Liquid-liquid equilibrium data for biodiesel+alcohol+glycerol systems using chicken fat safflower oil for the production of biofuel.
biodiesel, chicken fat, liquid-liquid equilibrium, safflower, UNIQUAC
The great dependence of fossil fuels on the planet generates a need for new energy sources, considering that oil
is a finite and polluting richness. The environmental part must always be taken into account, since the
greenhouse effect is a reality. In this context, biofuels are increasingly being asked to meet the population demand.
Among them, biodiesel stands out because it is less toxic, renewable and biodegradable. Transesterification is the most
applied method for transforming oils and fats into methyl or ethyl esters, reducing their viscosity and can be used
as pure fuel or added to diesel. The raw material can be both animal and vegetable. The by-product formed is
glycerin, causing two phases to be obtained. The liquid-liquid equilibrium can be studied during the production
process, since the alcohol is miscible in both phases. In this work two raw materials were used to produce biofuel:
chicken fat provided by the Apodi-RN municipal market and refined safflower oil. Three biodiesel were obtained:
methyl chicken fat, methyl safflower and safflower ethyl. The ester profiles were detected by gas chromatography. The liquid-liquid equilibrium data were obtained by means of calibration curves of the
densities as a function of the respective mass fractions for temperatures of 25 °C and 45 °C at ambient
pressure. Data were validated using the Othmer-Tobias and Hand correlations, with coefficients close to unity.
The distribution and selectivity coefficients for the three systems were calculated. The UNIQUAC model was
used to correlate the experimental data, with satisfactory results and with an error always less than
1.5%.