An Impedance Probe for Biodiesel Process Monitoring
Format
SOECS Senior Project Demonstration
Faculty Mentor Name
George Carman
Abstract/Artist Statement
Biodiesel manufacturing is an inexpensive process, but an economical alternative for standards testing is necessary to further its growth. Capacitive sensors are very common and are currently in use for the measurement of water concentration in oil. The feasibility of using impedance to quantitatively measure the progress of the biodiesel reaction during its manufacturing process is demonstrated with the use of a capacitive probe. Two types of probes are investigated. The first probe is a simple concentric cylinder construction which requires steady fluid movement through a small surface area. The second probe is an adaptation of a fringing field capacitor. The independent stable components ofbiodiesel, as well as a sample ofbiodiesel, were used for calibration. Real time biodiesel monitoring data was obtained using these probes for different mixtures with excess water and limited catalyst. Reproducibility of this data was explored. We discuss the use of such probes to determine the current state of the biodiesel reaction.
Location
School of Engineering & Computer Science
Start Date
3-5-2008 2:00 PM
End Date
3-5-2008 3:30 PM
An Impedance Probe for Biodiesel Process Monitoring
School of Engineering & Computer Science
Biodiesel manufacturing is an inexpensive process, but an economical alternative for standards testing is necessary to further its growth. Capacitive sensors are very common and are currently in use for the measurement of water concentration in oil. The feasibility of using impedance to quantitatively measure the progress of the biodiesel reaction during its manufacturing process is demonstrated with the use of a capacitive probe. Two types of probes are investigated. The first probe is a simple concentric cylinder construction which requires steady fluid movement through a small surface area. The second probe is an adaptation of a fringing field capacitor. The independent stable components ofbiodiesel, as well as a sample ofbiodiesel, were used for calibration. Real time biodiesel monitoring data was obtained using these probes for different mixtures with excess water and limited catalyst. Reproducibility of this data was explored. We discuss the use of such probes to determine the current state of the biodiesel reaction.