US20100251605A1 - Liquid metal catalyst for biodiesel production - Google Patents

Liquid metal catalyst for biodiesel production Download PDF

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Publication number
US20100251605A1
US20100251605A1 US12/734,385 US73438508A US2010251605A1 US 20100251605 A1 US20100251605 A1 US 20100251605A1 US 73438508 A US73438508 A US 73438508A US 2010251605 A1 US2010251605 A1 US 2010251605A1
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Prior art keywords
catalyst
alcohol
reactants
set forth
reaction zone
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Abandoned
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US12/734,385
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English (en)
Inventor
Brian P. Reed
Kevin E. Harris
Nicholas Wannenmacher
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Oregon State University
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Oregon State University
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Priority to US12/734,385 priority Critical patent/US20100251605A1/en
Assigned to STATE OF OREGON ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE STATE BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON BEHALF OF OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY, THE reassignment STATE OF OREGON ACTING BY AND THROUGH THE STATE BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON BEHALF OF OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY, THE ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: HARRIS, KEVIN E., REED, BRIAN P., WANNENMACHER, NICHOLAS
Publication of US20100251605A1 publication Critical patent/US20100251605A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11C—FATTY ACIDS FROM FATS, OILS OR WAXES; CANDLES; FATS, OILS OR FATTY ACIDS BY CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF FATS, OILS, OR FATTY ACIDS OBTAINED THEREFROM
    • C11C3/00—Fats, oils, or fatty acids by chemical modification of fats, oils, or fatty acids obtained therefrom
    • C11C3/003—Fats, oils, or fatty acids by chemical modification of fats, oils, or fatty acids obtained therefrom by esterification of fatty acids with alcohols
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J23/00—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00
    • B01J23/14—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of germanium, tin or lead
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J23/00—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00
    • B01J23/70—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper
    • B01J23/89—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper combined with noble metals
    • B01J23/8933—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper combined with noble metals also combined with metals, or metal oxides or hydroxides provided for in groups B01J23/02 - B01J23/36
    • B01J23/8973—Catalysts comprising metals or metal oxides or hydroxides, not provided for in group B01J21/00 of the iron group metals or copper combined with noble metals also combined with metals, or metal oxides or hydroxides provided for in groups B01J23/02 - B01J23/36 with arsenic, antimony or bismuth
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J35/00—Catalysts, in general, characterised by their form or physical properties
    • B01J35/20—Catalysts, in general, characterised by their form or physical properties characterised by their non-solid state
    • B01J35/27—Catalysts, in general, characterised by their form or physical properties characterised by their non-solid state in a liquid or molten state
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
    • C10L1/00—Liquid carbonaceous fuels
    • C10L1/02—Liquid carbonaceous fuels essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
    • C10L1/026—Liquid carbonaceous fuels essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only for compression ignition
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E50/00—Technologies for the production of fuel of non-fossil origin
    • Y02E50/10—Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to biodiesel production. More particularly, the present invention relates to catalysts for biodiesel production.
  • Biodiesel production generally includes the reaction of alcohol and oil to produce esters (biodiesel) and glycerol.
  • the amount of biodiesel currently produced can only accommodate a small fraction of the total amount of diesel consumed.
  • Methods and processes to more effectively produce biodiesel from a wider range of feedstocks would enable greater amounts of biodiesel production, thereby making biodiesel use more widespread.
  • glycerol can be a valuable secondary product
  • the glycerol produced using traditional catalysts is often of low quality and has little market value.
  • the batch-wise operation requires long reaction times in multiple large reactors, which create significant variation in product quality and composition.
  • the large product quality variations dictate continuous and costly product analysis.
  • the present invention addresses the problems of current biodiesel production and advances the art with transesterification and esterification methods that utilize a novel catalyst.
  • the present invention is directed to molten metal or molten metal alloy catalysts for biodiesel production.
