A Highly Effective Biomass-Derived Solid Acid Catalyst for Biodiesel Synthesis Through Esterification

Abstract

Efficient valorization of renewable liquid biomass for biodiesel production using the desirable biomass-based catalysts is being deemed to be an environmentally friendly process. Herein, a highly active biomass-based solid acid catalyst (SiO2@Cs-SO3H) with renewable chitosan as raw material through sulfonation procedure under the relatively mild condition was successfully manufactured. The SiO2@Cs-SO3H catalyst was systematically characterized, especially with a large specific surface area (21.82 m2/g) and acidity (3.47 mmol/g). The catalytic activity of SiO2@Cs-SO3H was evaluated by esterification of oleic acid (OA) and methanol for biodiesel production. The best biodiesel yield was acquired by Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimized reaction conditions were temperature of 92°C, time of 4.1 h, catalyst dosage of 6.8 wt%, and methanol to OA molar ratio of 31.4, respectively. In this case, the optimal experimental biodiesel yield was found to be 98.2%, which was close to that of the predicted value of 98.4%, indicating the good reliability of RSM employed in this study. Furthermore, SiO2@Cs-SO3H also exhibited good reusability in terms of five consecutive recycles with 87.0% biodiesel yield. As such, SiO2@Cs-SO3H can be considered and used as a bio-based sustainable catalyst of high-efficiency for biodiesel production.

Enhanced upgrading of corncob to furfuryl alcohol with a novel silica-supported SO42−-TiO2 chemocatalyst and immobilized whole-cell biocatalyst

“…According to the report that a solid acid catalyst could transform biomass into FFA as chemocatalysts. 41 Diverse doses of SO 4 2− -TiO 2 /SiO 2 catalysts (1–5 wt%) were applied for the chemical catalysis of CNB into FFA, and had a remarkable influence on the productivity of FFA. As the dose of SO 4 2− -TiO 2 /SiO 2 increased from 1 to 4 wt%, the productivity of FFA was clearly improved, with the FFA yield enhanced from 17.5% to 73.3%.…”

Enabling Catalysts for Biodiesel Production via Transesterification

“…In addition, the use of heterogeneous acid catalysts is the most suitable when the feedstock contains high FFA and water content, as the catalyst has a high tolerance for both of these compounds [126]. A highly active biomass-based solid acid catalyst (SiO 2 @Cs-SO 3 H) was successfully prepared by a sulfonation process using renewable chitosan as a raw material by Zhang et al [127]. The catalytic activity of SiO 2 @Cs-SO 3 H was evaluated using the esterification reaction of oleic acid (OA) and methanol.…”

Hydrophobic species-enabled acid–base multi-catalysis for stereoselective access to renewable trans-anethole

“…1–3 Biomass is renewable and can be easily obtained from agricultural and forestry wastes. 4–6 Although there are large biomass reserves on the Earth, most of them burn directly to produce heat, wasting the natural gift. 7 Upgrading natural biomass to high-value chemical platforms is a promising strategy to turn the annoying waste into valuable treasure.…”