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Recovery Act - Reactive Distillation Biodiesel Process
Title: Dr.
Phone: (303) 940-2341
Email: belliott@tda.com
Title: Mr.
Phone: (303) 940-2300
Email: jdwright@tda.com
The US Department of Energy is promoting the development of renewable transportation fuels to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The DOE also has an interest in promoting new technologies that take advantage of the excess reactive distillation capacity that has resulted from regulations on oxygenated fuel additives in the chemical industry. A new solid catalyzed reactive distillation process would address these interests while promoting the expansion of the domestic biodiesel industry by using waste oils and fats as a low cost feedstock. Without this technology advance, the growth of the biodiesel industry is limited because the current production processes rely, at least in part, on highly refined (expensive) vegetable oil, and there is a limited supply of vegetable oil in excess of what is needed for food and animal feed. The project will develop a new reactive distillation process using a proprietary solid catalyst that will allow the economical production of biodiesel from any vegetable or animal derived oil feedstock, including waste oils and fats. The Phase I project developed new solid acid catalyst for biodiesel production using high free fatty acid feedstocks. The catalysts were tested in packed bed reactors as well as a bench scale Oldershaw column operated at elevated temperature and pressure. A preliminary engineering and economic analysis was performed. The production methods for the solid catalyst will be scaled-up, and the catalyst and reactive distillation process will be thoroughly tested in long term tests using actual recycled oils, greases and animal fats. The project will include a detailed engineering and economic analysis for using the process to produce ASTM biodiesel from waste feedstocks. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The commercial application is a new process for making biodiesel from any feedstock, including low-cost (waste) feedstocks such as yellow grease, trap grease, and animal fats. The process will use reactive distillation and be able to take advantage of idle equipment at domestic refineries.
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *