Esterification of Glycerol with Acetic Acid in Bioadditive Triacetin with Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/Activated Carbon Catalyst

Abstract

Esterification and transesterification processes for biodiesel production generate glycerol which is possible to be converted into triacetin. It is an actractive bioadditive for increasing octane number of fuel. The production of this bioadditive in a biodiesel plant also increases the revenue as raw material comes from biodiesel process production as by-product.This study examines the effects of catalyst concentration and temperature on triacetin production using glycerol from esterification process and acetic acid at volume ratio of 1:3 as raw materials. An activated charcoal as catalyst is activated with sulfuric acid at concentration of 2% and 3% (w/w). The esterification temperatures are varied at 90 and 100°C and the reaction time is set for 3 hours. The samples are taken frequently at certain interval times of 15, 30, and 60 minutes for chemical analysis using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectometry. It is observed that using 2% and 3% (w/w) of catalysts at 90°C and 60 minutes reaction time converts 41.037% and 57.441% of glycerol respectively.