Alternative Routes for Ethanol Extraction Using Green Solvents and Nanotechnology

Alternative Routes for Ethanol Extraction Using Green Solvents and Nanotechnology

    Presenter(s)

    Joseph Daniel Knurek

    Comments

    This poster reflects research conducted as part of a course project designed to give students experience in the research process.

    Description

    Ethanol has emerged as a promising alternative biofuel source in recent years. However, current separation techniques for ethanol processing require high energy consumption, causing large scale production to be inefficient. One area of potential improvement in separation cost could be in nanoparticle-enhanced liquid-liquid extraction; removing ethanol from an aqueous solution utilizing castor oil as a green solvent. A castor oil-ethanol mixture would allow for easier separation and purification of ethanol, due to the large difference in the species’ boiling points. It is hypothesized that adding lignin-coated iron oxide nanoparticles to the aqueous solution would increase the transfer efficiency of the solute. Additionally, these nanoparticles would render the mixture superparamagnetic properties, allowing for a magnetic field to be induced around the fluid in separation, further increasing the transfer efficiency due to the magnetic motion in the liquid. This work focuses on setting up prototype equipment that includes a mixer with a magnetic field generator for liquid-liquid extraction magnetic separations. The ultimate goal of this research is to determine if an increase in ethanol transfer efficiency can be seen from the addition of the lignin coated magnetic nanoparticles to the aqueous and green solvents mixture, and if a further increase in transfer efficiency can be seen from the introduction of a magnetic field to the fluids during separation.

    Publication Date

    4-24-2019

    Project Designation

    Course Project

    Primary Advisor

    Erick Vasquez

    Primary Advisor's Department

    Chemical Engineering

    Keywords

    Stander Symposium project

    Alternative Routes for Ethanol Extraction Using Green Solvents and Nanotechnology

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