Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga, Mumbai 40019, India.
Ultrason Sonochem. 2013 Jan;20(1):322-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2012.07.009. Epub 2012 Jul 31.
The present work demonstrates the application of a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor for the synthesis of biodiesel with used frying oil as a feedstock. The synthesis involved the transesterification of used frying oil (UFO) with methanol in the presence of potassium hydroxide as a catalyst. The effect of geometry and upstream pressure of a cavitating orifice plate on the rate of transesterification reaction has been studied. It is observed that the micro level turbulence created by hydrodynamic cavitation somewhat overcomes the mass transfer limitations for triphasic transesterification reaction. The significant effects of upstream pressure on the rate of formation of methyl esters have been seen. It has been observed that flow geometry of orifice plate plays a crucial role in process intensification. With an optimized plate geometry of 2mm hole diameter and 25 holes, more than 95% of triglycerides have been converted to methyl esters in 10 min of reaction time with cavitational yield of 1.28 × 10(-3) (Grams of methyl esters produced per Joule of energy supplied). The potential of UFO to produce good quality methyl esters has been demonstrated.
本工作展示了一种空化水力学反应器在以废弃食用油（UFO）为原料合成生物柴油中的应用。该合成涉及在甲醇存在下，用过的煎炸油（UFO）与氢氧化钾作为催化剂进行酯交换反应。研究了空化射流孔板的几何形状和上游压力对酯交换反应速率的影响。观察到，空化水力学产生的微尺度湍流在一定程度上克服了三相酯交换反应的传质限制。上游压力对甲酯形成速率有显著影响。观察到，孔板的流动几何形状在强化过程中起着至关重要的作用。在优化的 2mm 孔径和 25 个孔的板几何形状下，在 10 分钟的反应时间内，超过 95%的三酸甘油酯转化为甲酯，空化产率为 1.28×10(-3)（每焦耳输入能量产生的甲酯克数）。证明了 UFO 具有生产高质量甲酯的潜力。
