Transesterification Reaction Of Palm Oil Research Articles

A Novel PETG Microchannel Reactor for Microwave-Powered Biodiesel Production

Biodiesel stands at the forefront as a replacement for fossil diesel in compression ignition engines, particularly in the transportation sector where diesel engines are the primary movers. However, biodiesel production is hampered by poor heat and mass transfer during the transesterification reaction, leading to long production times and high costs due to inefficient energy utilisation. This study targets heat and mass transfer issues during the production of biodiesel via a synergic approach that combines microwave-assisted heating and microfluidics via a polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) microchannel reactor. The transesterification reaction of palm oil and methanol was investigated using a full factorial design of experiments (DOE) method. Biodiesel yield was quantified via gas chromatographic analysis, and the results were optimised using statistical analysis. Optical analysis of slug quantification within the microchannel revealed that small slugs, smaller than 1 mm, accelerated the transesterification reaction. The composite-optimised experimental results, aimed at minimising energy costs and environmental impacts while maximising fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield, indicate a reaction temperature of 50 °C, a catalyst loading of 1.0 wt.%, and a 3:1 methanol to oil molar ratio. Regression analysis revealed that the reaction temperature was statistically insignificant when utilising the PETG microchannel reactor. This key finding positively impacts biodiesel production as it relates to significantly reduced energy intensity, costs, and emissions. Overall, this research work paves a pathway toward an energy-efficient and sub-minute rapid transesterification reaction, highlighting the effectiveness of microwave heat delivery and effects of microfluidics via the PETG microchannel reactor in overcoming heat and mass transfer barriers in biodiesel production.

Preparation of CaO@CeO2 Solid Base Catalysts Used for Biodiesel Production

The study investigated the use of CeO2 extracted from monazite with calcium oxide (CaO) as a solid catalyst for biodiesel production. The wet impregnation method was used to produce CaO@CeO2 mixed-oxide catalysts with 0–50 wt.% CaO. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) was used to characterize the catalysts. In order to determine the optimal preparation conditions, the effect of different CaO compositions on the performance of CaO@CeO2 mixed-oxide catalysts was examined. The catalytic activity of the CaO@CeO2 catalyst for the transesterification reaction of palm oil to produce biodiesel was studied. The results show that the optimum yield of biodiesel can reach 97% fatty acid methyl ester over the 30CaO@CeO2 catalyst at the reaction conditions of 5 wt.% catalysts, methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9:1, with a reaction temperature of 65 °C within 30 min. The results show that the high catalytic activity and stability of the CaO@CeO2 catalyst make it a promising candidate for industrial-scale biodiesel production. Further study is needed to improve the stability and efficiency of catalysts in transesterification reactions to achieve a high FAME yield using long-life-span catalysts. Moreover, it is necessary to investigate the economic feasibility of this process for application in large-scale biodiesel production.

Optimization of the Biodiesel Production via Transesterification Reaction of Palm Oil using Response Surface Methodology (RSM): A Review

Optimization of the Biodiesel Production via Transesterification Reaction of Palm Oil using Response Surface Methodology (RSM): A Review

Exploiting the Waste Biomass of Durian Shell as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for Biodiesel Production at Room Temperature.

Durian shell, a biomass waste, was simply burned and then could serve as a heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification reaction of palm oil with methanol at room temperature. The chemical composition, structure, and morphology of the catalyst were well-characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, EDS, TGA, FT-IR, and XPS measurement. With the preparation temperature rising to 350 °C, the maximum yield of the biodiesel could reach 94.1% at room temperature, and the optimum reaction conditions were 8 wt.% catalyst, 8:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, ad 2.5 h reaction time. The characterizations results indicated that K2O and K2CO3 existed on the surface of catalyst, and a moderate amount of carbon, which acts as a carrier, attributed to the activity of the catalyst. After repeating five times, the catalyst prepared at 350 °C showed better stability than other catalysts. This might be because the incomplete combustion of the remaining carbon slowed down the loss of K to some extent.

Optimization of the Biodiesel Production via Transesterification Reaction of Palm Oil using Response Surface Methodology (RSM): A Review

The optimization method is vital in chemical synthesis and has been applied in many fields nowadays. Response surface methodology (RSM) is an example of an optimization method that is useful in examining the effects of multiple independent variables. RSM was applied in many studies to optimize the transesterification of biodiesel production from palm oil in the presence of a catalyst. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent catalyzed transesterification trends, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of heterogeneous, homogeneous, and enzyme catalysts in biodiesel production. RSM was used to design the process and statistically analyze the interaction effects of the independent reaction variables. The reaction variables, such as reaction time, reaction temperature, catalyst amount, and the molar ratio of the substrate, were optimized during the process. A statistical model and response surface plots were visualized graphically in the contour plots and three-dimensional figures to explain the interactive effects of variables on a response. In sum, this paper discussed the relationships between the reaction parameters and the production of biodiesel and the optimum conditions for biodiesel production using RSM.

