Exergetic analysis of TiO2 nanoparticle production from lemongrass and titanium isopropoxide

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15665/rp.v18i2.2273

Abstract

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a leaf that has been used throughout the years for medicinal and food purposes. Currently, other uses have been added in the chemical industry since its infusion helps the process of synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles, generating by-products such as cellulose and other compounds that have great potential for reuse. For this reason, in the present research an exergetic analysis of the process of TiO2 nanoparticle production from lemongrass and titanium isopropoxide is performed. From this analysis it is possible to know which process stages require improvements and to evaluate the overall efficiency of the process. This process is an academic research conducted by the University of Cartagena. The simulation was performed on the specialized Aspen Plus V10 TM software. It was observed that with approximately 32675 ton/year of lemongrass and 5724 ton/year of titanium isopropoxide, 1496 ton/year of TiO2 nanoparticles are produced, with an overall exergetic efficiency of 0.2366%. In addition, a sensibility analysis was done to propose improvements that would increase the overall efficiency of the process.

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Published

2020-08-27