A group of chemical engineering students in Massachusetts have used technology from UK-based Syrris to investigate the production of biodiesel. Syrris officals say the Worcester Polytechnic University students used Syrris’ Globe jacketed reactor system that allowed for a safe project:
“As part of their senior thesis, some of our undergraduate students suggested a ‘green’ experiment; converting vegetable oil into biodiesel. This base-catalyzed process uses methanol and potassium hydroxide, which is not that simple a reaction or particularly safe,” [said Professor William Clark from the Chemical Engineering Department at WPU].
“To implement this process in an undergraduate teaching laboratory, we needed a computer-controlled mini pilot plant that could run the reaction safely at different temperatures; the Globe system was ideal.”
“Globe enables the biodiesel reaction to be performed under computer control, eliminating manual transfer of reagents and allowing the experiment to be carried out safely, which is paramount.”
The students were able to design a small chemical factory of two Globe reactors and a Globe Reactor Master Module that integrates balances, pumps, temperature probes, stirrers, a temperature bath and a pH meter, using Globe Reactor Master Software.