Utilisation of fusel oils to produce isoamyl acetate

Abstract

This is the summary of the utilization of fusel oils to produce isoamyl acetate using aspen plus simulation software. Fusel oil is a by-product in ethanol production. It is mainly composed by isoamyl alcohol, which is an important raw material for the manufacturing of different products with a wide chemical market. In this work, separation and reactive processes were employed to obtain high quality isoamyl acetate from fusel oil through simulation using Aspen Plus simulation software which was carried out at Makerere University Department of Chemistry. Results are satisfactory in terms of purity and recovery where isoamyl acetate 73.98% by mass and 82.54% respectively. This was obtained by utilizing a four-step strategy, showed that; it is feasible to obtain isoamyl acetate production via azeotropic distillation and esterification of fusel oils. More research in process optimization of the processes is recommended in order improve the purity and recovery of the industrial solvent. Research in control of the processes and cost evaluation should done.