Process Intensification Technologies for Biodiesel Production

This book is one of the first to address novel process intensification technologies (integrated reactive separations) for biodiesel production. Biodiesel is a biodegradable and renewable fuel, emerging as a viable alternative to petroleum diesel. Conventional biodiesel processes still suffer from problems associated with the use of homogeneous catalysts (e.g. salt waste streams) and the limitations imposed by the chemical reaction equilibrium, thus leading to severe economical and environmental penalties.§This book provides a detailed overview illustrated with many industrially relevant examples of novel reactive separation processes used in the biodiesel production: reactive distillation / absorption / extraction and membrane reactors. The integration of reaction and separation into one operating unit, overcomes equilibrium limitations and provides key benefits such as low capital investment and operating costs. These processes can be further enhanced by heat-integration and powered by heterogeneous catalysts, to eliminate all conventional catalyst related operations, using efficiently the raw materials and the reaction volume, while offering higher conversion and selectivity and high energy savings compared to conventional biodiesel processes. Remarkable, in spite of the high degree of integration, these integrated reactive-separation processes are still well controllable as illustrated by the included examples.