are:
- Separation of rapeseed from impurities.
- Breaking up grains.
- Extraction of oil from grains with extraction gasoline.
- Miscella filtration.
- Separation of solvent from oil by distillation.
- Condensation of the solvent vapour and its return to the extraction process.
- Oil filtration and storage.
The oil-free meal is briquetted as a fuel used to produce heating steam and as a commercial product.
The technology allows for:
- Increase in oil yield – up to 98% compared to the extrusion method on worm presses – up to 92%.
- Reduction of the energy consumption of the process (press with a capacity of 1Mg/h – 120 kW installed power, extractor – up to 20 KW).
- Reduction of investment costs (press > PLN 750 000 (2002)) –
The method of extracting oil from crushed grains is used on an industrial scale in biodiesel technologies in India among others.
TECHNOLOGY OF PREPARING CRUDE OIL FOR ESTERIFICATION
List of techniques and technologies protected by copyright and patent right
- The method of purification of fatty acid esters and the agent for this purpose. – patent application no P 380090, (author: L. Hys) all copyrights reserved
- Process line for preparing vegetable oil for esterification and its use. – all copyrights reserved.
- Design solutions for the flow extractor – all copyrights reserved.
Technology Characteristics
The essence of the technology of preparing crude oil for esterification is to separate solids and water from it, its neutralization and loosening.
Compared to traditional refining of oil for food purposes, there are no deodorisation and bleaching operations. The process of preparing oil for transesterification used in the technology is based on the method of extraction of free fatty acids, water and phospholipids using a specially composed extraction solvent. The oil after leaving the process and being processed can only be used for industrial purposes. The crude oil preparation process consists of the following operations:
- Preparation of an appropriate composition of the extraction solvent.
- Oil heating up.
- Oil filtration.
- Extraction of free fatty acids and phospholipids in the liquid-liquid system using a flow extractor.
- Separation of the oil phase and exhausted extraction solvent by centrifugation using a disc separator.
After leaving the process, the oil is directed to a transesterification node.
The exhausted extraction solvent is directed to the storage tank. The extraction solvent may be regenerated in order to re-use it.
TECHNOLOGY OF VEGETABLE OIL FLOW ESTERIFICATION
List of techniques and technologies protected by copyright and patent right of the bidder
1. The method of continuous production of fatty acid esters especially as a driving or heating fuel or components for obtaining them – patent application no. P 379428, (authors: K. Klementowicz, L.Hys), all copyrights reserved.
2. The method of purification of fatty acid esters and the agent for this purpose. – patent application no P 380090, all copyrights reserved.
3. Process line for the production of fatty acid esters from the vegetable oil prepared for this purpose and its use. – all copyrights reserved.
4. Construction solutions of the reactor unit for transesterification – all copyrights reserved
TECHNOLOGY CHARACTERISTICS
The offered technology of continuous production of FAME from rapeseed oil prepared for this purpose consists of the following functional units:
1. A raw material preparation unit, where KOH is dissolved in methanol and the solution is stored while the oil is heated.
2. A transesterification unit in which the premixing in the flow of heated oil with the KOH methanol solution is carried out and then the mixture is introduced into the set of flow reactors in which the radicals of the methanolysis reaction are induced and transesterification takes place.
3. A phase separation unit where the ester and glycerine phases created by the reaction are separated from each other in flow conditions through a gravity separator. The ester phase is directed to the soap separation unit and the glycerine phase to the glycerine phase treatment unit.
4. A soap separation unit. The KOH formed during contact with free fatty acids and soap ester are separated from the ester phase by liquid-liquid extraction. To fully remove soaps from the system, a two-stage flow extraction is carried out after which the ester phase and the soap extractor are separated by centrifugation. In the first stage of extraction, a regenerated extraction solvent is used, while in the second stage – a fresh extraction solvent. The ester phase is directed to the methanol distillation unit, while the extractive phase is directed to the extraction solvent regeneration unit.
5. A unit of methanol separation from the ester phase in which the remaining methanol in the ester is distilled. The methanol condensate is returned to the beginning section of the process. The methanol-free ester is directed to the sorption unit.
6. An optional sorption unit, where the ester passes through a solid bed of sorbent, the task of which is to catch the remaining soap, water traces, triglycerides and methanol and other impurities in the ester. After leaving the sorption unit, the ester is stored. The exhausted sorbent is regenerated.
7. A glycerine phase treatment unit in which methanol is recovered by distillation and then, after acidification, it is separated into liquid oleic (FFA) and glycerine phases and a potassium salt phase.
8. An extraction solvent regeneration unit in which, after acidification, the FFA phase, the potassium salt phase and the regenerated extraction solvent are separated.
Material and energy consumption per 1 Mg of product.
The above values may change depending on the quality of the raw material used.
In addition to FAME, the following are produced:
– crude glycerine 85-88% in the amount of about 0.120 Mg/ 1 Mg of FAME,
– potassium phosphate precipitate containing several percent by weight of methyl esters and glycerine in an amount of approximately 0,021 Mg/ 1Mg of FAME; this precipitate, due to the easy biodegradability of the esters it contains, may be a component of fertilizers,
– olein (FFA) of approximately 0,014 Mg/1 Mg of FAME