Technical-Economic Study of the Esterification Process of Used Vegetable Oils (UVOs) Using Heat Exchange Networks (HENs)

The objective in this study was to conduct a technical-economic study of the esterification process of used vegetable oils (UVOs) for the production of biodiesel from the point of view of energy savings achieved by implementing heat exchange networks (HENs). Used vegetable oils (UVOs) can be employed as an input in the production of biodiesel by catalytic transesterification. But, previously it is necessary to reduce its level of free fat acids (FFA) by the acid-catalyzed esterification process in order to prevent undesirable saponification reaction. To carrying out an optimal design of the technology required in the process, simulation tools have an important role for process engineering and optimization of resources. Computer programs such as Aspen PlusTM and Aspen Energy AnalyzerTM provide an environment to perform process modeling and network design optimal heat exchange. In this paper, from the Aspen PlusTM simulation of the process of catalytic esterification in acid medium of UVOs, the technical-economic evaluation process was conducted with and without network of heat exchange in order to analyze the different investment options. The comparison of the two projects (with and without the implementation of HENs) was performed by determining the net present value (NPV). On the scale set for the project, the total cost of the equipment of heat exchange for the esterification process designed with HENs was US$ 4,782.50 higher than the corresponding to the process without HENs application. However, it should be noted that the cost of services decreased by 30% annually, and on the other hand, comparing the process, it was observed that the NPV of the HENs process was 29.5% higher, which leads to the conclusion that the project which includes heat exchange networks is technically and economically feasible.