Encapsulation of Lipase Enzyme in Silica Gel Matrix from Rice Husk Ash and Transesterification Reaction Activity Test on Palm Oil

Encapsulation is one of the immobilization methods to increase the stability of the enzyme or other biomolecules by binding or trapping the molecules in a certain matrix. Silica gel was mostly chosen as a matrix to encapsulate the enzyme due to its high thermal stability. In this research, silica gel was used to encapsulate of lipase enzyme. Silica gel was synthesized from sodium silicate by the sol-gel technique. Silica from rice husk ash was extracted using 2 M NaOH to produce a sodium silicate solution. The silica gel was synthesized using the acidification of sodium silicate solution. The various mass and volume ratios of the enzyme and sodium silicate solution were 1:1; 1:2, and 2:1 (w/v). The amount of encapsulated enzyme was analyzed with UV-Vis spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 540 nm after complexing with biuret. The encapsulated enzyme activity test was carried out for the transesterification reaction of palm oil under various conditions. Fatty Acid Methyl Esther (FAME) analysis and surface analysis of the encapsulated enzyme was performed using GC-MS and SEM-EDX, respectively. The results showed that the lipase enzyme could be well encapsulated in silica gel after aging for eight days, at a lipase and sodium silicate ratio of 1:2 (w/v) with a percentage of 93.72%, and there were still 85.76% encapsulated lipase even after being washed seven times. The transesterification reaction resulted in the highest conversion of oil to FAME (33.87%) at a mole ratio of 1:3 oil: methanol and a lipase mass of 0.5 g.

Pengaruh Penambahan Co-solvent Metil Ester dan Waktu Reaksi pada Proses Transesterifikasi Minyak Kelapa Sawit Menjadi FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Esters)

Biodiesel is a renewable energy that is expected to replace diesel. The process of making biodiesel is constrained due to the limited solubility of the reactants. One way to increase the solubility is to add a co-solvent that can dissolve polar and non-polar materials. Methyl ester is the best co-solvent because it is cheap and can shorten the stages of the biodiesel manufacturing process. The aim of the research was to obtain the optimum conditions for the transesterification process with the addition of co-solvent methyl ester. The operating conditions of the study were palm oil raw material, 1% NaOH catalyst mass, oil : methanol molar ratio = 1:6, stirring speed 100 rpm, reaction temperature 70 ⁰C, reaction time (5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes) and the mass of co-solvent (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%). The optimum conditions of the study obtained the optimum FAME yield of 57.33% in the transesterification reaction of palm oil with 15% co-solvent methyl ester at a reaction time of 15 minutes. At the optimum condition obtained FAME concentration of 96.63% which meets SNI 7182-2015.

Preparation and Characterization of Heterogeneous Catalyst from Gelam Wood (Melaleuca leucadendron) for Biodiesel Production

Recently, many researchers have explored the potential use of ash as a catalyst, due to the availability of various mineral elements in it. The ashes themselves can be obtained from various agricultural waste of biomass, including from the burning of woods. In this study, the ash that was used as a raw material for a heterogeneous catalyst was obtained from the burning of gelam wood (Melaleuca leucadendron). After the burning, the ash was sieved to have particles of homogenous size. The ash was then activated with a solution of 1 M H2SO4 and 0.1 M KOH, consecutively. Potassium was then impregnated onto the activated ash using 30% and 60% (w/w) KOH solution, followed by calcination at 800°C for 3 hours. The impregnated catalysts were then characterized with FTIR, XRD, and SEM-EDX. The catalyst was tested for its ability in the transesterification reaction of palm oil by varying the methanol to oil mole ratio, the amount of catalyst used, and the reaction time. The optimal reaction conditions for biodiesel production using this catalyst include a 12:1 methanol to oil mole ratio, 10.0% weight ratio of the catalyst (catalyst weight to the oil volume), 6 hours of reaction time at 65°C and stirring speed of 600 rpm. By using this catalyst, the biodiesel production reached up to 99.0% in conversion rate, with a product that satisfactorily meets the ASTM D-6751 standards in terms of its density, kinematic viscosity, and acid number.

