PLANT DESIGN REPORT

TITLE OF PROJECT : SUPERCRITICAL-WASTE VEGETABLE OIL (SC-WVO)

COMPANY OF MASS PRODUCTION (C.O.M.P)
MANAGER : ENCIK OMAR SYAH JEHAN BIN ELHAM
LEADER: SAIFUDDIN BIN ZULKEFLEE (2014688548)
ASS. LEADER: MUHAMMAD UTHMAN BIN ARIFFIN (2014883446)
OPERATOR: MUHAMMAD SYAFIQ BIN MD AZMAN (2014623088)
ASS. OPERATOR: MUHAMMAD HAZIM BIN ABU BAKAR (2014423646)
MARKETING MANAGER: QURRATUAINI BINTI MD ALI (2014418146)
ASS. MARKETING MANAGER: NURUL ELIA AQILA BT ABU RAHIM (2013968705)

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LIST OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................................... 3
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ 4
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 6
PROBLEM STATEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 7
OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................... 7
BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM....................................................................................................................... 8
PRODUCTION OF SC-WVO ................................................................................................................... 9
PROCESS SELECTION .......................................................................................................................... 11
PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM................................................................................................................. 16
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 17
REFERENCE ........................................................................................................................................ 18
APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................... 19

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Assalamualaikum wbt.
First of all we would like to express our deepest appreciation to all those who provided us the
possibility to complete this report. A special gratitude we give to our awesome lecturer who is
Encik Omar Syah Jehan bin Elham for the continuous support of our report, for his patience,
motivation and immense knowledge. His guidance helped us in all the time of this report
writing. We could not have imagined having a better lecturer and mentor for our studies .
Apart from that, we also gain many knowledge because he likes to story about industry to us
so that we can be more prepared for our future.
We extend our gratitude to our helpful teammates that always support each other to finished
this project especially to our leader and his assistance, Saifuddin and Muhammad Uthman that
gave thier highly responsible to give the best for our projrct.
We are alsoineffably indebted to our family, our parents and siblings that helped us for mental
and physical.
Thank you.

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ABSTRACT

Some continuous biodiesel processes with production capacity of 40000 tonne/yr

including methanol process using waste vegetable oil as the raw material, were stimulated in
HYSYS. In order to improve the simulation accuracy, the properties of triolein, a model
compound of vegetable oil, were re-evaluated. The alkali-catalyzed process using fresh
vegetable oil had the lowest total capital investment, but the supercritical process was the
most economically feasible overall, providing a lower manufacturing cost and higher net
present value and discounted cash flow rate of return. However, it is well known that the
conventional base catalytic processes are inefficient when using low-cost feedstock such as
vegetable oil due to the presence of large amount of free fatty acid (FFAs) and water. These
impurities are known to consume the alkali catalyst via saponification reaction, thereby
decreasing biodiesel yields. Moreover, the mixture of soap, biodiesel and un-reacted
compounds using emulsification during a washing process makes it difficult to obtain
biodiesel of high quality. So, supercritical methanol tranesterification is one of the ways to
utilize those feedstocks. Almost complete conversion was achieve using supercritical
methanol and vegetable oil containing FFAs up to 30%wt. In addition, the yield of methyl
esters from the supercritical reaction was not affected by up to 30%vol water content in the
feedstock. In comparison with the supercritical method, vegetable oil with 20%wt FFAs
resulted in only 35% conversion in the alkali-catalyzed method. The cost involved in the
producing 8000 tonne/yr of biodiesel from waste cooking oil for 4 process include
supercritical process, a homogenous alkali-catalyzed process, a homogeneous alkali-catalyzed
process, a homogeneous acid catalyzed process and a heterogenous acid catalyzed process.

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Study found that the total manufacturing cost for the supercritical process was lower than the
alkali-catalyzed process due to the absence of catalyst and higher by-product (glycerol) credit.
Despite of the higher total capital cost of the supercritical process, its lower manufacturing
cost resulted in shorter payout time than the alkali-catalyzed process, even without using
waste vegetable oil feedstocks, indicates the advantage of a supercritical process.

