Biodiesel is produced in multi-stage batch reactors in which mass transfer is a rate limiting step. Mass transfer rates may be accelerated with ultrasound (US). In this paper, the performance of continuous flow US reactors, a Rosett US cell reactor, and a batch US reactor are compared to a conventional mechanically stirred batch reactor. The Rosett cell reactor combines acoustic cavitation and turbulence and achieved biodiesel yields greater than 90% in 5 min, whereas the same level of performance in the conventional reactor took more than 90 min. The most significant result of this work lies in achieving biodiesel yields greater than 90% after a single passage of the reagents in a continuous flow reactor in the presence of pulsed ultrasound. This corresponds to a reaction time of 18 s and a rate 300 times faster than the conventional process.
Ultrafast Biodiesel Production Using Ultrasound in Batch and Continuous Reactors / D.C. Boffito, S. Mansi, J.-M. Leveque, C. Pirola, C.L. Bianchi, G.S. Patience. - In: ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING. - ISSN 2168-0485. - 1:11(2013), pp. 1432-1439.
Ultrafast Biodiesel Production Using Ultrasound in Batch and Continuous Reactors
D.C. BoffitoPrimo
;C. Pirola;C.L. BianchiPenultimo
;
2013
Abstract
Biodiesel is produced in multi-stage batch reactors in which mass transfer is a rate limiting step. Mass transfer rates may be accelerated with ultrasound (US). In this paper, the performance of continuous flow US reactors, a Rosett US cell reactor, and a batch US reactor are compared to a conventional mechanically stirred batch reactor. The Rosett cell reactor combines acoustic cavitation and turbulence and achieved biodiesel yields greater than 90% in 5 min, whereas the same level of performance in the conventional reactor took more than 90 min. The most significant result of this work lies in achieving biodiesel yields greater than 90% after a single passage of the reagents in a continuous flow reactor in the presence of pulsed ultrasound. This corresponds to a reaction time of 18 s and a rate 300 times faster than the conventional process.Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.