  • the method of producing biodiesel through transesterification according to the present invention includes introducing multiple reactants into a reaction zone having a catalyst, where the reactants include at least one feedstock oil and an alcohol.
  • the catalyst includes a molten metal or a molten metal alloy for catalyzing the reaction between the reactants to form biodiesel and glycerol.
  • the catalyst includes molten tin.
  • the catalyst includes molten tin alloyed with at least a second metal, such as lead, indium, bismuth, copper, antimony, silver, or any combination thereof.
  • the alloy preferably has a lower melting point than the melting point of unalloyed tin.
  • the feedstock oil is selected from the group consisting of tri-glycerides, di-glycerides, mono-glycerides, and free fatty acids.
  • the alcohol is methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, another short chain (e.g. C1 through C6) linear alcohol, or a branched alcohol.
  • the reactant alcohol includes “wet” ethanol.
  • the method of the present invention also includes removing the products from the reaction zone, wherein all of the catalyst remains in the reaction zone.
  • the reaction zone is heated to a reaction temperature that is greater than or equal to the melting point of the catalyst.
  • the operating pressure of the reaction zone is greater than or equal to one atmosphere of pressure.
  • the molar ratio of the alcohol to the feedstock oil ranges from 3:1 to 50:1.
  • the present invention is also directed to methods of catalyzing a transesterification reaction, whereby a first alcohol and a first ester (e.g. mono, di, or tri-glyceride) reacts to form a second alcohol and a second ester (or group of esters dependant on the fatty acid composition of the first ester).
  • a molten metal or molten metal alloy catalyst such as tin or tin alloy, catalyzes the transesterification reaction.
  • the molten metal or molten metal catalyst can be used to catalyze reactions to produce an ester from a carboxylic acid, such as a free fatty acid.
  • FIG. 1 shows an example process flow diagram for biodiesel production based upon the catalyst according to the present invention.
  • Biodiesel is a promising carbon neutral alternative to traditional diesel.
  • producing economically competitive biodiesel remains a daunting task.
  • the present invention is directed to biodiesel production using a molten metal or metal alloy catalyst for improved production.
  • Biodiesel production from triglycerides generally involves a transesterification reaction, in which three molecules of alcohol and a single molecule of oil react to form one molecule of glycerol and 3 molecules of esters, i.e. a first ester (triglyceride) is converted to multiple second esters (mono-alkyl esters) which collectively are called biodiesel.
  • a first ester triglyceride
  • second esters mono-alkyl esters
  • the product biodiesel is typically a mixture of mono-alkyl esters.
  • a secondary product, glycerol is also generally produced by the reaction. It is noted that an ester can also be produced by reacting alcohol and carboxylic acid instead of feedstock oil.
  • reactions for biodiesel production are often catalytic and various types of catalysts have been developed to improve reaction efficiency, time, and costs.
  • the present invention is directed to the use of a molten metal or a molten metal alloy as a catalyst, preferably for biodiesel production.
  • the catalyst is molten tin. Tin has the desirable traits of being readily available and inexpensive, particularly relative to other traditionally used catalysts. Additionally, the tin catalyst is not depleted or deactivated during the course of reaction.
  • the catalyst is molten tin alloyed with at least a second metal.
  • any tin alloy can be used in the present invention, alloys having a lower melting point than pure tin are particularly advantageous by lowering operational and energy costs. Pure or unalloyed tin has a melting point of approximately 232° C. at atmospheric pressure.
  • the second metal is selected from the group consisting of lead, indium, bismuth, copper, antimony, silver, or any combination thereof. It is noted that any number of elements can be used in the alloy. The addition of secondary, tertiary, etc. metals can also be used to change the selectivity and activity of the catalyst.
  • An example alloy comprises about 48% Tin and about 52% Indium and has a melting point of 118° C.
  • Another example alloy comprises 92.5% Tin, 3.5% Silver, 1% Copper, and 3% Bismuth and has a melting point of 213° C.
  • the use of molten metal or molten metal alloy catalysts enable a wider variety of feedstock oils to be used as reactants.
  • the reaction is not limited by fatty acid or moisture content in the feedstock oil.
  • feedstock oils of varying quality from expensive refined oils to waste oils, can be used as reactants.
  • the reactant feedstock oil is selected from the group consisting of tri-glycerides, di-glycerides, mono-glycerides, and free fatty acids.
