Transesterification of canola oil and methanol by lithium impregnated CaO–La 2 O 3 mixed oxide for biodiesel synthesis

Modeling and simulation of biodiesel synthesis in fixed bed and packed bed membrane reactors using heterogeneous catalyst: a comparative study

In this study, modeling and simulation of biodiesel synthesis through transesterification of triglyceride (TG) over a heterogeneous catalyst in a packed bed membrane reactor (PBMR) was performed using a solid catalyst and compared with a fixed bed reactor (FBR). The kinetic data for the transesterification reaction of canola oil and methanol in the presence of solid tungstophosphoric acid catalyst was extracted from the published open literature. The effect of reaction temperature, feed flow rate, disproportionation of the reactants, and reactor length on the product performance was investigated. Two-dimensional and heterogeneous modeling was applied to PBMR and the resultant equations were solved by the Matlab software. Moreover, the velocity profile in the membrane reactor was obtained. The results showed the best conditions for this reaction are 180 °C, the molar ratio of methanol to oil equal 15:1, and the input flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. In this condition, a conversion of 99.94% for the TG can be achieved in the PBMR with a length of 86 cm while a length of 2.75 m is required to achieve this conversion of the FBR. Finally, the energy consumption for the production of 8000 ton/y biodiesel in a production plant using the PBMR and the FBR was obtained as is 1313.24 and 1352.44 kW, respectively.

RSM process optimization of biodiesel production from rapeseed oil and waste corn oil in the presence of green and novel catalyst

In the scenario of global warming and pollution, the green synthesis and use of biodiesel has acquired utmost priority. Due to several limitations of homogeneous catalysis, organobase immobilized heterogeneous catalyzed production of biodiesel has come out as a favored route. The present report demonstrates the design and synthesis of Peganum harmala spice seed extract modified GO-CuFe₂O₄ (SSE@GO-CuFe₂O₄) nanocomposite as an organobase functionalized high surface area magnetic nanocatalyst. Pistachio leaves were used in the green reduction of precursor salts to synthesize CuFe₂O₄ NPs. The as-synthesized nanomaterial was characterized physicochemically by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-Ray analysis (EDX), elemental mapping, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and vibrating sample magnetometer techniques (VSM). Subsequently, the catalyst was explored in the efficient synthesis of biodiesels by trans-esterification of two substrates, the rapeseed oil and waste corn oil. The optimum conditions for biodiesel production were determined through response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken design including the study of calibration curves and 3D contour plots. Easy separation and workup, use of green medium, excellent reused for several times and short reaction time are outstanding benefits of this study.

Pseudoionone synthesis from citral and acetone in a fixed bed catalytic reactor with lanthanum modified calcium oxide

The industrial process of pseudoionone synthesis from citral uses a homogeneous catalyst with excessive acetone as a solvent-cum reactant in a stirred tank batch reactor which needs to be replaced by a better heterogeneously catalyzed, solventless, and ecofriendly flow process as shown by the current work.

Biodiesel Production on Monometallic Pt, Pd, Ru, and Ag Catalysts Supported on Natural Zeolite

Biodiesel production from rapeseed oil and methanol via transesterification reaction facilitated by various monometallic catalyst supported on natural zeolite (NZ) was investigated. The physicochemical characteristics of the synthesized catalysts were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method (BET), temperature-programmed-reduction in hydrogen (H₂-TPR), temperature-programmed-desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD), Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with EDX detector (SEM-EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) methods. The highest activity and methyl ester yields were obtained for the Pt/NZ catalyst. This catalyst showed the highest triglycerides conversion of 98.9% and fatty acids methyl esters yields of 94.6%. The activity results also confirmed the high activity of the carrier material (NZ) itself in the investigated reaction. Support material exhibited 90.5% of TG conversion and the Fatty Acid Methyl Esters yield (FAME) of 67.2%. Introduction of noble metals improves the TG conversion and FAME yield values. Increasing of the metal loading from 0.5 to 2 wt.% improves the reactivity properties of the investigated catalysts.

Magnetic biochar derived from waste palm kernel shell for biodiesel production via sulfonation

Due to its environment-friendly and replenishable characteristics, biodiesel has the potential to substitute fossil fuels as an alternative source of energy. Although biodiesel has many benefits to offer, manufacturing biodiesel on an industrial scale is uneconomical as a high cost of feedstock is required. A novel sulfonated and magnetic catalyst synthesised from a palm kernel shell (PMB-SO₃H) was first introduced in this study for methyl ester or biodiesel production to reduce capital costs. The wasted palm kernel shell (PKS) biochar impregnated with ferrite Fe₃O₄ was synthesised with concentrated sulphuric acid through the sulfonation process. The SEM, EDX, FTIR, VSM and TGA characterization of the catalysts were presented. Then, the optimisation of biodiesel synthesis was catalysed by PMB-SO₃H via the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). It was found that the maximum biodiesel yield of 90.2% was achieved under these optimum operating conditions: 65 °C, 102 min, methanol to oil ratio of 13:1 and the catalyst loading of 3.66 wt%. Overall, PMB-SO₃H demonstrated acceptable catalysing capability on its first cycle, which subsequently showed a reduction of the reusability performance after 4 cycles. An important practical implication is that PMB-SO₃H can be established as a promising heterogeneous catalyst by incorporating an iron layer which can substantially improve the catalyst separation performance in biodiesel production.

Acidic Functionalized Nanobohemite: An Active Catalyst for Methyl Ester Production

In the biodiesel production, acidic catalysts are ideally suitable for reacting with different oil sources at various free acid levels. On the other hand, the nanocatalysts can easily be propagated in the reaction medium and provide more accessible active sites for reaction. The aim of this work was to synthesize an acidic nanocatalyst based on boehmite nanoparticles then studying it to biodiesel production from soybean oil. Up to now, no reports were found on biodiesel production by this catalyst. After the synthesis and characterization of the catalyst, using response surface methodology (RSM), the optimized conditions for transesterification were 4.87 wt.% for catalyst dosage, 13:1 for the molar ratio of methanol to oil, 60 °C for reaction temperature, and 3 h for reaction time. At the optimal point, the production yield was 99.8 %. After six consecutive use of the catalyst, the yield dropped slightly (88 %). Consequently, the catalyst can be employed efficiently several runs in the production process.