Abstract:
This work studies the synthesis of biodiesel from heterogeneous solid base transesterification. The solid base catalyst consists of 98.5% of calcium oxide and 1.5% of lithium. Catalyst concentration ranging between 1-2 wt % Li-CaO in relation to oil was first mixed as a catalyst in methanol in the mixing tank for 30 minutes at a temperature of 60. Oil preheated at a temperature of 100 was thereafter transferred into the reactor where methanol and catalyst mixture from mixing tank were added to it. The biodiesel produced was characterized and its properties compared in respect of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM D6751) and EN 14214 limits for biodiesel. The effects of five process parameters namely; reaction time, temperature, stir speed, catalyst concentration and methanol-oil ratio on the biodiesel yield were also investigated. The analysis of results obtained indicated that heterogeneous catalysts exhibit a less corrosive character and can be used in a fixed reactor, leading to safer, cheaper and more environment-friendly operations requiring fewer number of separation steps when compared with homogeneous catalysts. The fuel properties of biodiesel produced are within the limits of ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards for biodiesel and are similar to the fuel properties of fossil diesel which confirms the successful synthesis of biodiesel using heterogeneous solid base catalyst.
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