ABSTRACT
In this study, a two-step process was developed to produce biodiesel from Calophyllum inophyllum oil. Pre-treatment with phosphoric acid modified ß-zeolite in acid catalyzed esterification process preceded by transesterification which was done using conventional alkali catalyst potassium hydroxide (KOH). The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the reaction temperatures, reaction time and methanol to oil molar ratio in the pre-treatment step. Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were utilized to determine the best operating condition for the pre-treatment step. Biodiesel produced by this process was tested for its fuel properties.
Subject(s)
Biofuels/analysis , Biotechnology/methods , Calophyllum/chemistry , Plant Oils/chemistry , Zeolites/chemistry , Analysis of Variance , Biofuels/standards , Catalysis , Esterification , Methanol/analysis , Phosphoric Acids/analysis , Recycling , Reproducibility of Results , TemperatureABSTRACT
In this study free fatty acids present in Azadirachta indica (Neem) oil were esterified with our synthesized phosphoric acid modified catalyst. During the esterification, the acid value was reduced from 24.4 to 1.8 mg KOH/g oil. Synthesized catalyst was characterized by NH(3) TPD, XRD, SEM, FTIR and TGA analysis. During phosphoric acid modification hydrophobic character and weak acid sites of the mordenite were increased, which lead to better esterification when compared to H-mordenite. A kinetic study demonstrates that the esterification reaction followed pseudo-first order kinetics. Thermodynamic studies were also done based on the Arrhenius model.
