Computer-Aided Modeling, Simulation, and Exergy Analysis of Large-Scale Production of Magnetite (Fe3O4) Nanoparticles via Coprecipitation

Magnetite nanoparticles present attractive properties including high magnetization, low toxicity, adsorption capacity, and simple preparation, making them efficient in water purification processes, soil remediation, and biomedical applications. In this sense, there is growing interest in the production of magnetite nanoparticles; therefore, evaluating the performance of this process on a large scale gives relevant information to process designers. In this work, the simulation and exergy analysis of large-scale production of magnetite nanoparticles via coprecipitation were performed using computer-aided tools. The process was modeled for the production of 807 t/year of magnetite nanoparticles; the data for the simulation were obtained from the literature, and experimental results were developed by the authors. The exergy efficiency of the process was estimated at 0.046%. The exergy of waste was estimated to be 105 313 MJ/h, while the unavoidable exergy losses were 2941 MJ/h. Washing 2 and 3 represented the most critical stages of the process, contributing 95.12% of the total irreversibilities due to the waste exergy, which corresponds to the water and ethanol exergy discarded in these stages. These results show that the process must be improved from the energy point of view and require the implementation of process optimization strategies to reach a more sustainable design.