Biofuel Research Journal

Biofuel Research Journal

Intensifying biofuel production using a novel bionic flow-induced peristaltic reactor: biodiesel production as a case study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Jianyu Wang 1, 2
Ao Xia 3, 2
Zhichao Deng 4, 2
Yun Huang 1, 2
Xianqing Zhu 1, 2
Xun Zhu 1, 2
Qiang Liao 1, 2
1 Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Chongqing University, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400044, China.
2 Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
3 Chongqing University, Chongqing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Chongqing University, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400044, China.
4 ChongqingKey Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Chongqing University, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400044, China. University, Chongqing,China
10.18331/BRJ2022.9.4.3
Abstract
Intensification of biofuel production processes could play a critical role in boosting the economic and environmental features of the whole process. A novel bionic flow-induced peristaltic reactor with a high conversion rate is constructed to realize efficient biofuel production from high-concentration high-viscosity fluids. It is experimentally verified through biodiesel production from soybean oil. Experimental results show that the conversion efficiency is up to 89.9% at 10 s in the peristaltic reactor, which is 38.4% higher than that in the rigid tube reactor. Furthermore, a three-dimensional peristaltic model is conducted to understand the mechanism of heat and mass transfer enhancement. The simulation results show that an increase in peristaltic amplitude strengthens the mixing of the bionic peristaltic reactor by 92.5-100.8%. The temperature distribution in the bionic peristaltic reactor is more uniform than in the traditional rigid tube reactor. The results demonstrate that the conversion rate of soybean oil in the bionic flow-induced peristaltic reactor is 528.82% min-1, which is 17-60 times higher than other intensified reactors operating in either continuous or batch modes.

Graphical Abstract

Intensifying biofuel production using a novel bionic flow-induced peristaltic reactor: biodiesel production as a case study

Highlights

  • A novel efficient bionic flow-induced peristaltic reactor was constructed.
  • An efficient peristaltic model with fluid-structure interaction was conducted.
  • The flow-induced peristaltic reactor enhances mixing by 92.5-100.8%.
  • A high conversion rate of 528.84% min-1 was achieved in the peristaltic reactor.