Synthesis and Characterization of Diesel Lubricity Enhancer through Transesterification Reaction of Palm Oil with 1,2-Ethanediol

Desulphurization of diesel fuel is necessary to be done to reduce sulphur content in the air. However, the desulphurization process will reduce the lubrication properties of diesel fuel. In order to overcome the problem, it needs bioadditive to improve the lubricity. Lubricity of diesel fuel can be improved by the subsistence of chemical compound that is hydroxyethyl esther (HEE). HEE is synthesized through the transesterification reaction of palm oil (triglycerides) and 1,2 ethanediol at 150 °C for 5 hours and K2CO3 catalyst as well. The conversion of TG into the products is 72.90%. The characterization using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) indicates that the chemical compound in synthesis products comprise free fatty acids, hydroxyethyl esters and by-products. The obtained products can be used as bioadditives to improve the lubricity of diesel fuel.

Effectiveness of Heterogenous Catalyst In Biodiesel Production Process: The Use of Zeolite, ZnO and Al2O3

One of the most important needs in the biodiesel industry is the availability of catalysts. The catalyst most commonly used in making biodiesel is a homogeneous catalyst. However, the use of this catalyst has a weakness, namely that it is difficult to separate from the reaction mixture so that it will be wasted as waste which can cause environmental pollution. To overcome this, it is necessary to substitute a homogeneous base catalyst with a heterogeneous base catalyst. In this study, biodiesel production was carried out through the transesterification reaction of palm oil and methanol using three types of heterogeneous catalysts, namely zeolite, ZnO, and Al2O3. The results showed that the three types of catalysts can be used to become catalysts in the biodiesel production process. Of the three catalysts, the most effective use for biodiesel production from palm oil is the Al2O3. The characteristics of the biodiesel produced also meet the quality standards set out in the Indonesian National Standard.

Application with initiative to replace common insect fuel for fogging system with biodiesel

The project addressed the application of biodiesel as a fuel in replacing the petroleum-based liquid carrier in common fogging system. In controlling the population of larvae and adult mosquito using chemical pesticide spraying through fogging method, the dilution rate based on the efficient mixing of pesticide and biodiesel is yet to be investigated. A simulation field trial was conducted indoor in a visible container with the designed dimension of 50 cm × 50 cm × 50 cm with the method of fogging was adapted from the principle of thermal fogger. The biodiesel was produced through the transesterification reaction of palm oil with methanol using hydrotalcite as catalysts. To evaluate the larvicidal and adulticidal mortality, dilution of pesticide which is Sumithion L-40 into biodiesel as liquid carrier is varied. The 5 ml pesticide-carrier mixture with the dilution ratio of 1:9, 3:7 and 5:5 were used and dispersed into the ambient in the form of fog. After several tests, it can be deduced that the most effective dilution ratio for against larvae is 1:9 and adult mosquito is 5:5. The larvae mortality rate achieved 100% at the duration of 117 min due to effective settlement of the spraying droplet of formulation mixture on exposed water. The result also proven that, biodiesel as liquid carrier capable to overcome the solubility problem encountered by the conventional petroleum-based carrier. The adult mosquito needs shorter knockdown time with the higher dosage of pesticide. Sumithion L-40 consists of two active ingredients which are tetramethrin and fenitrothion that provide quick knockdown and residual effect especially to adult mosquito.

Utilization of water hyacinth-based biomass as a potential heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production

With the aim to reduce the negative impacts caused by the widespread of water hyacinth to the environment, this paper reports the utilization of water hyacinth as a source of biomass to fabricate a heterogeneous catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by calcinating the grounded hyacinth biomass at 600°C, and K2CO3 was then introduced as a co-catalyst through impregnation method. The properties of biodiesel were also evaluated in terms of yield and density. To better understand the impregnation effects, surface topography, particle size, and atom composition of water hyacinth catalyst with K2CO3 impregnation were analysed. The performance of the synthesized catalyst was studied for the transesterification reaction of palm oil into biodiesel. The reaction was carried out in a batch mode for 3 hours with stirring at 65°C. The molar ratio of methanol to the oil of 12:1, and the catalyst loading was 15 wt. %. The highest yield (97.57%) was obtained from the process using 15% of the hyacinth-based catalyst which impregnated with 10% of K2CO3. The biodiesel produced was in the range of the SNI standard. The water hyacinth can be a promising heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production at an industrial scale.

