HEAT EXCHANGER NETWORKS APPLIED TO THE ESTERIFICATION OF USED VEGETABLE OILS

This paper presents the heat exchanger networks (HEN) application to the esterification of used vegetable oils (UVOs) with acid catalysis for the biodiesel production. Different methods are applied to obtain minimum heat quantities and the HEN for a processes capacity of 0,19 kg/s of UVOs. A minimum temperature difference (Delta Tmin) of 10 degrees C is considered and the minimum requirements of warming and cooling, resulting in 4629, 87 W and 10066, 30 W, respectively. When the heat exchanger net is applied, the required steam service in the process decreases in 78,92% and the cooling water service in 62,48%, demonstrating that the integration reduces the energetic requirements in relation to the non-integrated process.