JP3682751B2 - Ester fuel production method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to an ester fuel production method and apparatus for producing an ester fuel that can be used, for example, as a diesel fuel from edible oil or waste edible oil and methanol.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As this type of ester fuel (diesel fuel) production system, for example, the one shown in FIG. 3 is considered.
[0003]
In this system, for example, methanol and KOH (catalyst) are mixed and stirred in the stirring vessel 1 and this mixture is supplied to the reaction vessel 2, while edible oil such as rapeseed oil is supplied to the reaction vessel 2, , KOH, rapeseed oil, and the like are heated and stirred in the reaction vessel 2 to react with each other to produce methyl ester and glycerin.
[0004]
The methyl ester and glycerin thus generated are separated into a lower glycerin layer and an upper methyl ester layer in the reaction tank 2, and then glycerin is taken out from the lower part of the reaction tank 2 to obtain a glycerin storage tank 3. The methyl ester is taken out from the upper part of the reaction tank 2 and stored in the ester storage tank 4. Then, the methyl ester stored in the ester storage tank 4 is supplied to the refiner and purified to become diesel fuel (ester fuel). In addition, from the upper part of the storage tanks 3 and 4, methanol containing water is recovered in the recovery tank 5, and the methanol is separated from water and reused.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the system mentioned above, although the reaction of the liquid mixture which consists of methanol, KOH, rapeseed oil etc. is accelerated | stimulated by forced stirring, it took 20 to 30 minutes for reaction to complete | finish.
[0006]
In addition, in this system, since a mixed liquid composed of methanol, KOH, rapeseed oil, and the like is stirred in the reaction tank 2, it is difficult to separate the ester layer and the glycerin layer while stirring. Since it is necessary to stop stirring to separate the ester layer and the glycerin layer, this separation takes time. For this reason, in order to improve time efficiency, as shown in FIG. 3, when a plurality of reaction tanks 2 are provided and one reaction tank 2 is stopped, the reaction is performed by stirring and mixing in the other reaction tank 2. However, in this case, there is a problem that a large space is required for installing a plurality of reaction vessels.
[0007]
Accordingly, the present invention provides an ester fuel production method capable of continuously separating edible oil, methanol, and a catalyst and continuously separating and taking out methyl ester and glycerin without using such a batch system. Is intended to provide.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the invention of claim 1 provides edible oil, methanol and catalyst on a filter disposed at the upper part of the reaction vessel and heated to a predetermined temperature, and vibrates the filter. The edible oil, methanol and catalyst are mixed and stirred and heated to react to produce methyl ester and glycerin, and the produced methyl ester and glycerin are allowed to flow through the filter and flow down to the bottom of the reaction vessel. After that, the methyl ester and glycerin are separated into a lower glycerin layer and an upper methyl ester layer on the bottom of the reaction vessel, and the separated glycerin and methyl ester are taken out to purify the methyl ester. It is characterized in that it is an ester fuel production method that is refined in the process to obtain an ester fuel.
[0009]
The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the edible oil and methanol react while being passed through a plurality of the filters arranged at intervals in the vertical direction.
[0010]
Further, the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the plurality of filters are made of a porous material, and the porosity is set smaller toward the lower side.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the filter is made of a metal material that generates heat when energized.
[0012]
Furthermore, the invention of claim 5 is characterized in that the filter is made of nickel or chromium metal powder.
[0013]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 6 is a transesterification reaction apparatus for producing glycerin and a methyl ester while causing edible oil, methanol and catalyst supplied from above to flow downward, and comprising a reaction layer A plurality of porous filters arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction in the reaction tank, a heating means for heating the filter to a predetermined temperature, a reaction tank bottom for separating the produced glycerin and methanol, and The transesterification reaction apparatus includes a first discharge means and a second discharge means for separately discharging glycerin and methanol.
[0014]
The invention of claim 7 is characterized in that the edible oil and methanol react with each other while being passed through the plurality of filters arranged at intervals in the vertical direction.
