STTR PHASE I: Ultra-High Efficiency Biodiesel Manufacturing

这个小企业技术转让第一阶段项目研究旨在改变化学反应需要机械混合的范式。 创新的纤维反应器（FR）在消除分散的同时，使化学和生化生产效率提高100倍。本论文主要研究生物柴油的酯交换反应和酯化反应。生物柴油厂用许多反应器和离心机将脂肪/油转化为生物柴油。需要这种复杂性是由于油和甲醇之间的传质差、反应速率差和由于副产物皂导致的相分离差。FR将改善传质并消除皂分散，从而降低生物柴油的成本。该项目将证明在生物柴油生产中使用高通量、连续静态反应器和洗涤的节能和过程强化的可行性。 这项研究的更广泛影响将包括适用于其他化学反应的共价反应器技术的进步，改善消费者经济，减少环境污染，减少温室气体，并提高国家的燃料安全性。商业纤维反应器技术将适用于制药和特种化学品制造，并将为这些行业提供类似的好处。 该项目将影响生产成本，从而可能实现更具成本效益的能源生产。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project research seeks to change the paradigm that chemical reactions need mechanical mixing. Innovative Fiber Reactors (FR) offer a 100X change in efficiency of chemical and biochemical manufacturing while eliminating dispersions. This research focuses on biodiesel transesterification and esterification reactions. Biodiesel plants convert fats/oils to biodiesel with many reactors and centrifuges. The need for this complexity is due to poor mass transfer between oil and methanol, poor reaction rates, and poor phase separation due to the by-product soaps. The FR will improve mass transfer and eliminate soap dispersion to thereby reduce the cost of biodiesel. This project will demonstrate feasibility of energy savings and process intensification in biodiesel manufacturing using a high-throughput, continuous static reactor and wash. The broader impacts of this research will include advances in covalent reactor technology applicable to other chemical reactions, improved consumer economics, reduced environmental pollution, reduced greenhouse gases, and improved fuel security for the Nation. Commercial fiber reactor technology would be applicable to pharmaceutical and specialty chemical manufacturing and would provide similar benefits to those industries. This project will impact the production costs to potentially enable more cost effective energy production.