  • the free fatty acid reactants can be derived from at least one, but not limited to, the following: Animal sources including raw or rendered animal fats, yellow grease, white grease, brown grease, tallow or lard from pork, beef, chicken, mutton or combinations thereof, or plant sources including legumes, corn, olives, safflower, palm fruit, palm nut, mustard seed, canola, coconut, tall oils, cotton, linseed, castor bean, or algae.
  • Animal sources including raw or rendered animal fats, yellow grease, white grease, brown grease, tallow or lard from pork, beef, chicken, mutton or combinations thereof, or plant sources including legumes, corn, olives, safflower, palm fruit, palm nut, mustard seed, canola, coconut, tall oils, cotton, linseed, castor bean, or algae.
  • the reactant alcohol is a short chain linear alcohol or a branched alcohol.
  • the reactant alcohol is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol.
  • Molten metal or molten metal alloy catalysts also allow the use of less expensive and/or less pure alcohol.
  • “wet” ethanol is used as a reactant. Wet ethanol is a mixture of ethanol and water with less than or equal to 95.6% ethanol.
  • FIG. 1 shows an example process flow diagram for biodiesel production according to the present invention.
  • the alcohol feed storage 101 and the oil feed storage 102 are connected to a reactor 103 for introducing the reactant oil and alcohol to the reaction zone.
  • the reactants are mixed by a mixer 104 and react with the help of the catalyst to form biodiesel and glycerol.
  • the reactor 103 contains the catalyst.
  • Known liquid-vapor or liquid-liquid contacting equipment can be used in the reactor.
  • the products are then separated in a first separation stage 105 and a second separation stage 106 . Finally, the separated products are separately placed in an ester (biodiesel) storage 107 and glycerol storage 108 .
  • FIG. 1 shows only one process flow for an example biodiesel production facility, it is noted that the molten catalyst of the present invention is applicable for any biodiesel production or transesterification facility.
  • FIG. 1 shows heating elements to achieve and/or maintain the catalyst in a molten state. Heating elements include startup heaters 109 , makeup heater modules 110 , and heat recover modules 113 . Other elements shown by FIG. 1 include cooling water 111 and a shutdown oil bypass 112 .
  • the operating pressure in the reaction zone can be established for improved reaction efficiency.
  • the operating pressure is greater than or equal to atmospheric pressure.
  • the present invention has numerous other advantages over existing biodiesel production processes.
  • the molten catalyst does not leave the reaction zone as the products exit from the reactor. This behavior is similar to heterogeneous catalysts and is likely due to the large density difference and immiscibility between the molten catalyst and the reactants and products in the reaction zone. Tests have been conducted to verify that the catalyst remains in the reactor and no amounts of catalyst contaminate the product stream (to the parts per billion level).
  • the catalyst Since the catalyst is not consumed during the reaction and does not leave the reactor, it is ideally suited for a continuous process. Demonstrations have indicated that continuous biodiesel production processes are achievable with a 95% conversion rate and a production time of about 3-10 minutes. Furthermore, the separation of the products is simplified by the lack of the catalyst in the product stream. Product separation is particularly important since glycerol is a secondary product that can be valuable. Though high quality glycerol can have great value, lower grade glycerol would be a waste byproduct. Using molten catalysts of the present invention enables a process that produces high quality glycerol. The quality of the glycerol also depends on the quality of the reactant feedstock oil. Furthermore, the molten metal or metal alloy catalyzed process does not produce soap or sodium methoxide as product contaminates, which typically result from traditional base catalyzed methods.
  • Another advantage of the present invention is the large range of alcohol to oil molar ratios that can be applied.
  • the molar ratio of the alcohol to the feedstock oil ranges from 3:1 to 50:1 (or in the case of free fatty acid esterification 1:1 to 16:1). In another embodiment, the molar ratio is greater than 50:1.
  • larger alcohol ratios typically provide extra product yield, the benefit of the additional yield is mitigated by large downstream separation and recovery costs for the alcohol. Since the molten catalyst of the present invention does not leave the reaction zone, separation of products is manageable and high alcohol to oil molar ratios can be utilized. In addition, the recovery cost of the alcohol is low since the temperature that the system operates allows for simple recovery processes, such as flash distillation.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Fats And Perfumes (AREA)
  • Organic Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds And Preparation Thereof (AREA)
  • Low-Molecular Organic Synthesis Reactions Using Catalysts (AREA)
US12/734,385 2007-11-14 2008-11-12 Liquid metal catalyst for biodiesel production Abandoned US20100251605A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US12/734,385 US20100251605A1 (en) 2007-11-14 2008-11-12 Liquid metal catalyst for biodiesel production

