Advances in biodiesel production
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (known as Petrobras) is a semi-public Brazilian oil company of mixed ownership and with private foreign participation, founded in 1953. Petrobras operates actively in the international oil market as well as through the exchange of an important diversity of products. related to the hydrocarbon industry. Among other things, Petrobras stands out for using high technology in oil exploration and production operations in open waters (offshore), with the record for the deepest crude oil extraction plant in the world.
Petrobras headquarters building in Rio de Janeiro The company is located in fourth place in the ranking of the largest open capital international oil companies in the world. Since mid-2009, it has established itself as the largest company in Latin America, surpassing in its sales in 2009 and 2010 giants that had been ahead for years, such as the Mexican PEMEX and the Venezuelan PDVSA. By 2022, the company will register sales of almost 100 billion dollars.
Goals
- To accurately simulate and optimize the biodiesel production process.
- To calculate liquid-liquid and liquid-vapor equilibrium required to prepare mass and energy balances.
Challenges
- Predicting the results of complex equilibria involving liquid-liquid mixtures.
- The adoption of the group contribution method for prediction of liquid-vapor equilibriums.
- Components and physical properties include proprietary information gathered in the laboratory and data obtained from literature.
Solutions
- AVEVA™ PRO/II™ Simulation
Results
- Significant increase in Petrobras’ production capacity.
- Improvement in operating parameters providing even better results compatible with Petrobras' industrial conditions.
- Consistent results with laboratory and literature data.
- Leading development of technologies for Vegetable Oil and Animal Fat pre-treatment and transesterification.