[0015]
Further, the invention of claim 8 is characterized in that the many filters are made of a porous material and the transesterification reaction apparatus is configured such that the porosity is set smaller toward the lower side.
[0016]
The invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that the filter is a transesterification reaction apparatus formed of a metal material that generates heat when energized.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0018]
The BDF (biodiesel fuel) manufacturing process according to the present invention, that is, the bioester fuel manufacturing process, is divided into a pretreatment process 10, a methyl ester exchange reaction process 11, and a post-treatment process 13, as shown in FIG. .
[0019]
In the pretreatment process 10, first, moisture is removed after removing impurities from the edible oil. Further, the edible oil from which impurities and moisture have been removed is separated into waste glycerin and methyl ester in the transesterification step 11. In the transesterification step 11, the separated methyl ester is purified to become methyl esterified fuel (BDF). On the other hand, in the post-processing step 12, the separated waste glycerin is neutralized and decomposed by-products.
[0020]
The main part of this invention is in the transesterification step 11. The transesterification reaction apparatus used in the transesterification reaction step 11 has a configuration as shown in FIG.
[0021]
In FIG. 1, 20 is a reaction tank, 21 is a support flange protruding from the inner surface of the intermediate part of the reaction tank 20, and 23, 24, 25, and 26 are filters disposed in the upper part of the reaction tank 20. The filter 26 is supported on the support flange 21 via an insulating member 27, and the insulating member 27 is interposed between the edges of each filter. Thereby, each filter 23-26 is provided at intervals.
[0022]
Each of the filters 23 to 26 is formed to be porous by sintering nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) metal powder, so-called nichrome metal powder, and has a box shape and a shallow bottom. The filters 23 to 26 may be made porous by foam metallization. Further, the filters 23 to 26 are set so that the porosity is small in this order.
[0023]
Furthermore, “+” and “−” of the power source 27 are connected to both ends of each of the filters 23 to 26, and temperature sensors T1 to T4 are connected to the centers of the filters 23 to 26, respectively. The filters 23 to 26 are made to vibrate by vibration generators 28, 29, 30, and 31 driven by motors (driving means) M1 to M4. The motors M1 to M4 are operated by a power source (not shown).
[0024]
Detection signals from the temperature sensors T1 to T4 are input to an arithmetic control circuit (arithmetic control means) 32 such as a CPU, and the arithmetic control circuit 32 controls the power supply 27 based on the detection signals from the temperature sensors T1 to T4 and filters them. The energization time to 23-26 is controlled. This energization time is controlled so that the mixed solution in the filters 23 to 26 becomes 60 ° to 65 °. This reaction acceleration temperature can be adjusted with a setting knob or the like (not shown).
[0025]
Further, a pipe 33 for taking out methyl ester and a pipe 34 for taking out glycerin are connected to the lower part of the reaction tank 20 with an interval in the vertical direction.
[0026]
Next, the operation of the transesterification reactor having such a configuration will be described.
[0027]
When the shakers 28 to 31 are operated by the motors M1 to M4, the shakers 28 to 31 vibrate the filters 23 to 26, respectively. On the other hand, the operation control circuit 32 controls the operation of the power source 27 to energize the filters 23 to 26, heat the filters 23 to 26, and the mixed liquid in the filters 23 to 26 is heated to 60 to 65 °.
[0028]
In this state, a mixed liquid composed of cooking oil, methanol, and a catalyst such as KOH or NaOH is supplied to the uppermost filter 23. This mixed liquid permeates in the order of the filters 23, 24, 25, and 26, and the reaction is promoted by heating and vibration of the filters 23 to 26. In particular, the reaction is promoted when permeating through the porous portions in the filters 23 to 26. The This reaction is further promoted toward the filters 23 to 26 because the porosity becomes smaller toward the filters 23 to 26. By this reaction, methyl ester and glycerin are produced from edible oil, methanol, and a catalyst such as KOH or NaOH.
