Esterification of hydrolyzed sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil using various cationic ion exchange resins

Jibrail Kansedo,Keat Teong Lee

doi:10.1002/ese3.31

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates the esterification of hydrolyzed sea mango (Cerbera odollam) oil using several cationic ion exchange resins. The best resins were selected based on their performance in a preliminary esterification process. The best resins were then subsequently used in the optimization of the process parameters. The esterification parameters studied were reaction temperature (40–160°C), reaction time (0–5 h), molar ratio of oil to methanol (0.5:1 to 1:14), and catalyst loading (1–14 wt%). Among the resins studied, Amberlyst 15 was found to be the most promising catalyst in the esterification of the hydrolyzed sea mango oil. Moderate reaction temperatures, 60–100°C, were found to be adequate in converting the hydrolyzed sea mango oil into esters. Further investigation revealed that the esterification reaction using the cationic ion exchange resins proceeds at a fast rate, whereby fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield of over 80% at moderate reaction temperature was achievable in less than 1 h of reaction time. Small amount of catalyst, which is less than 5 wt%, was also found to be sufficient in catalyzing the esterification process to an acceptable yield.

Highlights

The presence of free fatty acids (FFA) in conventional production of biodiesel – in those that use sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) as catalyst – is always deemed as nuisance due to its tendency to react with the catalyst itself to produce soap instead of esters [1]
In conventional biodiesel production process, the oil feedstock used must not contain more than 0.5% of FFA [2]
The catalytic performance of the cationic ion exchange resins and sulfated zirconia was measured by its yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)

Summary

Introduction

The presence of free fatty acids (FFA) in conventional production of biodiesel – in those that use sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) as catalyst – is always deemed as nuisance due to its tendency to react with the catalyst itself to produce soap instead of esters [1]. Emulsion causes the downstream separation and purification of the product (esters) to become more complicated. This adds unnecessary cost and is uneconomical for commercial production of biodiesel. In conventional biodiesel production process, the oil feedstock used must not contain more than 0.5% of FFA [2]. In cases where the oil feedstock inevitably contains more FFA, other methods apart from homogenous basic catalysts must be used

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Conclusion