Abstract
Commercial transesterification of vegetable oil to biodiesel using alkaline hydroxides requires expensive refined vegetable oil and anhydrous alcohols to avoid saponification. These issues are not present in the acid-catalyzed process; however, the challenge still lies in developing stable and active solid acid catalysts. Herein, Amberlyst 45, a resin for high-temperature application, was efficiently used for biodiesel production by the methanolysis or ethanolysis of vegetable oil. Yields of up to 80 and 84% were obtained for the fatty acid methyl ester and the fatty acid ethyl ester, respectively. Two processes are proposed and showed to be efficient: (i) incremental addition of alcohol along with the reaction for both methanolysis and ethanolysis; or (ii) one-pot reaction for ethanolysis using oil/ethanol molar ratio of 1/18. The catalytic system used also showed to be compatible with used oil (2.48 ± 0.03 mgNaOH ) and to the presence of water (10–20 wt. % based on the alcohol), allowing the use of waste oil and hydrated alcohol.
Highlights
The worldwide consumption of transportation fuels reached ca. 110 quadrillion BTU in 2015, and Diesel accounted for 21% (EIA, 2017)
To address the resin thermal stability, Dow Chemicals released the Amberlyst 45, a macroporous sulfonic acid polymer catalyst well-suited for processes such as esterification, olefin hydration, and aromatic alkylation at temperatures of up to 170◦C (AMBERLYSTTM 45 Resin High Temperature Strongly Acidic Catalyst n.d.1). This resin could present adequate properties for application in transesterification. From those points of view, this work aims to study the viability of Amberlyst 45 for the direct transesterification of vegetable oils to biodiesel through methanolysis and ethanolysis, producing, respectively, fatty acidy methyl ester (FAME) and fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE)
Amberlyst 45 has been introduced in the market by Dow Chemicals for catalytic application up to 170◦C and has potential application in the biodiesel synthesis by direct transesterification
Summary
The worldwide consumption of transportation fuels reached ca. 110 quadrillion BTU in 2015, and Diesel accounted for 21% (EIA, 2017). Due to the Paris Agreement and many other local actions for reducing CO2 emission (such as the European Climate action, EPA Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the USA, and RenovaBio by the Brazilian CNPE), there is an increasing tendency of Diesel demand over other petroleum sources. Brazil regulated the use of a 12% blend (B12), while Germany restrained GHG emission by blending biofuels, which led to a blend of 5–6% of biodiesel. Those actions promoted a systematic growth in biodiesel production, reaching 36 billion liters in 2017 (OECD and Food Organization of the United Nations, 2008-2017 (2009). A stable market for biodiesel is foreseen for the decade, which motivates research for further development of the production process
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