Keywords
Bionic peristaltic reactor
Fluid-solid interaction
Heat and mass transfer
Biodiesel
Biofuels
Computational fluid dynamics
  1. Al Taweel, A.M., Azizi, F., Sirijeerachai, G., 2013. Static mixers: effective means for intensifying mass transfer limited reactions. Chem. Eng. Process. 72, 51-62.
  2. Alexiadis, A., Stamatopoulos, K., Wen, W., Batchelor, H.K., Bakalis, S., Barigou, M., Simmons, M.J.H., 2017. Using discrete multi-physics for detailed exploration of hydrodynamics in an in vitro colon system. Comput. Biol. Med. 81, 188-198.
  3. Avril, A., Hornung, C.H., Urban, A., Fraser, D., Horne, M., Veder, J.P., Tsanaktsidis, J., Rodopoulos, T., Henry, C., Gunasegaram, D.R., 2017. Continuous flow hydrogenations using novel catalytic static mixers inside a tubular reactor. react. Chem. Eng. 2(2), 180-188.
  4. Bashiri, H., Heniche, M., Bertrand, F., Chaouki, J., 2014. Compartmental modelling of turbulent fluid flow for the scale-up of stirred tanks. Can. J. Chem. Eng. 92(6), 1070-1081.
  5. Bau, H.H., Zhong, J.H., Yi, M.Q., 2001. A minute magneto hydro dynamic (MHD) mixer. Sens. Actuators, B. 79(2-3), 207-215.
  6. Baydir, E., Aras, O., 2022. Increasing biodiesel production yield in narrow channel tubular reactors. Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif. 170, 108719.
  7. Beda, T., 2014. An approach for hyperelastic model-building and parameters estimation a review of constitutive models. Eur. Polym. J. 50, 97-108.
  8. Bignell, D.E., Oskarsson, H., Anderson, J.M., Ineson, P., Wood, T.G., 1983. Structure, microbial associations and function of the so-called “mixed segment” of the gut in two soil-feeding termites, Procubitermes aburiensis and Cubitermes severus (Termitidae, Termitinae). J. Zool. 201(4), 445-480.
  9. Bouaid, A., Martinez, M., Aracil, J., 2007. A comparative study of the production of ethyl esters from vegetable oils as a biodiesel fuel optimization by factorial design. Chem. Eng. J. 134(1-3), 93-99.
  10. Da Silva, N.D.L., Garnica, J.A.G., Batistella, C.B., Wolf Maciel, M.R., Maciel Filho, R., 2011. Use of experimental design to investigate biodiesel production by multiple-stage Ultra-Shear reactor. Bioresour. Technol. 102(3), 2672-2677.
  11. Delaplace, G., Gu, Y., Liu, M., Jeantet, R., Xiao, J., Chen, X.D., 2018. Homogenization of liquids inside a new soft elastic reactor: revealing mixing behavior through dimensional analysis. Chem. Eng. Sci. 192, 1071-1080.
  12. Deng, R., Selomulya, C., Wu, P., Woo, M.W., Wu, X., Chen, X.D., 2016. A soft tubular model reactor based on the bionics of a small intestine-Starch hydrolysis. Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 112, 146-154.
  13. Eze, V.C., Harvey, A.P., 2018. Continuous reactive coupling of glycerol and acetone-a strategy for triglyceride transesterification and in-situ valorisation of glycerol by-product. Chem. Eng. J. 347, 41-51.
  14. Feng, D., Xia, A., Huang, Y., Zhu, X., Zhu, X., Liao, Q., 2022. Effects of carbon cloth on anaerobic digestion of high concentration organic wastewater under various mixing conditions. J. Hazard. Mater. 423, 127100.
  15. Fu, Q., Xiao, C., Huang, Y., Liao, Q., Xia, A., Chen, H., Zhu, X., 2020. Numerical study of flow and heat transfer characteristics of microalgae slurry in a solar-driven hydrothermal pretreatment system. Appl. Therm. Eng. 164, 114476.
  16. Hoang, A.T., Tabatabaei, M., Aghbashlo, M., Carlucci, A.P., Ölçer, A.I., Le, A.T., Ghassemi, A., 2021. Rice bran oil-based biodiesel as a promising renewable fuel alternative to petrodiesel: a review. Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 135, 110204.
  17. Imran, A., Bramer, E.A., Seshan, K., Brem, G., 2018. An overview of catalysts in biomass pyrolysis for production of biofuels. Biofuel Res. J. 20, 872-885.
  18. Jeffrey, B., Udaykumar, H.S., Schulze, K.S., 2003. Flow fields generated by peristaltic reflex in isolated guinea pig ileum: impact of contraction depth and shoulders. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointestinal Liver Physiol. 285(5), G907-G918.
  19. Jumars, P.A., 2000. Animal guts as ideal chemical reactors: maximizing absorption rates. Am. Nat. 155, 527-543.
  20. Khalde, C.M., Ramanan, V., Sangwai, J.S., Ranade, V.V., 2019. Passive mixer cum reactor using threaded inserts: investigations of flow, mixing, and heat transfer characteristics. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 59(9), 3943-3961.
  21. Komers, K., Skopal, F., Cegan, A., 2010. Continuous biodiesel production in a cascade of flow ideally stirred reactors. Bioresour. Technol. 101(10), 3772-3775.
  22. Kong, F., Oztop, M.H., Singh, R.P., McCarthy, M.J., 2011. Physical changes in white and brown rice during simulated gastric digestion. J. Food Sci. 76(6), 450-457.
  23. Kong, F., Singh, R.P., 2010. A human gastric simulator (HGS) to study food digestion in human stomach. J. Food Sci. 75(9), E627-E635.