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INTRODUCTION
The design of complex plants is a complex team effort involving different disciplines of
engineering which are process, mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation, controls,
materials and project. It is also requires considerable and skills.
Petroleum-based fuels growing environmental concerns are boosting public attention to more
alternative fuels. Biodiesel has drawn attention as an alternative fuels especially as a subtitute
to petroleum-derived diesel. Biodiesel is defined as a mixture of fatty acid alkyl esters which
are commonly produced from triglycerides and alcohol through transesterification reaction in
the presence of alkali-catalyst. The feedstock used for biodesel production are mainly
foodgrade vegetable oils. However, recent research has moved toward alternative feedstock
such as waste vegetable oil (WVOs) because the use of foodgrades oils is becoming less
economically as a results of the increasing price of crops. The process involve are
supercritical methanol transferification that almost complete conversion was achieved from
this method.
West. Et al. (2008) evaluated the costs involved in producing 8000 tonne/yr of biodiesel from
waste cooking oil for four process: a homogeneous alkali-catalyzed process; a homogeneous
acid catalyzed process; a heterogeneous acid catalyzed process and supercritical process. Due
to the research by considering some factors, the results show that the supercritical process was
the second most profitable process next to the heterogeneous catalyzed process.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT
Some issues has been boosting to public attention when the low-cost feedstock such as
waste vegetable oil has been used for conventional base catalytic processes where the product
was inefficients. This is because the presence of large amount of fatty acids (FFAs) and water.
These impurities will decreasing biodiesel yields.

OBJECTIVES
The aim for this report study are to determined which process are most suitable for the
production of biodiesel using waste vegetable oil by studying the effect of the critical heat
condition of methanol to the reaction of biodiesel and does the presence of supercritical
methanol will reduce the cost of the production of biodiesel. Apart from that, students get
knows the rate of production is able or not to be increase although it is not a catalytic process,
investigate the capital cost of SC-WVOs process equipment and the equipment used in this
process. Besides that, students get to determine the parameters that need to consider to ensure
the effiency of SC-WVO process.

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BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM

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PRODUCTION OF SC-WVO
basically consisted of 4 steps:1. heating and pressurizing of raw materials,
2. transesterification and esterification reactions,
3. methanol recovery and
4. biodiesel purification.
Firststep:Heating and pressurizing of raw materials
Both of the raw materials methanol and WVO were pressurized to the reaction pressure by
Pump and then each of the pressurized steam flow through the Heat Exchanger at its specific
temperature. The raw mix together in the mixer and brought to the desired temperature
Secondstep:Biodiesel production in a plug flow reactor
A Plug Flow Diagram (PFR) was selected for continuous biodiesel production to carry out
transesterification and esterification reactions. The reaction was carried out in a continuous
method in its specific conditions like its length and thickness. About 96% of the conversion of
triolein was obtained in the PFR at 350 C and 19 MPa with 800 s of reaction time.

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Thirdstep:Methanol recovery
By adjusting the pressure or temperature, the significant portion of methanol in the reactor can
be separated out as a vapour in a flash evaporator. To remain most of methanol and the other
component in the liquid phase, the Valve is used to depressurize stream high pressure to low
pressure. For the further separate of methanolin the distillation column was used and the
unreacted

methanol

then

recycled

and

mixed

with

the

fresh

methanol

feed

Glycerol separation
After recover the methanol in the flash drum and the distillation column, the bottom stream
was cooled down to 25 C and fed to a decanter. A glycerol-rich phase and A methyl oleaterich phase was the two phases that formed from the reaction. The denser phase of the glycerol
was drained out through the steam.
Forthstep:Biodiesel purification
Further purification of stream that consist about 96.2% methyl oleate and the balance mostly
triolein, a distillation column was necessary to satisfy the requirement of the maximum
triglyceride content in biodiesel. The pressure inside the distillation was set low, since the
methyl oleate have a high boiling point in order to avoid thermal decomposition of methyl
esters. The number of heoretical stages used was 7.

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PROCESS SELECTION

Raw material and cost

As we know biodiesel is a mixture of fatty acid methyl ester that produced by reaction

between triglycerides and alcohol through transesterification reaction in presence of alkali

catalyst. Feedstock for biodiesel is mainly food grade vegetable oil were the price are
expensive. After the recent research, they found the other way to replace the food grade
vegetable oil with waste vegetable oils(WVOs) and non-edible vegetable oils because the use
of food-grade oils is becoming less economically viable as a result of the increasing prices of
crops. Supercritical methanol transesterification is one of the ways to utilize waste vegetable
oils.

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There are three ways to produce biodiesel, the first is Alkali-FVO, was an alkali-catalyzed
process using fresh canola oil as the feedstock. The second process, named Alkali-WVO, was an
alkali-catalyzed process with an acid-catalyzed pre-treatment step of waste canola oil. The last one is
process, named SC-WVO, was a supercritical process using waste canola oil. process. They found
that the total manufacturing cost of the supercritical process was lower than the alkali-catalyzed
process due to the absence of catalyst and higher by-product (glycerol). Each of the process have
different total capital costs.
The supercritical process had the highest costs of the reactor, pumps and heat exchangers due
to the high operating pressure and temperature. The total direct costs of Alkali-FVO, Alkali-WVO,
and SC-WVO processes were estimated as $3.594, $5.336, and $5.425 million, respectively. The total
production cost for Alkali-FVO was calculated to be $50.9 million, the highest among the processes.
The lowest total production cost was $25.9 million of SC-WVO process.

