Characterization and evaluation of poly(ether sulfone) membranes in biodiesel production using liquid-liquid film reactors

Biodiesel production in liquid-liquid film reactors integrated with membranes (LLFRM) has been investigated to obtain a high quality biodiesel with high process productivity. This device takes advantages of both technologies: the high productivity of the liquid-liquid film reactor (LLFR) and the continuous product removal with the poly(ether sulfone) hollow fiber membranes (PES-HFM). This intensified process was evaluated in order to overcome problems associated to chemical equilibrium limitations. Initially, permeabilities of single compounds involved in biodiesel production through PES-HFM were experimentally determined. Afterwards, permeabilities of the same compounds in the reactive mixture were tested. Finally, a LLFR integrated with PES-HFM (LLFRM) was designed, constructed and tested for the methanolysis of Jatropha oil. It was found that single components follow the Darcy's law, where high viscosities produce low permeabilities. The permeability of the compounds in the reactive mixture was lower than the obtained for single ones, indicating possible mass transfer limitations. The LLFRM was able to remove the mixture glycerol-methanol selectively. The maximum conversion and yield in the reactor were 85% and 63%, respectively, using a reaction-separation zone of 30% Lmem/Lmax at molar ratio methanol to oil of 9:1.