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A theoretical model of the processing and economics of a biodiesel refinery / Frederik J. Betz.

by Betz, Frederik J.

Biodiesel fuels.

Biodiesel -- Refining.

Vegetable oils as fuel.

175 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

Thesis advisor(s): Michael Swedish.

Committee members: Dr. Charles Tritt, Dr. Subha Kumpaty.

Introduction -- Literature review -- Method -- Results -- Conclusions and recommendations -- Appendices A: Experiment 1-6 procedure - B: Experiment 7 procedure - C: Expanded transesterification equation - D: Engine performance data - E: Biox Patent #6,712,867 - F: Spreadsheet model - G: Associated costs for chemicals - H: MSDS report and cut sheets - I: Experiments 1-7 reports - J: Plant flow diagram - K: Biodiesel plant sample calculations - L: U.S. diesel fuel consumption and feedstock production.

This capstone project is intended to provide an economic model for the design of a biodiesel refining facility using the Biox Process developed by Dr. David Boocock of the University of Toronto. The capacity of the facility is designed for four million liters of biodiesel fuel annually; however, the process is scaleable, and a capacity of up to ten million liters annual production rate is reasonable. The plant design is not intended to be feedstock specific; however, feedstocks with free fatty acid (FFA) contents between 0-5% are recommended. A feedstock with greater than 5% FFA may require pretreatment.

Several aspects of the plant were analyzed including thermo-fluids, chemistry, equipment and economics. Thermo-fluid principles were utilized to develop a theoretical model of how a biodiesel plant of this size might operate. This entails equipment analysis and chemical, mass, and energy balances.

Several pieces of equipment were researched during the course of this project in order to optimize equipment to produce biodiesel as efficiently as possible. The equipment includes: lobe pumps, plug flow reactors, tanks, centrifuges, and flash chambers.

To determine if the design of the biodiesel plant was economically viable, a spreadsheet was developed. Using data from the utilities that serve the Milwaukee area, a biodiesel plant would achieve a net loss of $213.70 per hour at a diesel competitive price of $2.55 per gallon for biodiesel and an open market price for feedstock of $1.29 per gallon. However, a profit can be made if the feedstock is a negative cost or the price of petrol-diesel approaches $4.00 per gallon. Note: a negative cost for the feedstock implies that a restaurant or cafeteria would normally have to pay for the feedstock to be removed. Graphs have been included in the results section, which show a sensitivity analysis for the economic data. Furthermore, due to the nature of commodities, the economic analysis can vary based on chemical prices, utility rates, cost of labor and other factors. The calculations from the model should be used as a guide to determine if it is cost effective to build a biodiesel refinery, not as a final conclusion. Economic conditions can improve with respect to biodiesel production and technological advances may improve the economics as well.

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