Effects of Molar Ratio, Alkali Catalyst Concentration and Temperature on Transesterification of Jatropha Oil with Methanol under Ultrasonic Irradiation

Amish P. Vyas, Jaswant L. Verma, Nandula Subrahmanyam
DOI: 10.4236/aces.2011.12008                

Abstract

For transesterification of Jatropha oil into biodiesel, ultrasound assisted transesterification seems to be promising in terms of reduction in process time and stages of operation. Effects of process variables such as the catalyst loading, the molar ratio of methanol to oil, reaction temperature and the reaction time were investigated on the conversion of Jatropha oil to biodiesel. The conversion was above 93% under the conditions of 50?C, methanol to oil molar ratio of 9:1, reaction time 30 min and catalyst amount (catalyst/oil) of 1% wt%. A kinetic study of transesterification of Jatropha oil based on ultrasound assisted synthesis is presented in this paper. Rate equation obtained is also presented.

Keywords

Transesterification; Ultrasound; Triglyceride; Jatropha Oil, Alkali Catalyst

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	A. P. Vyas, N. Subrahmanyam and P. A. Patel, “Production of Biodiesel through Transesterification of Jatropha Oil Using KNO3/Al2O3 Solid Catalyst,” Fuel, Vol. 88, No. 4, 2009, pp. 625-628. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2008.10.033
[2]	A. Kalva, T. Sivasankar and V. S. Moholkar, “Physical Mechanism of Ultrasound-Assisted Synthesis of Biodiesel,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2009, pp. 534-544. doi:10.1021/ie800269g
[3]	A. K. Singh, S. D. Fernando and R. Hernandez, “Base- Catalyzed Fast Transesterification of Soybean Oil Using Ultrasonication,” Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2007, pp. 1161-1164. doi:10.1021/ef060507g
[4]	A. P. Vyas, J. L. Verma and N. Subrahmanyam, “A Review on FAME Production Processes,” Fuel, Vol. 89, No. 1, 2010, pp. 1-9. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2009.08.014
[5]	H. D. Hanh, N. T. Dong, K. Okitsu, R. Nishimura and M. Yasuaki, “Effects of Molar Ratio, Catalyst Concentration and Temperature on Transesterification of Triolein with Ethanol under Ultrasonic Irradiation,” Journal of the Japan Petroleum Institute, Vol. 50, No. 4, 2007, pp. 195- 199. doi:10.1627/jpi.50.195
[6]	D. Kumar, G. Kumar and C. P. P. Singh, “Ultrasonic- Assisted Transesterification of Jatropha curcus Oil Using Solid Catalyst, Na/SiO2,” Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, Vol. 17, No. 5, June 2010, pp. 839-844. doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2010.03.001
[7]	C. Stavarache, M. Vinatoru, R. Nishimura and Y. Maeda, “Fatty Acids Methyl Esters from Vegetable Oil by Means of Ultrasonic Energy,” Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, Vol. 12, No. 5, 2005, pp. 367-372. doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2004.04.001
[8]	R. E. Armenta, M. Vinatoru, A. M. Burja, J. A. Kralovec and C. J. Barrow, “Transesterification of Fish Oil to Produce Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters Using Ultrasonic Energy,” Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, Vol. 84, No. 11, 2007, pp. 1045-1052.
[9]	H. D. Hanh, N. T. Dong, K. Okitsu, R. Nishimura and M. Yasuaki, “Biodiesel Production through Transesterification of Triolein with Various Alcohols in an Ultrasonic Field,” Renewable Energy, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2009, pp. 766- 768. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2008.04.007
[10]	K. G. Georgogianni, M. G. Kontominas, E. Tegou, D. Avlonitis and V. Gergis, “Biodiesel Production: Reaction and Process Parameters of Alkali-Catalyzed Transesterification of Waste Frying Oils,” Energy & Fuels, Vol. 21, No. 5, 2007, pp. 3023-3027. doi:10.1021/ef070102b