Evaluation on the Large Scale Glycerol Production from Used Cooking Oil using SuperPro Designer Simulator

Abstract

Abstract Increasing demand in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly from China, India, and Southeast Asia, as well as new uses for the product such as a humectant in cosmetics and other personal care products, and advances in related technologies, have contributed to a thriving worldwide glycerol industry. Regarding this, glycerol manufacturing performance using SuperPro Designer® Simulator was studied. Enzymatic hydrolysis method was selected for glycerol manufacturing where waste cooking palm oil (PWCO) and waste cooking sunflower oil (SWCO) were used as feedstock. In this study, block flow diagram (BFD) and process flow diagram (PFD) for glycerol manufacturing were synthesized and economic potential of the production was evaluated. The operating conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis process were carried out at pH of 5.5, temperature of 35.3 and 40℃, agitation speed of 300 rpm, input flow rate of 1000 kg/batch and reaction time of 2 hours. According to the simulation results, the glycerol yield from PWCO was higher than SWCO which were 95.71 kg/batch or 110,116.48 kg/year and 1.89 kg/batch or 2,179.27 kg/year, respectively. However, when the reactor temperature was changed from 35.3°C to 40°C, there were no changes in glycerol yield from either feedstock. For economical evaluation it was found that the capital investment for the glycerol production when using PWCO was lower compared to SWCO which were 8,962,000 USD and 37,900,000 USD, respectively. In addition, for glycerol production of 100 metric tonnes per year, using PWCO as the feedstock results in a lower operating cost of 1,212,000 USD per year when compared to SWCO, which has an operating cost of 17,525,000 USD.