[0029]
Finally, the mixed solution of methyl ester and glycerin dropped from the filter 26 to the bottom of the reaction tank 20 after the reaction is completed is separated into the ester layer 35 and the glycerin layer 36 at the bottom of the reaction tank 20. The separated methyl ester is taken out from the pipe 33 and purified to produce BDF. Further, glycerin is taken out from the pipe 34, and the post-processing step 12 described above is performed.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first and sixth aspects of the present invention, edible oil, methanol, and catalyst are supplied to the filter disposed at the upper part of the reaction tank and heated to a predetermined temperature, and the filter is vibrated. The edible oil, methanol and catalyst are mixed and stirred and heated to react to produce methyl ester and glycerin, and the produced methyl ester and glycerin are permeated through a filter to pass through the bottom of the reaction vessel. After flowing down, the methyl ester and glycerin are separated into a lower glycerin layer and an upper ester layer on the bottom of the reaction vessel, and the separated glycerin and methyl ester are taken out and the methyl ester is removed. Was refined in the refining process to make ester fuel, so edible oil and methanol without using a batch system Continuously reacting the fine catalyst can be extracted continuously separated by a small space and methyl ester and glycerol.
[0031]
In the inventions of claims 2 and 7, the edible oil and methanol react while being passed through the plurality of filters arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, so that impurities in the edible oil are removed. The reaction can be surely terminated.
[0032]
Further, in the inventions of claim 3 and claim 8, the plurality of filters are made of a porous material, and the porosity is set to be small toward the lower side, and the edible oil and methanol are allowed to pass through the plurality of filters. However, since the reaction is more reliably performed as the porosity becomes smaller, the reaction can be reliably terminated when passing through the final filter.
[0033]
In the inventions of claim 4 and claim 9, since the filter is made of a metal material that generates heat when energized, a separate heater is provided in addition to the filter as the mixing and stirring means (reaction promoting means). There is no need.
[0034]
Conventionally, in the pretreatment step 10 of FIG. 2, a foreign matter removal step is required. However, it is not necessary to separately provide a foreign matter removal filter or the like, and the foreign matter removal step is simultaneously performed by the filter. It can be carried out.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a transesterification reactor used in an ester fuel production method of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an ester fuel production method according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a conventional ester fuel production method.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Reaction tank 23-26 ... Filter 27 ... Power supply 28-31 ... Exciter 32 ... Arithmetic control circuit (arithmetic control means)
M1 to M4 ... Motor (driving means)
T1 to T4 ... Temperature sensor

Claims (9)

The edible oil, methanol, and catalyst are mixed and stirred and heated by vibrating the filter while supplying the edible oil, methanol, and catalyst to the filter disposed at the upper part of the reaction tank and heated to a predetermined temperature. The methyl ester and glycerin are allowed to react with each other to generate the methyl ester and glycerin. The ester fuel manufacturing method which makes it isolate | separate into the lower glycerol layer and the upper ester layer on the bottom part of this, and takes out this isolate | separated glycerol and methyl ester, and refine | purifies the said methyl ester in a refinement | purification process, and uses it as ester fuel. 2. The ester fuel production method according to claim 1, wherein the edible oil and methanol react while being passed through the plurality of filters arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The ester fuel production method according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of filters are made of a porous material and have a smaller porosity as it goes downward. The ester fuel production method according to claim 1, wherein the filter is made of a metal material that generates heat when energized. The ester fuel manufacturing method according to claim 4, wherein the filter is made of nickel or chromium metal powder. A transesterification reaction apparatus for producing glycerin and a methyl ester while causing edible oil, methanol and a catalyst supplied from above to flow downward,
A reaction layer, and a plurality of porous filters arranged at predetermined intervals in the reaction tank,
Means for heating the filter to a predetermined temperature;
A reaction tank bottom for separating the produced glycerin and methanol, a first discharge means and a second discharge means for separately discharging the bottom glycerin and methanol,
A transesterification reaction apparatus comprising: The transesterification reaction apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the edible oil and methanol react while being passed through the plurality of filters arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The transesterification apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of filters are made of a porous material and have a smaller porosity as it goes downward. 9. The transesterification apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the filter is made of a metal material that generates heat when energized.

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