Biodiesel plant Chemical transesterification of vegetable oils, system control via PLC Features - chemical transesterification - two-stage process - plant controlled via PLC and touch panel - integrated router for operation and control via an end device and for screen mirroring on additional end devices: PC, tablet, smartphone Learning objectives/experiments - production of biodiesel from vegetable oil -- influence of dwell time -- influence of temperature - chemical transesterification - phase separation in the gravity field - distillation - liquid-liquid extraction - approach of a continuous process consisting of several basic operations - screen mirroring: mirroring of the user interface on end devices -- menu navigation independent of the user interface shown on the touch screen -- different user levels available on the end device: for observing the experiments or for operation and control Specification [1] chemical transesterification of vegetable oils [2] two-stage, continuous process [3] two heated stirred tank reactors for chemical transesterification [4] two phase separators for separating products and by-products [5] methanol recovery (distillation) to reduce the amount of methanol required [6] biodiesel washing (absorption) to extract impurities from the biodiesel [7] variation of process parameters to investigate the dependencies of biodiesel production [8] PLC for controlling the plant [9] touch panel for operating the PLC [10] data acquisition via PLC on internal memory, access to stored measured values via WLAN/LAN with integrated router/LAN connection to customer's own network or direct LAN connection without customer network Technical data PLC: Eaton XV303 Tanks - stirred tank reactors: 2x 5L - storage tank (vegetable oil): 110L - storage tank (chemicals): 45L - product tank: 110L - by-product tank: 45L - methanol tank: 6L - phase separator/biodiesel washer: 3x 15L Peristaltic pumps: max. 25L/h Measuring ranges - temperature: 6x 0...100°C - pressure: 1x 0...6bar (abs.) - flow rate: 11x 0...30L/h - level: -- 3x 1...22cm -- 2x 1...29cm 230V, 50Hz, 1 phase 230V, 60Hz, 1 phase; 120V, 60Hz, 1 phase UL/CSA optional 1x LxWxH: 1900x790x1700mm 1x LxWxH: 2200x790x1700mm Weight: approx. 560kg