Abstract
Macauba is a still little investigated and exploited palmaceae native to South America with a high oil yield (6200kg/ha). Its almond oil is rich in lauric acid and presents low acidity. In this study, we carried out the transesterification of crude Macauba almond oil over homogeneous catalysts using methanol, ethanol, isopropanol and isobutanol. Its products were characterized by 1H NMR, kinematic viscosity, density, lubricity and cold performance through DSC analysis and cold filter plugging point. A worse conversion to monoesters was obtained over the isopropyl route, while high conversions were observed with ethanol if compared with methanol. Also, winterization of the ethanolysis product was conducted and the crystallization temperatures of the synthesized biofuels and blends with fossil diesel or jet fuel were evaluated. The results indicate the feasibility of replacing conventional commercial biodiesel with those proposed in this work as they exhibit possible performance gains. However, the preliminary results indicate that only small proportions could fit the biojet fuel performance specifications at low temperatures.
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