Methanolysis of triolein by low frequency ultrasonic irradiation

Methanolysis of triolein was investigated at room temperature by 40 kHz ultrasonic irradiation to make biodiesel fuel as methyl esters. It was found that the yield of methyl esters strongly depended on the amount of KOH and the molar ratio of methanol to triolein (M/T) and was highest at the M/T molar ratio of 6/1, KOH concentration of 1 wt% and irradiation time of 30 min. In addition, the effects of sonication on the methanolysis of triolein were discussed in comparison to the effects of stirring experiments. The optimum condition under stirring experiments showed that the molar ratio of M/T, KOH concentration and reaction time were 6/1, 1.5 wt% and 4 h, respectively. These results clearly indicated that the ultrasonic irradiation method would be a promising one compared to the conventional stirring method. The high yield under the ultrasonic irradiation condition would be due to high speed mixing and mass transfer between the methanol and triolein as well as the formation of a microemulsion resulting from the ultrasonic cavitation phenomenon.

[1]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Biodiesel production via non-catalytic SCF method and biodiesel fuel characteristics. , 2006 .

[2]  M. Iso,et al.  Production of biodiesel fuel from triglycerides and alcohol using immobilized lipase , 2001 .

[3]  Atsushi Takagaki,et al.  Green chemistry: Biodiesel made with sugar catalyst , 2005, Nature.

[4]  C. Nolasco-Hipólito,et al.  Biodiesel production from crude palm oil and evaluation of butanol extraction and fuel properties , 2001 .

[5]  C. Stavarache,et al.  Fatty acids methyl esters from vegetable oil by means of ultrasonic energy. , 2005, Ultrasonics sonochemistry.

[6]  Milford A. Hanna,et al.  The effect of mixing on transesterification of beef tallow , 1999 .

[7]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Biodiesel fuels from vegetable oils via catalytic and non-catalytic supercritical alcohol transesterifications and other methods: a survey , 2003 .

[8]  R. Davidson,et al.  Applications of ultrasound to organic chemistry , 1987 .

[9]  Yong Wang,et al.  Preparation of biodiesel from waste cooking oil via two-step catalyzed process. , 2007 .

[10]  K. Suslick,et al.  Hot spot conditions during cavitation in water , 1999 .

[11]  A. Baroni,et al.  Solvent free esterification reactions using Lewis acids in solid phase catalysis , 2006 .

[12]  L. Canoira,et al.  Catalytic production of biodiesel from soy-bean oil, used frying oil and tallow , 2000 .

[13]  M. Dubé,et al.  Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil: 1. Process design and technological assessment. , 2003, Bioresource technology.

[14]  J. V. Gerpen,et al.  Biodiesel processing and production , 2005 .

[15]  H. Raheman,et al.  Biodiesel production from mahua (Madhuca indica) oil having high free fatty acids , 2005 .

[16]  Timothy J. Mason,et al.  Sonochemistry : the uses of ultrasound in chemistry , 1990 .

[17]  Ghassan Tashtoush,et al.  Experimental study on evaluation and optimization of conversion of waste animal fat into biodiesel. , 2004 .

[18]  D. Leung,et al.  Transesterification of neat and used frying oil : Optimization for biodiesel production , 2006 .