Utilizing Sabang sea urchin shell as an inexpensive and alternative heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel synthesis

This research is focused on the utilization of sea urchin shells collected from Sabang island, Aceh, Indonesia as raw material for heterogeneous catalyst preparation and Its catalytic study on transesterification reaction of palm oil and methanol to produce fatty acid methyl esters which referred as biodiesel compound. The catalyst was prepared through thermal decomposition method, namely, it was calcined at 900°C in air atmosphere for 4 h and modified with various concentration of potassium element (5, 10, and 20wt.%) as dopant substance using impregnation process. The characterization results using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) proved that the produced catalyst was dominated by CaO crystals, in which MgO was detected as a minor compound. Another characterization using Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) showed that the produced catalyst has been homogeneous formation on their morphology. Finally, in order to have scientific information regarding its catalytic activity, the prepared catalyst was successfully applied to the transesterification reaction of palm oil and methanol resulting in ricinoleic methyl esters as the main biodiesel product.

Regeneration of geothermal-sludge based sodium silicate catalyst for transesterification of palm oil with methanol

Sodium silicate synthesized from geothermal sludge of a geothermal power plant in Indonesia was applied as a solid catalyst to catalyze transesterification reaction of palm oil with methanol. In our previous study, it has been found that the catalyst deactivated due to hydrocarbon contamination on its surface. In the present work, 3 (three) different regeneration methods were studied for reactivation of the catalyst. The studied methods were: 1) calcination at 400oC for 3 hours with a ramp of 20°C/minutes, 2) 1x-washing with methanol at room temperature, and 3) 3x-washing with methanol at 60°C. The performance of the catalyst was studied by sequential reaction batches to monitor the reaction yield from time to time. The sequence consisted of 4 (four) transesterification reaction cycles, with a catalyst regeneration process before reused in subsequence cycle. Experimental results showed that although none of the regeneration processes regained catalyst activity as high as that of the freshly-activated catalyst, the third regeneration method, i.e. 3x-washing with methanol at 60°C regained higher catalyst activity compared to the other two studied methods. The method could maintain the reaction conversion at about 50% after four cycles of reaction and regeneration, Furthermore, the kinetics of the catalytic transesterification reaction was studied by fitting the experimental data with calculated yield obtained from mathematical modelling. It was found that among the first, second, and third order reaction kinetics, the experimental data was best fitted by the calculated results from the first order reaction kinetics. Results from this work suggested that even though 3x-washing regeneration of sodium silicate catalyst with methanol at 60°C offered relatively high reactivation, further study for improvement is still needed.

Utilization of Carbide Lime Waste as Base Catalyst for Biodiesel Production

Calcium rich solid base catalyst was synthesized from local waste carbide lime and its catalytic performance was evaluated via biodiesel production. Carbide lime waste was used to produce CLW-I and CLW-II solid base catalyst using different preparation methods. Characterization including base strength analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were investigated. Catalytic strength was examined by deploying the solid base catalysts for transesterification reaction of palm oil. Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) was used to analyze the presence of ester group in biodiesel. The yield of biodiesel conversion was calculated based on the mass of biodiesel and glycerol. The highest biodiesel conversion rate of 75.30% was achieved by CLW-I solid base catalyst at 9% loading. The good catalytic performance of carbide lime waste derived solid base catalysts proves that it has high potential to replace the usage of conventional catalyst in the biodiesel industry.

CaO Nanocatalyst for Transesterification Reaction of Palm Oil to Biodiesel: Effect of Precursor’s Concentration on the Catalyst Behavior

Depletion of fossil fuel sources in a few decades due to industrialization and motorization has led to a keen interest in the production of alternative fuels like biodiesel. Research on the development and improvement of more efficient transesterification process for biodiesel production has attain great attention in the last decade. The using of low cost catalyst is one of the main focuses on the biodiesel production. As a basic heterogeneous catalyst, CaO has been examined in the transesterification of vegetable oils for biodiesel production. In this research, calcium oxide (CaO-X) catalysts were prepared by sol-gel method at different Ca2+ precursor concentration (X = 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 M). The crystalline structure and morphology of the synthesized catalysts were characterized by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and N2 adsorption-desorption analysis. All the synthesized catalysts were then applied to transesterification reaction of palm oil to produce biodiesel. The characterization by x-ray diffraction demonstrate CaO-1.0 was partially hydrated due to the incomplete reaction during synthesis. As a matter of fact, formation of H2O on the surface of CaO causes lower basic strength of the catalysts, thus responsible in lowering the catalytic activity. It is demonstrated that CaO-2.0 exhibits mesoporous structure with least chemisorb amount of H2O on the catalysts surface has a very active catalytic activity. It was found that 2.0M of calcium precursor has high catalytic activity and 81% FAME yield was obtained within 3h reaction.