The proportions of subitems in the total manufacturing cost of biodiesel of the three processes.

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Based on table above the subtotal of direct manufacturing cost of SC-WVO process is the
lowest compare to the other two process which are included feed stocks, catalyst, electricity, operating
labour and maintenance. Once again the total production cost and total manufacturing cost of SCWVO is the lowest one.

Selectivity

Selectivity means the moles of desired product formed per the moles of undesired product
formed. The selectivity of super critical waste vegetable oil is 96%. The other methods
which are alkali- FVO and alkali WVO are 95%. In table 1, we can prove that the SC-WVO
can produce more product than the other two methods.

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Reactions

Alkali-FVO

Alkali-WVO

SC-WVO

Transesterification

Esterification/

Simultaneous

tranesterification

and esterification

Catalyst

NaOH

H2SO4

Temperature

60

70/60

350

Pressure

400

400/400

19000

Reaction time

60

60/60

13:3

6:1/6:1

24:1

Methanol oil 6:1

transesterification

(molar)
Conversion

95

100/95

96

Reactor type

CSTR

CSTR/PFR

PFR

Table 1

Safety Issues

Methanol
The largest safety hazards in biodiesel plants are methanol and catalyst, which contains 75
to 80 percent methanol. Methanol is highly flammable and vapors are explosive over a wide
range of concentrations, and since they are heavier than air, vapors accumulate in low areas of
the plant. Indoor production units should be well ventilated according to the NFPA code.
Many insurance companies and local fire departments require sprinklers in these areas
because the hazard is so great.
The hazard classification should adhere to the National Electric Code so no sparkgenerating electrical components are allowed in the area. The equipment selection and
installation should assure that components have the highest reliability to reduce mechanical
failure. Frequent causes of methanol escaping into the operating area are pump seal failures,
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hose failures, instrumentation connection failures and similar incidents. Personnel should be
trained to be observant for any mechanical abnormalities so remedial action can be taken
immediately.
Another potential problem is spill containment, which should not only comply with storm
water legislation but also control hazardous collections of flammable materials in unprotected
areas. Many plants follow the guidelines for most areas but fail for hose connections that can
create methanol spills.
Equipment selection and design
Once a plant is operating each piece of equipment should be evaluated, and all safety
precautions reviewed, to minimize chance for leaks, failure and design conditions.
Temperature and pressure should be well within operational limits.
The design for equipment installation and relevant support systems must also be
thoroughly reviewed. Pressure relief instrumentation should be selected based on upset
conditions versus normal plant operations alone. Relief should be provided for overheating,
over pressure, over temperature, and even upset conditions such as fire.
If fire occurs, precautionary measures should be prepared for the tank, heat exchanger,
pump and other affected areas. Control instrumentation is typically designed for operating
within normal limits and appropriate actions should be taken when limits are exceeded. These
systems should include action and/or operations notification for processes going outside
normal limits, whether it is a slow or rapid upset. Each piece of equipment and area should be
reviewed to assure correct electrical classification is met, including proper grounding. Access
for maintenance is also critical for safety.

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PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

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CONCLUSION
For the conclusion, the Super Critical-Waste Vegetable Oil (SV-WVO) is the best
process method because the transesterification of triolein with methanol was carried out at
350 400 C, 19000 atm, methanol-to-triolein molar ratio of nine, and residence time of 0.5
10 min. At such a lower methanol to triolein molar ratio (9:1), the reactions occur in a
homogeneous liquid phase. The kinetics of the transesterification was studied, since there has
been no published works on biodiesel kinetics study under similar reaction conditions which
are high temperature and low molar ratio. A totally reversible three-step kinetic model was
revised to a partially reversible model where the first step reaction is assumed to be
irreversible. A consecutive second order reaction mechanism was employed. The
corresponding constants in the kinetic model at temperature of 385 C were evaluated. The
evolution of concentration of each component in the homogenous reaction system in this
experiment can be well predicted by the kinetic model derived from the proposed consecutive
reaction mechanism.

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REFERENCE
1. http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html
2. http://goldenfuelsystems.com/
3. http://city.brockville.on.ca/UploadedFiles/finalconceptdesignreport.pdf
4. http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2623&context=etd
5. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1002007108003791
6. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2013/789594/
7. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-66322014000200001
8. http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2212/supercritical-methanol-for-biodieselproduction
9. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF8#q=transesterification%20of%20triglycerides
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel_production

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APPENDICES

2000
1500
PALM

1000

SOYBEAN
COCONUT

500

CANOLA

2010 Jan

PALM
Dec

Nov

2009 Oct

2008/09

2007/08

2006/07

2005/06

2004/05

CANOLA
2003/04

2002/03

2001/02

2000/01

Fig 1: the prices of vegetable oils from October 2000 to Jan 2010
Sources: USDA, 2010a.

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SUNSEED