Process Analysis of Waste Animal Fat Pyrolysis and Fractional Distillation in Semi-Batch Reactors: Influence of Temperature and Reaction Time

Alex Lopes Valente, Marcelo Figueiredo Massulo Aguiar, Ana Claudia Fonseca Baia, Lauro Henrique Hamoy Guerreiro, Renan Marcelo Pereira Silva, Lucas Sabino do Vale Scaff, Dilson Nazareno Pereira Cardoso, Hugo Fernando Meiguins da Silva, Davi do Socorro Barros Brasil, Neyson Martins Mendonça, Sergio Duvoisin Junior, Douglas Alberto Rocha de Castro, Luiz Eduardo Pizarro Borges, Nélio Teixeira Machado and Lucas Pinto Bernar ()
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Alex Lopes Valente: Graduate Program of Natural Resources Engineering of Amazon, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Marcelo Figueiredo Massulo Aguiar: Faculty of Civil Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Ana Claudia Fonseca Baia: Graduate Program of Natural Resources Engineering of Amazon, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Lauro Henrique Hamoy Guerreiro: Graduate Program of Civil Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Renan Marcelo Pereira Silva: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Lucas Sabino do Vale Scaff: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Dilson Nazareno Pereira Cardoso: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Hugo Fernando Meiguins da Silva: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Davi do Socorro Barros Brasil: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Neyson Martins Mendonça: Faculty of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Sergio Duvoisin Junior: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas-UEA, Avenida Darcy Vargas No. 1200, Manaus 69050-020, Brazil
Douglas Alberto Rocha de Castro: Centro Universitário Luterano de Manaus—CEULM, Universidade Luterana do Brasil—ULBRA, Avenida Carlos Drummond de Andrade No. 1460, Manaus 69077-730, Brazil
Luiz Eduardo Pizarro Borges: Centro Universitário Luterano de Manaus—CEULM, Universidade Luterana do Brasil—ULBRA, Avenida Carlos Drummond de Andrade No. 1460, Manaus 69077-730, Brazil
Nélio Teixeira Machado: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Campus Profissional-UFPA, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Corrêa No. 1, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
Lucas Pinto Bernar: National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ), SHIS Quadra 01, Conjunto B, Bloco B, 1° Andar, Edifício Santos Dumont, Brasilia 71605-001, Brazil

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-37

Abstract: Waste animal fat (WAF) can be converted to distillate fractions similar to petroleum solvents and used as solvents via pyrolysis and fractional distillation. Pyrolysis oil from triglyceride materials presents adequate viscosity and volatility, compared to petroleum fuels, but shows acid values between 60–140 mg KOH/g, impeding its direct use as biofuels without considerable purification of its distillates. Fractional distillation can be applied for the purification of bio-oil, but only a few studies accurately describe the process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of temperature in the conversion of waste animal fat into fuel-like fractions by pyrolysis and fractional distillation in a semi-batch stirred bed reactor (2 L) according to reaction time. Waste animal fat was extracted (rendering) from disposed meat cuts obtained from butcher shops and pyrolyzed in a stainless-steel stirred bed reactor operating in semi-batch mode at 400–500 °C. The obtained liquid fraction was separated according to reaction time. The pyrolysis bio-oil at 400 °C was separated into four distinct fractions (gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and heavy phase) by fractional distillation with reflux. The bio-oil and distillate fractions were analyzed by density, kinematic viscosity, acid value, and chemical composition by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectra (GC-MS). The results show that, for semi-batch reactors with no inert gas flow, higher temperature is associated with low residence time, reducing the conversion of fatty acids to hydrocarbons. The distillate fractions were tested in a common application not sensible to the fatty acid concentration as a diluent in the preparation of diluted asphalt cutback for the priming of base pavements in road construction. Kerosene and diesel fractions can be successfully applied in the preparation of asphalt cutbacks, even with a high acid value.

Keywords: lipids; triglycerides; cracking; fractional distillation; penetration depth; fatty acids; semi-batch reactors; reaction time (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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