Diseño del proceso de obtención de glicerina a partir de transesterificación de sebo de descarne producido en Curtiduría Tungurahua S.A.

Abstract

The “Tungurahua Tannery S.A.” has a design of the process of obtaining biodiesel, in which it presented a significant amount of by-product such as crude glycerin, which affects the environment, causing accumulation of pollutants., for this reason, the objective of this Curricular Integration work was to design the process of obtaining glycerin from the transesterification of tallow produced in the Tungurahua Tannery S.A. (CTU), in Ambato, province of Tungurahua, to transform this waste into a value-added product. The experimentation was carried out with variables and parameters of glycerin purification such as 388.96 g of Crude Glycerol, 82.72 g of Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4), 152.30 g of Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), 610.81 g of Anhydrous Methanol at 99%, thus 167.06 ml of Purified Glycerin were obtained. 06 ml of Purified Glycerin, from these factors the process of obtaining pure glycerin on an industrial scale was dimensioned through the design of the production plant with two continuous agitation reactors, a decanter, a neutralization tank, a box filter and a distillation column (glycerol - methanol). A total of 86.14 liters of purified glycerin was obtained from 206.81 kg of crude glycerin obtained by Jara, 2023, with a yield of 52.4%. Using ASTM D445, UNE-EN 14214 and IRAM 5504 standards, the methodology was validated with very similar results obtained for the variables of density, viscosity, chlorides, humidity, color, refractive index, pH, odor, aspect and solubility. Thanks to this validation process, credibility was added to the results, reinforcing the accuracy of the refining technique used; the economic validation concluded an NPV of $ 105013.63 and an IRR of 65%, establishing that the project is viable. The Layout design was carried out in reference to the sizing of the equipment for the CTU production line, guaranteeing an optimum production of the final product.