Process Modeling and Simulation of Levulinate Esters Production Using Commercial Software

Abstract

This paper presents the conceptual design and simulation of a biofuels (Levulinic esters) synthesizing process by esterification of Levulinic acid with lower alcohols using H2SO4 as catalyst. Levulinic esters are used as valuable fuels and fuel additives due to their high octane number, low water solubility, and high content of oxygen. Furthermore, they have less negative environmental impacts compared to the base fossil fuels. The Levulinic esters production process was simulated using HYSYS V8.8 software. The thermodynamic properties and kinetic data are obtained from open literature and used in the Aspen HYSYS model. The process simulation method involved selecting thermodynamic model, defining chemical components, selecting suitable operating units and identifying operating conditions. A detailed process flow sheet for production of Levulinate esters was developed. Effects of pressure, temperature and type of alcohol on biofuel yield were investigated and optimum values of temperature, pressure and types of alcohol were obtained. The optimum conversion was achieved when the conversion reactor operates at a pressure and temperature of 5 bar and 150°C respectively. Maximum conversion was obtained using methanol compared to other considered types of alcohols.