Abstract
A new protocol for biodiesel production is proposed, based on a binary ZnO/TBAI (TBAI = tetrabutylammonium iodide) catalytic system. Zinc oxide acts as a heterogeneous, bifunctional Lewis acid/base catalyst, while TBAI plays the role of phase transfer agent. Being composed by the bulk form powders, the whole catalyst system proved to be easy to use, without requiring nano-structuration or tedious and costly preparation or pre-activation procedures. In addition, due to the amphoteric properties of ZnO, the catalyst can simultaneously promote transesterification and esterification processes, thus becoming applicable to common vegetable oils (e.g., soybean, jatropha, linseed, etc.) and animal fats (lard and fish oil), but also to waste lipids such as cooking oils (WCOs), highly acidic lipids from oil industry processing, and lipid fractions of municipal sewage sludge. Reusability of the catalyst system together with kinetic (Ea) and thermodynamic parameters of activation (ΔG‡ and ΔH‡) are also studied for transesterification reaction.
Highlights
In past decades, fossil fuel depletion, energy crises, and greenhouse gas emissions have led to an explosion of interest in the search for sustainable and renewable energy sources such as such wind, hydrothermal, organic, geothermal, solar, and hydrogen, among others
Biomass can be transformed into first generation biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel, through well-established technologies [2], and into second generation biofuels by means of emergent methodologies like fast pyrolysis coupled with catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) [3,4,5,6]
We report here the successful application of the cheap and recyclable ZnO/TBAI
Summary
Fossil fuel depletion, energy crises, and greenhouse gas emissions have led to an explosion of interest in the search for sustainable and renewable energy sources such as such wind, hydrothermal, organic, geothermal, solar, and hydrogen, among others. Biomass can be transformed into first generation biofuels such as bioethanol (from sugar cane and corn) and biodiesel (from vegetable oils), through well-established technologies [2], and into second generation biofuels (from non-edible feedstocks like lignocellulosic biomass, energy crops, algae, and waste materials) by means of emergent methodologies like fast pyrolysis coupled with catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) [3,4,5,6] In this context, great attention has been received from both the research community and the industry; the production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) [7,8,9,10], namely biodiesel, a well-known renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable fuel, is capable of reducing emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, carcinogenic aromatics, and sulfur in our environment [11,12]. The source being mainly composed of free fatty acids (FFAs) and calcium soaps, the catalyst proved to be suitable for the esterification process as well
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