  24. Li, Z.H., Lin, P.H., Wu, J.C.S., Huang, Y.T., Lin, K.S., Wu, K.C.W., 2013. A stirring packed-bed reactor to enhance the esterification-transesterification in biodiesel production by lowering mass-transfer resistance. Chem. Eng. J. 234, 9-15.
  25. Lin, K., Xia, A., Huang, Y., Zhu, X., Cai, K., Wei, Z., Liao, Q., 2022. Efficient production of sugar via continuous enzymatic hydrolysis in a microreactor loaded with cellulase. Chem. Eng. J. 445, 136633.
  26. Litinas, A., Geivanidis, S., Faliakis, A., Courouclis, Y., Samaras, Z., Keder, A., Krasnoholovets, V., Gandzha, I., Zabulonov, Y., Puhach, O., Dmytriyuk, M., 2020. Biodiesel production from high FFA feedstocks with a novel chemical multifunctional process intensifier. Biofuel Res. J. 7(2), 1170-1177.
  27. Liu, Z.H., Chen, H.Z., 2016. Biomass-water interaction and its correlations with enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-exploded corn stover. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 4(3), 1274-1285.
  28. Minekus, M., Marteau, P., Havenaar, R., Huisintveld, J.H.J., 1995. A multicompartmental dynamic computercontrolled model simulating the stomach and small intestine. Altern. Lab. Anim. 23(2), 197-209.
  29. Minekus, M., Smeets-Peeters, M., Bernalier, A., Marol-Bonnin, S., Havenaar, R., Marteau, P., Alric, M., Fonty, G., Veld, J., 1999. A computer-controlled system to simulate conditions of the large intestine with peristaltic mixing, water absorption and absorption of fermentation products. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 53(1), 108-114.
  30. Modenbach, A.A., Nokes, S.E., 2013. Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass at high-solids loadings-a review. Biomass Bioenergy. 56, 526-544.
  31. Pakzad, L., Ein-Mozaffari, F., Upreti, S.R., Lohi, A., 2013. Evaluation of the mixing of non-Newtonian biopolymer solutions in the reactors equipped with the coaxial mixers through tomography and CFD. Chem. Eng. J. 215, 279-296.
  32. Pavlovic, S., Selo, G., Marinkovic, D., Planinic, M., Tisma, M., Stankovic, M., 2021. Transesterification of sunflower oil over waste chicken eggshell-based catalyst in a microreactor: an optimization study. Micromachines. 12(2), 120.
  33. Qiu, Z., Petera, J., Weatherley, L.R., 2012. Biodiesel synthesis in an intensified spinning disk reactor. Chem. Eng. J. 210, 597-609.
  34. Rahimi, M., Aghel, B., Alitabar, M., Sepahvand, A., Ghasempour, H.R., 2014. Optimization of biodiesel production from soybean oil in a microreactor. Energy Convers. Manage. 79, 599-605.
  35. Ranjbari, M., Esfandabadi, Z.S., Shevchenko, T., Scagnelli, S.D., Lam, S.S., Varjani, S., Aghbashlo, M., Pan, J., Tabatabaei, M., 2022. An inclusive trend study of techno-economic analysis of biofuel supply chains. Chemosphere. 309, 136755.
  36. Salehi Jouzani, G., Sharafi, R., Soheilivand, S., 2018. Fueling the future; plant genetic engineering for sustainable biodiesel production. Biofuel Res. J. 5(3), 829-845.
  37. Santana, H.S., Tortola, D.S., Reis, E.M., Silva, J.L., Jr., Taranto, O.P., 2016. Transesterification reaction of sunflower oil and ethanol for biodiesel synthesis in microchannel reactor: experimental and simulation studies. Chem. Eng. J. 302, 752-762.
  38. Sinnott, M.D., Cleary, P.W., Harrison, S.M., 2017. Peristaltic transport of a particulate suspension in the small intestine. Appl. Math. Model. 44, 143-159.
  39. Stamenkovic, O.S., Todorovic, Z.B., Lazic, M.L., Veljkovic, V.B., Skala, D.U., 2008. Kinetics of sunflower oil methanolysis at low temperatures. Bioresour. Technol. 99(5), 1131-1140.
  40. Sun, P., Sun, J., Yao, J., Zhang, L., Xu, N., 2010. Continuous production of biodiesel from high acid value oils in microstructured reactor by acid-catalyzed reactions. Chem. Eng. J. 162(1), 364-370.
  41. Thushari, I., Babel, S., 2019. Biodiesel production from waste palm cooking oil using solid acid catalyst derived from coconut meal residue. Waste Biomass Valorization. 11(9), 4941-4956.
  42. Wernersson, E.S., Tragardh, C., 1999. Turbulence characteristics in turbine-agitated tanks of different sizes and geometries. Chem. Eng. J. 72(2), 97-107.
  43. Xiao, C., Liao, Q., Fu, Q., Huang, Y., Xia, A., Chen, H., Zhu, X., 2020. Numerical investigation of laminar mixed convection of microalgae slurry flowing in a solar collector. Appl. Therm. Eng. 175, 115366.
  44. Xiao, J., Zou, C., Liu, M., Zhang, G., Delaplace, G., Jeantet, R., Chen, X.D., 2018. Mixing in a soft-elastic reactor (SER) characterized using an RGB based image analysis method. Chem. Eng. Sci. 181, 272-285.
  45. Yu, X., Wen, Z., Lin, Y., Tu, S.T., Wang, Z., Yan, J., 2010. Intensification of biodiesel synthesis using metal foam reactors. Fuel. 89(11), 3450-3456.
  46. Zha, J., Zou, S., Hao, J., Liu, X., Delaplace, G., Jeantet, R., Dupont, D., Wu, P., Chen, X.D., Xiao, J., 2021. The role of circular folds in mixing intensification in the small intestine: a numerical study. Chem. Eng. Sci. 229, 116079.
Biofuel Research Journal
Volume 9, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
Autumn 2022
Pages 1721-1735