Catalytic performance enhancement of CaO by hydration-dehydration process for biodiesel production at room temperature

This research presents an efficient technique to enhance the catalytic activity, surface area and total basicity of CaO with hydration-dehydration process to be the catalyst for the transesterification of palm oil to biodiesel. The catalytic performance of the resulted catalyst was tested via transesterification reaction of palm oil at room temperature (30 ± 2 °C) and was compared against commercial CaO and CaO derived from natural calcium carbonate sources. Under the optimal reaction conditions (catalyst loading of 5 wt%, methanol to oil molar ratio 12:1), FAME yields were approximately 94% for CaOHY and 60.5%, 55.3%, 49.5% and 51.4% for CaOcom, CaOegg, CaOgol and CaOriv as catalysts, respectively. Catalyst reusability and scaling up of biodiesel production from 50 mL to 1.5 L were also investigated. The obtained biodiesel product after purification and treatment process showed high quality fuel properties within the range of biodiesel standard and similar with high-speed diesel. Furthermore, the used CaOHY as a solid heterogeneous catalyst at room temperature was not only low-cost but also environmentally-friendly, showing a high potential in the biodiesel production.

Activated carbon supported CaO for conversion of palm oil to biodiesel: Kinetic experiment

Biodiesel is one of the bio-energies prepared from vegetable o i l or animal fat through transesterification reaction wi t h methanol. Because of the separation cost a n d associated environmental problems of homogeneous catalyzed biodiesel production, utilization of basic heterogeneous catalysts is steadily increasing in recent years. CaO is among the most solid base catalysts which can be used in transesterification reaction. In this study, activated carbon supported CaO catalyst was used for the transesterification reaction of palm oil. The catalyst was prepared according to the conventional incipient witness impregnation method. Kinetic experiment was performed in a batch reactor in the presence of heterogeneous catalyst for a wide range of operating conditions. The progress of the reaction was monitored using the refractive index method. Response surface methodology coupled with the central composite design was used to screen out t h e operating conditions and optimize the experimental result. A conversion of 34.78% was found at set of optimized conditions (reaction time of 150 min, temperature o f 59.5 0 C, methanol to oil molar ratio of 19.40:1, and amount of catalyst loaded o f 10.55 (wt.%)). The predicted values of the response surface model were found in a good agreement with the actual experimental values at the aforementioned operating conditions. Moreover, the experimental result demonstrated that a pseudo-first order kinetic model best explains the transesterification reaction. Using graphical method from t h e Arrhenius equation, the value of activation energy and pre-exponential factor were calculated to be 35.16 kJ mol-1 and 731.43 kJ mol -1 , respectively. Keywords : Activated carbon, CaO catalyst, Kinetics data, Palm oil, Refractive index

Purification of crude glycerol from transesterification reaction of palm oil using direct method and multistep method

Crude glycerol which produced from transesterification reaction has limited usage if it does not undergo purification process. It also contains excess methanol, catalyst and soap. Conventionally, purification method of the crude glycerol involves high cost and complex processes. This study aimed to determine the effects of using different purification methods which are direct method (comprises of ion exchange and methanol removal steps) and multistep method (comprises of neutralization, filtration, ion exchange and methanol removal steps). Two crude glycerol samples were investigated; the self-produced sample through the transesterification process of palm oil and the sample obtained from biodiesel plant. Samples were analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The results of this study for both samples after purification have showed that the pure glycerol was successfully produced and fatty acid salts were eliminated. Also, the results indicated the absence of methanol in both samples after purification process. In short, the combination of 4 purification steps has contributed to a higher quality of glycerol. Multistep purification method gave a better result compared to the direct method as neutralization and filtration steps helped in removing most excess salt, fatty acid and catalyst.

Biodiesel synthesis using heterogeneous catalyst in a packed-microchannel

The goal of this research was to investigate the using of a packed-microchannel reactor to continuously synthesize biodiesel in a heterogeneous catalyst system. Calcium oxide (CaO) was used as a catalyst and was activated with methanol to enhance the catalytic performance for the transesterification reaction of palm oil. The synthesized activated CaO was characterized and confirmed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Hammett indicator and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) techniques. The results indicated that the catalyst with higher surface area and total basicity was provided after activation and showed the higher catalytic activity compared to that of as-received CaO. The main important factors affecting the biodiesel synthesis were investigated and the optimal reaction conditions based on the purity of biodiesel were also determined. Complete reaction with the purity of biodiesel of 99% was achieved despite the short residence time used in this research. The optimal reaction conditions within the investigated parameter region were 65°C, methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 24:1, and residence time of 8.9min. The catalyst sustained high %FAME over 24h of continuous operation. Furthermore, high fuel quality and superior productivity performance could be achieved via the packed-microchannel reactor.