Production Of Fatty Acid Alkyl Esters From Various Lipid Feedstocks
First Claim
1. A system for converting a lipid feedstock to a biodiesel fuel meeting the ASTM D6751-10 specification comprising:
- an esterification reactor;
a transesterification reactor in communication with the esterification reactor;
at least one preliminary processing unit in communication with the esterification reactor and/or the transesterification reactor; and
a control system in communication with the esterification reactor, the transesterification reactor, and the at least one preliminary processing unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and processes for commercial production of fatty acid alkyl esters for fuel applications are disclosed, wherein the fatty acid alkyl esters are produced from a lipid feedstock comprising varying component concentrations. The components may include free fatty acids, glycerides, and physical and chemical contaminants. An operator or control system may select a process route to optimize a process parameter such as a throughput of the system based on the concentration of the components. The selected process route may include transesterification and/or an esterification processes, and preliminary processes, such as pre-treatment processes, fatty-acid stripping processes, and a fatty acid distillation processes.
3 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for converting a lipid feedstock to a biodiesel fuel meeting the ASTM D6751-10 specification comprising:
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an esterification reactor; a transesterification reactor in communication with the esterification reactor; at least one preliminary processing unit in communication with the esterification reactor and/or the transesterification reactor; and a control system in communication with the esterification reactor, the transesterification reactor, and the at least one preliminary processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for manufacturing biodiesel from a feedstock comprising an amount of free fatty acids, an amount of glycerides, and an amount of contaminants, the method comprising:
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selecting a process route comprising one or more components of a biodiesel production system based on the amount of free fatty acids, the amount of glycerides, and/or the amount of contaminants, wherein the biodiesel production system comprises; an esterification reactor; a transesterification reactor in communication with the esterification reactor; at least one preliminary processing unit in communication with the esterification reactor and/or the transesterification reactor; and a control system in communication with the esterification reactor, the transesterification reactor, and the at least one preliminary processing unit; and introducing the feedstock to the selected process route to thereby form a biodiesel meeting the ASTM D6751-10 Standard. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification