MODELING AND SIMULATION OF CASTOR OIL EXTRACTION PROCESS WITH ORGANIC SOLVENTS

Abstract

The present research focuses on simulation of castor (Ricinus Communis) seed oil extraction with HYSYS version 3.2 process simulator, using pure n-hexane as solvent. The fatty acids present in the seed were created from the branched chemical structure and physical properties because they´re not included in simulator database. During the modeling of the operating conditions, it was determined that the process optimum pressure and temperature are 1689 Kpa and 27.22ºC respectively. The non-random two liquid thermodynamic model, suitably represents the behavior of solid and liquid phase in extraction process, achieving an oil yield of 40.61%, a liquid density of 938 kg/m3 and a production of 6780 kg/day. Comparing with other models, the error percent obtained (<1%) yields favorable results towards the selected model, demonstrating the reliability, validity and quality of obtained oil.