Biodiesel and electrical power production through vegetable oil extraction and byproducts gasification: Modeling of the system

Aim of this work is to introduce an alternative to the standard biodiesel production chain, presenting an innovative in situ system. It is based on the chemical conversion of vegetable oil from oleaginous crops in synergy with the gasification of the protein cake disposed by the seed press. The syngas from the gasifier is here used to produce electrical power while part of it is converted into methanol. The methanol is finally used to transform the vegetable oil into biodiesel. Through a coupled use of ASPEN PLUS (TM) and MATLAB (TM) codes, a rapeseed, soy and sunflower rotation, with a duration of three year, was simulated considering 15 ha of soil. This surface resulted sufficient to feed a 7 kW(el) power plant. Simulation outputs proven the system to be self-sustainable. In addition, economical NPV of the investment is presented. Finally the environmental, economical and social advantages related to this approach are discussed.