Improvement of the Vacuum Cooling System for Biodiesel Production

Abstract

The article deals with the actual problem of improving the vacuum cooling efficiency systems during the biodiesel production by using vacuum devices account for the liquid-vapor ejector, which operates on the principle of jet thermal compression. The purpose of this study is the feasibility of using vacuum devices, that based on the liquid-vapor ejector, and takes as a basis the principle of jet thermal compression in vacuum cooling systems of biodiesel production units. This article describes the basic scheme of the cooling system devices during the biodiesel production, which includes a three-stage steam-jet ejector and the proposed scheme based on the liquid-vapor ejector. A comparative analysis of the vacuum cooling systems during biodiesel production units was realized, where the schemes were compared on the basis of existent three-stage steam-jet ejectors and a new single-stage vacuum unit based on a liquid-vapor ejector. An exergy method of assessing the effectiveness of the proposed equipment was used as a comparison, because in the working process there is a transformation of two energy types: electric for the pump drive and heat for heating the working fluid of the active flow in the exchanger-heater. The intermediate pressure between the liquid-vapor ejector and the liquid-ring vacuum pump can help to achieve the highest characteristics of the new technology on the optimization parameters.

Keywords

• vacuum cooling system
• liquid-vapor ejector
• biodiesel production
• exergy efficiency