Kinetic Studies on Transesterification of Biodiesel Prepared in Ionic Liquids

Abstract

When the mole ratio of catalyst quantity to reactants was 0.019, that of alcohol to oil was 12, the reaction temperature was 150°C ,the kinetics of transesterification of triolein with methanol was studied by means of four kinds of ionic liquids with netrogen chemical groups and different anions as catalysts. Through experiments of kinetics and by Matlab programs and regression of the experimental data, the reaction dynamics rate equation were determined. What’s more, the catalytic activities of ionic liquids were investigated. The results showed the model calculation results were in very good agreement with experimental data, and that the catalytic activities were associated with the structures of nitrogen chemical groups, anionic acid strength and acid volume. Keywords-ionic liquids; biodiesel; transesterification; kinetics