Renobio: indústria de biodiesel

Abstract

This project addresses the problem of depletion of non-renewable energy sources, with oil being the source and fossil fuel most used today. This means that there is more and more research on possible alternatives, where biodiesel is one of them. The main means of obtaining this biofuel is the transesterification reaction, in which an oil (source of triglycerides) reacts with a short-chain alcohol in the presence of a catalyst, generating biodiesel and glycerol as a by-product. The raw materials most used in Brazil are vegetable oils, fat and animal oil, the most common being degummed soybean oil due to its availability in the country. The catalyst used in the reaction can be acidic, alkaline or enzymatic, with alkaline requiring the shortest reaction time. The alcohol most used worldwide is methanol, however, ethanol is an alternative because it has low toxicity, because it is a renewable source and because it is widely available in Brazil. A problem faced in the current biofuel market is the large amount of industrial effluent generated, therefore, in this work an alternative process is presented, which performs the separation by ceramic tubular membranes in the purification of the product, reducing the amount of added water and eliminating the of decantation. The location chosen for the installation of the factory was the city of Maringá/PR due to the large supply of qualified labor, tax incentives, ease of disposal and proximity to large producers of soy oil. The plant's production capacity will be 71.2 tons per day of biodiesel and an oil consumption of 72 tons per day, reaching 98% ethyl ester content in the final product. At the end of the process, the ethanol of the desired product and the glycerin are recovered so that it can be reused through its sale. This co-product will also be sold to industries that will carry out its proper purification. After the completion of the production process, the waste generated and its proper treatment are presented. In order to study its viability, analyzes were carried out and savings were established through energy integrations in the process, and considering all costs and gains, the project predicts satisfactory rates of return with an IRR of 27%, a value above the adopted TMA of 20% and profit of R$ 20,617,996.14 at the end of 10 years in operation.