Design and optimization of a biodiesel refinery in Thailand

Abstract

Crude oil prices have been increasing rapidly in recent years from the USD 17/bbl mark in 1995 to more than USD 100/bbl currently (based on Brent crude oil), and the detrimental environmental impact, such as global warming and air pollution caused by excessive COₓ and/or NOₓ emission have reached an alarming level. Biodiesel, which is a type of biomass derived from the triglycerides of vegetable oils and animal fats, presents a promising substitution for petroleum-based diesel fuels. At the present time, however, the commercialization of biodiesel is still very limited due to its high cost. Hence, in this project we would like to investigate and solve some of the challenges related to the production of bio-diesel from palm oil. In particular, the following two issues are investigated: the reduction of cost and the reduction of detrimental environmental impact. A specific biodiesel plant in Thailand was selected and experimentally re-designed and optimized on re-design and optimization by using PRO/II and ICAS software. The most energy consuming units in the process, i.e. two vacuum distillation columns, were identified. They consumed about 87% of the total energy supply for the plant. Simulation and optimization for these columns showed the 5% of total energy use, or 400,000 USD a year equivalent, could be reduced. As the result, environmental impact can be reduced and the total carbon offsetting is kept below 313 tons of CO₂ a day.