Investigating the Phase Equilibria of Branched Alcohol/Water/Salt Mixtures

研究支链醇/水/盐混合物的相平衡

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-03196
• 负责人: RamosPallares, Francisco
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: Lakehead University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=747181
• 关键词: Investigating; Phase; Equilibria; Branched; Alcohol

Branched alcohols are more suitable to produce fuel additives and biofuels than methanol and ethanol because their properties are similar to those of gasoline. However, their production at large scale in biorefineries is currently not economically viable because of the higher cost of purification through distillation. The addition of some salts to the fermentation broth reduces the affinity of the alcohol with the broth, facilitating the purification. Therefore, the phase behaviour of these electrolyte systems is required for designing cost-efficient purification operations. The proposed research has the following objectives, which aim to address critical gaps in the fundamental understanding of the thermodynamics of branched alcohols/water/salt mixtures to advance in the development of modelling tools for the design and simulation of purification operations in biorefineries. Objective 1-Develop a Data-Validated Activity Coefficient Model Using Data Collected from Liquid- Liquid Equilibrium (LLE) Studies: The addition of some salts to an alcohol/water mixture forces the alcohol to separate off the mixture. However, the LLE data required to shed light on the thermodynamics of the mixture are scarce and available models are correlative rather than predictive. It is proposed to collect LLE data for branched alcohol/water/salt mixtures over a range of temperatures and pressures to investigate its thermodynamics, and to incorporate it into an activity coefficient-based model. Objective 2- Develop a Data-Validated Hybrid Model Using Data Collected from Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE) Studies: The addition of some salts to an alcohol/water mixture increases the relative volatility of the alcohol facilitating its separation from the mixture by distillation. However, VLE data for branched alcohol/water/salt mixture are scarce. It is proposed to investigate the effect of the salt on the VLE of these mixtures and to develop a Cubic Equation-of-State/Activity Coefficient hybrid model. Objective 3- Propose an Equation-of-State-Based Modelling Methodology: The electrolyte version of the Cubic Plus Association (e-CPA) equation of state (EoS) has the potential to be applied to model the phase behaviour of branched alcohol/water/salt mixtures across the phase diagram. However, this EoS does not produce accurate phase compositions for LLE and has not been tested on data at high pressure. It is proposed to develop a suitable e-CPA based methodology suitable for biorefinery applications. The results from this research will allow biorefinery operators to design cost-effective purification operations to produce fuel-grade branched alcohols. Canada will benefit from more competitive and greener biorefineries. In addition, two M.Sc. and one Ph.D. students will receive background and training suitable for careers in the industry and academia.

与甲醇和乙醇相比，分支醇更适合生产燃料添加剂和生物燃料，因为它们的性质与汽油相似。但是，由于通过蒸馏净化的成本较高，因此他们在生物工业中的大规模生产在经济上不可行。在发酵汤中添加一些盐可减少酒精与肉汤的亲和力，从而促进纯化。因此，这些电解质系统的相位行为是设计成本效益的纯化操作所必需的。拟议的研究具有以下目标，旨在解决对分支醇/水/盐混合物的热力学的基本理解，以促进生物工作层设计和模拟纯化操作的建模工具的开发。 物镜1开发了使用液体液平平衡（LLE）研究收集的数据数据验证活性系数模型：在酒精/水混合物中添加一些盐，迫使酒精分离混合物。但是，阐明混合物的热力学所需的LLE数据很少，可用模型是相关的，而不是预测的。提议在一系列温度和压力上收集分支酒精/水/盐混合物的LLE数据，以研究其热力学，并将其纳入基于活性系数的模型中。 目标2-使用从蒸气液平衡（VLE）研究收集的数据开发数据验证的杂种模型：在酒精/水混合物中添加一些盐会增加酒精的相对波动，从而通过蒸馏促进其与混合物分离的相对波动。但是，分支酒精/水/盐混合物的VLE数据很少。提议研究盐对这些混合物VLE的影响，并开发一种立方的状态/活性系数杂种模型。 目标3-提出了基于州的建模方法：状态（EOS）的Cubic Plus关联（E-CPA）方程的电解质版本有可能应用于整个相图中分支酒精/水/盐混合物的相位行为。但是，该EOS不会为LLE产生准确的相组成，也没有在高压下对数据进行测试。建议开发一种适合生物精制应用的基于E-CPA的方法。这项研究的结果将使生物填补运营商可以设计具有成本效益的纯化操作，以生产燃油级的分支醇。加拿大将受益于更具竞争力，更绿色的生物工业。此外，两个M.Sc.和一位博士学生将获得适合行业和学术界职业的背景和培训。