Tri‐component coupling transesterification for efficient no‐glycerol biodiesel production using methyl acetate as methyl reagent

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUNDConventional transesterification of vegetable oil with methanol for biodiesel production leads to the separation of glycerol and relatively low reaction efficiency. Methyl acetate is a more common solvent being less toxic and less soluble in water. In the presence of bases the transesterification of methyl acetate with glycerol can easily proceed at refluxing temperature.RESULTSA yield of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) of 98.0% can be obtained with oil/methyl acetate/methanol molar ratio of 1:1:8 and 10% dosage of KCl/CaO at 65 °C after reaction for 1 h. Furthermore, results of water resistance experiments indicated that trace water gave a promoting effect on FAME yield. Recycling experiments were conducted for four cycles and a greater than 90% yield of FAME indicated the high stability of KCl/CaO.CONCLUSIONSEfficient biodiesel production with no glycerol byproduct has been developed using a tri‐component (canola oil, methyl acetate and methanol) coupling chemical reaction with calcium oxide‐supported chloride as catalyst. Various characterization techniques revealed that the unique catalytic activity of KCl/CaO was related to its high degree of crystallinity, relatively high surface basicity and large pore size. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry