Obtenção de álcool isoamílico a partir do processo evaporativo do óleo fúsel

Abstract

This study describes the importance of biofuels in the Brazilian economy, giving a main focus on the regional production and the way ethanol is obtained from sugarcane, showing the products and by-products generated, highlighting mainly the fúsel oil that became the object of this study. A purification process was studied aiming the separation of the isoamílico alcohol in the fúsel oil, that is the main parameter formative of the fúsel oil price. In this work two routes were evaluated for the removal of some compounds of the fúsel oil, the first one according to works found in the literature, where the fúsel oil is neutralized with sodium hydroxide followed by an evaporative process at the boiling temperature of the isoamyl alcohol and the second route, where the fúsel oil sample is directly subjected to evaporation at the boiling temperature of the isoamyl alcohol without prior neutralization. In both routes the concentration of isoamyl alcohol at the end of the purification was evaluated. The results obtained in this work served to discuss the best way of conducting the purification process, showing that it is possible to obtain through the evaporative process, significant amounts of isoamyl alcohol in the top stream of an evaporator.