Synthesis of alumina impregnated with potassium iodide catalyst for biodiesel production from rice bran oil

Abstract

In this work, a catalyst based on alumina impregnated with potassium iodide was synthesized and tested in the process of transesterification of rice bran oil with methanol. The reaction took place in a reflux system, with a molar ratio of 15:1 methanol:oil. The catalyst was prepared by impregnation of alumina with a solution of KI followed by calcination at 773K for 3h. The effect of concentration of the catalyst in the yield was verified in the range of 1–5wt.%, and the properties of specific gravity and kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel were determined. The increasing of the yield of the reaction was observed for high amount of catalyst. When 5wt.% of the catalyst was used in the process, the best results was obtained, with 95.2% yield. As expected, the specific gravity and kinematic viscosity decreased with the catalyst amount. From TG analysis, it was observed a mass loss of 96.2%, evidencing the high activity of the catalyst for the process.