Optimization of the esterification reaction of free fatty acids present in waste salmon oil

Abstract

AbstractBiodiesel is gaining importance as a substitute for diesel with special focus on the transportation sector due to its advantages over petroleum‐based alternatives. Waste fish oil was used as a feedstock for this study, and an acid pre‐esterification process was examined. The effects of three main variables on the biodiesel yield were studied and their combined effects were investigated. Temperature, molar ratio, and catalysts were varied and the remaining parameters were kept constant. A quadratic model was found to fit the experimental data best, with a regression coefficient of 0.82. An increase in the reaction temperature led to an increase in the reaction yield. However, this increase became considerably weaker after 323 K. The reactant molar ratio and the catalysts amount had a similar tendency within the domain under consideration – the product yield increased for all operational conditions evaluated. It was found that the optimal predict yield was 96.29% for a reaction temperature of 325.53 K, a molar ratio of 8.37, and 3.93 wt% of catalyst. © 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.