Transesterification under high pressure as a sequential step from pressurized liquid extraction: Effect of operational parameters and characterization

Abstract

In this study, the sequential step of high pressure transesterification to obtain fatty acid esters was investigated. For this purpose, extraction by pressurized liquid was performed and the product resulting from this step was directly used in the reaction in which different conditions of temperature and pressure were evaluated. High operating temperature (<300 °C) led to a reduction in fatty acid esters. At 10 MPa, a high esters yield and low content of unreacted compounds was obtained, in addition, due to the simultaneous use of dimethyl carbonate and ethanol as acyl acceptors, the presence of glycerol in the reaction product was not verified, with the production of glycerol carbonate as a co-product. The reaction carried out at 250 °C and 10 MPa allowed to preserve the active compounds of the oil used as raw material, thus providing a material with high quality and stability, demonstrating that the proposed process has potential applicability.