Abstract
ChemCad 6.5.6 simulation package has been used
to study the effect of light hydrocarbons (n-C5 to n-C10) on the
effective diffusivity of reactants in solid catalyst during the
conversion of waste vegetable oils (WVO) into biodiesels in
presence of methanol. The WVO was simulated as a mixture of
triolein and oleic acid. The results suggest that light
hydrocarbons significantly lower the reaction medium viscosity
and consequently improve reactants diffusivity in the catalyst.
Comparisons based on the same hydrocarbon-to-WVO ratio
suggest that short-chain hydrocarbons are more effective in
lowering the reaction medium viscosity than hydrocarbons
with long carbon chain.