A group of researchers from the University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) has deposited a national patent for the biological diesel production reactor that was developed in the institution’s laboratories. The reactor produced by a post -PhD student Mira Oliveira palm and university students Julia Rizandi and Lucas Pavani, under the supervision of Professor Rafael Kataban, project coordinator, and teachers Karavia Bento and Diego Duarti, from Joinville, uses the low frequency of plasma. , Allowing increased productivity of the process and eliminating traditional steps, which can double the vital diesel production rate.
According to the Brazilian Association of Plant Oil Industries (ABIVE), the demand for biological diesel fuel in Brazil must be doubled by 2030, driven by Law 14.993/2024, known as the Fuel Law, and the global commitment, from the Paris for zero emissions of net greenhouse gas emissions By 2050, with increased demand, the need for more sustainable and adaptable alternatives arises. The researchers believe in the potential of the plasma
UFSC researchers have developed a plasma reactor that eliminates the previous stage of the reagent mixture, which can reach a production rate of up to twice. The production of biological diesel fuel, called Transersterification, consists of the interaction of oil or fat with alcohol to turn into biofuel fuel. For this production, reactors that require heating sources for operation are used in a neighborhood of 80 ° C and require previous steps to interact interaction on the reagents, usually soybean oil and methanol. As an alternative to traditional reactors, the system developed in UFSC benefits from the electrical discharge that occurs within the reactor, which enhances the mixture of the reagent, which is not mixed in normal conditions. Thus, the oil and methanol emulsion occurs simultaneously to the reaction, which can accelerate the production of biological diesel.
Multidisciplinary
The multidisciplinary for the project was necessary for development. The initial idea of ​​the similar plasma reactor came when Maira Oliveira Palm joined the doctorate by the graduate studies program in environmental engineering. From 2023, at a post -PhD degree in Engineering and Mechanical Sciences, the idea was reformulated. The development of the reactor includes the combustion and applied stimulus laboratory (LAC) and the UFSC Joinville (LATS), in cooperation with graduate studies programs in engineering and mechanical sciences in Joinville, environmental engineering and mechanical engineering in Floropolis. Teachers from various regions and students in Lucas and Julia participated in the first university stage in space engineering, railway engineering and metro, respectively, with a scholarship for scientific start.
The patent deposit (BR10202402527) has been implemented with the support of the Sinova/UFSC office, and researchers are awaiting the process that takes place at the National Industrial Property Institute (INPI). The research and innovation project is supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technology Development (CNPQ), the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (FNDCT/MCTI) and the Research and Innovation Support Foundation, Santa Katarina (Fisbak).
The following steps
The following steps include testing different raw materials and an understanding of plasma effect on the quality of the product generated with new technology. In addition, it aims to enhance the use of the reactor with the connection of heterogeneous stimuli, which can be reused in various reaction cycles and may enable the production of low -cost biological diesel fuel.
Maira and RaFael believes that the importance of the reactor is also linked to the possibility of producing biomed diesel fuel in decentralization and on a small scale, due to the growth of demand for biofuels in the world. The plasma reactor can also unite itself as a sustainable alternative by including the reagents that are usually ignored by the industry and the use of sustainable electricity. “In the end, the plasma reactor can be an opportunity to break the operations. If the electrification came from a renewed source, it can reduce the carbon mark for this type of operation,” explains Rafael. UFSC
