ASPEN PLUS BIODIESEL MODEL. An Aspen Plus file (biodiesel.bkp) has been created with the set up of the components and properties required for the simulation. Build the simulation following the flowsheet and stream/equipments specifications shown below:
STREAMS MEOH: Temperature: 25 C Pressure: 1 bar Total Flow: 121 kg/hr Composition: 100% Methanol Note: This is the initial flow. The final flow will be calculated through a “Flowsheet design spec” NAOH: Temperature: 25 C Pressure: 1 bar Total Flow: 50 kg/hr Composition: 20% NAOH, 80% water
OIL: Temperature: 25 C Pressure: 1 bar Total Flow: 1050 kg/hr Composition: 100% OIL Water: Temperature: 25 C Pressure: 1.1 bar Total Flow: 50 kg/hr Composition: 100% Water H3PO4: Temperature: 20 C Pressure: 1.1 bar Total Flow: 50 kg/hr Composition: 80% water, 20% H3PO4 Note: This is the initial flow. The final flow will be calculated through a “Calculator” EQUIPMENTS Pump1: Discharge Pressure: 4 bar Pump2: Discharge Pressure: 4 bar Pump3: Discharge Pressure: 1.1 bar HX1: Pressure drop: 0 bar Outlet Temperature: 60 C HX2: Pressure drop: 0 bar Outlet Temperature: 60 C B3: Pressure drop: 0 bar Outlet Temperature: 25 C
Reactor: Equipment type: RSTOIC Pressure: 4 bar Temperature: 60 C Reaction: OIL +3METHANOL ---> 3 FAME + 3 GLYCEROL Fractional conversion: 0.95 of OIL NEUTR: Equipment type: RSTOIC Pressure: 1.1 bar Temperature: 50 C Reaction: 3 NAOH + H3PO4 --> NA3PO4 + 3 WATER Fractional conversion: 1 of NAOH MEOHCOL: Equipment type: RadFrac Number of stages: 7 Feed stage: 4 Condenser: Total Reboiler: Kettle Valid Phases: Vapor-liquid-liquid Distillate Rate: 100 kg/h Reflux Ratio: 2 Mass based Stage 1 Pressure: 0.2 bar 3-Phase: Starting stage:1, Ending stage:7 Key component to identify 2nd liquid phase: OIL Design spec: 94% of Mass Recovery of component Methanol in Distilate stream. Varying: Distillate rate, Limits: 80 – 200 Kg/h
Water washing tower: Equipment type: Extract Number of stages: 6 Thermal options: Adiabatic Key components: 1st liquid phase: Glycerol, 2nd liquid phase: FAME Feed streams: Water in stage 1 and EST3 in stage 6 Pressure: stage 1: 1 bar Temperature estimate: stage 1: 25 C ESTCOL: Equipment type: RadFrac Number of stages: 6 Feed stage: 4 Condenser: Partial-Vapor-Liquid Distillate vapor fraction: 0.00420965 mass based Reboiler: Kettle Valid Phases: Vapor-liquid Bottom Rate: 100 kg/h
Reflux Ratio: 1 Mass based Stage 1 Pressure: 0.1 bar Design spec: 99.7% of Mass Purity of component FAME in FAME stream. Varying: Bottom rate, Limits: 30 – 250 Kg/h FILTER: Equipment type: SEP Outlet stream: Solids NAOH split fraction:1 H3PO4 split fraction: 1 NA3PO4 split fraction:1 GLYCRCOL: Equipment type: RadFrac Number of stages: 6 Feed stage:3 Condenser: Total Reboiler: Kettle Valid Phases: Vapor-liquid Bottom Rate: 103 kg/h Reflux Ratio: 2 Mass based Stage 1 Pressure: 0.4 bar Design spec: 2% of Mass Purity of component Glycerol in WATMEOH stream. Varying: Bottom rate, Limits: 50 – 150 Kg/h Flowsheet options – Design spec: Define XMEOH as Mass fraction of Methanol in stream REACOUT Target to XMEOH = 0.092 Vary: MEOH mass flow Calculator: Define NAOHF as molar flow of NAOH in stream AQU1 Define ACIDM2 as H3PO4 mass flow Equations: ACID=NAOHF/3 ACIDM=ACID*97.99518 ACIDM2=1.0001*(ACIDM*5.0)