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US317207P 2007-11-14 2007-11-14
US12/734,385 US20100251605A1 (en) 2007-11-14 2008-11-12 Liquid metal catalyst for biodiesel production
PCT/US2008/012784 WO2009064461A1 (fr) 2007-11-14 2008-11-12 Catalyseur métallique liquide pour la production de biodiesel

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WO (1) WO2009064461A1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8624073B1 (en) 2013-02-05 2014-01-07 Cpc Corporation, Taiwan Homogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20040186307A1 (en) * 2001-11-09 2004-09-23 Gmk-Gesellschaft Fur Motoren Method for the production of fuel from acid fats and system for carrying out said method
US6887283B1 (en) * 1998-07-24 2005-05-03 Bechtel Bwxt Idaho, Llc Process for producing biodiesel, lubricants, and fuel and lubricant additives in a critical fluid medium
US7145026B2 (en) * 2002-04-12 2006-12-05 Biodiesel Technologies, Inc. Continuous transesterification process
WO2007012097A1 (fr) * 2005-07-25 2007-02-01 Bdi Biodiesel International Ag Procede de production d'alkylesters d'acide carboxylique
US20070282118A1 (en) * 2003-12-30 2007-12-06 Gupta Ashok K Process For Preparing Fatty Acid Alkylesters Using As Biodiesel

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2733251A (en) * 1954-09-02 1956-01-31 Molecular rearrangement process
DE1418884A1 (de) * 1961-03-22 1968-11-28 Henkel & Cie Gmbh Verfahren zur Herstellung von Fetten,insbesondere von Speisefetten mit einem vom Ausgangsmaterial abweichenden Schmelzverhalten
FR2745296B1 (fr) * 1996-02-28 1998-04-10 Rivault Paul Procede de transesterification en presence de catalyseurs solides
DE19942541A1 (de) * 1999-09-07 2001-03-08 Cognis Deutschland Gmbh Verfahren zur Herstellung von Carbonsäureestern

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6887283B1 (en) * 1998-07-24 2005-05-03 Bechtel Bwxt Idaho, Llc Process for producing biodiesel, lubricants, and fuel and lubricant additives in a critical fluid medium
US20040186307A1 (en) * 2001-11-09 2004-09-23 Gmk-Gesellschaft Fur Motoren Method for the production of fuel from acid fats and system for carrying out said method
US7145026B2 (en) * 2002-04-12 2006-12-05 Biodiesel Technologies, Inc. Continuous transesterification process
US20070282118A1 (en) * 2003-12-30 2007-12-06 Gupta Ashok K Process For Preparing Fatty Acid Alkylesters Using As Biodiesel
WO2007012097A1 (fr) * 2005-07-25 2007-02-01 Bdi Biodiesel International Ag Procede de production d'alkylesters d'acide carboxylique
US8222439B2 (en) * 2005-07-25 2012-07-17 Bdi Biodiesel International Ag Process for the production of carboxylic acid esters

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8624073B1 (en) 2013-02-05 2014-01-07 Cpc Corporation, Taiwan Homogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production

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WO2009064461A1 (fr) 2009-05-22

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Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:REED, BRIAN P.;HARRIS, KEVIN E.;WANNENMACHER, NICHOLAS;REEL/FRAME:024777/0790

Effective date: 20100716

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

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