MONITORAMENTO DE QUALIDADE E OTIMIZAÇÃO DE INSUMOS NA PRODUÇÃO DE BIODIESEL: UM RELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA

Abstract

This work presents a professional experience report developed at a biodiesel plant of Grupo Cereal, located in Rio Verde, in the southwest of the state of Goiás, Brazil, aiming to relate the activities of analyzing laboratory results and proposing process improvements to the theoretical foundations of Chemical Engineering. The work contextualizes the biodiesel scenario in Brazil and in Goiás, discusses the fundamentals of the transesterification reaction and the main biodiesel quality control parameters — such as water content and oxidative stability —, and presents three concrete cases experienced by the author: the reduction of antioxidant consumption based on the monitoring of oxidative stability; the adjustment of citric acid dosage in oil pretreatment according to the raw material's phospholipid content, aiming to prevent excessive methylate consumption; and the emergency replacement of hydrochloric acid with citric acid in glycerin splitting, due to a shortage of this input in the domestic market. The results show that process optimization decisions, when based on the systematic analysis of quality data, can generate input savings without compromising regulatory compliance, and that the chemical engineer's role in industry also requires the ability to respond to external factors, such as the volatility of the input market. It is concluded that the reported experience contributed significantly to the author's technical education, evidencing the practical application of reaction kinetics, mass balance and statistical process control concepts in the daily routine of a biodiesel plant