A Preliminary Study: Esterification of Free Fatty Acids (FFA) in Artificially Modified Feedstock Using Ionic Liquids as Catalysts

Abstract

The exploration of non-edible oils as a feedstock has been positively affect the economic viability of biodiesel production. Due to the high level of free fatty acid (FFA) in non-edible oils, esterification is needed to remove the acidity to the minimum level before base-catalyzed transesterification. In this study, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate (HMIMHSO4) was self-synthesized and compared with the commercialized ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate (BMIMHSO4). HMIMHSO4 and BMIMHSO4 were characterized by 1 H NMR prior to use in the esterification reaction. The reaction was carried out in a batch reactor and variables such as types of alcohol, oil: alcohol molar ratio, temperature and types of stirring were investigated. The highest conversion for each catalyst was achieved using ethanol as a solvent at the condition of 343 K reaction temperature, 12:1 alcohol to oil ratio in 8 h reaction time. BMIMHSO4 showed higher conversion (98%) as compared to HMIMHSO4 with only 82% conversion. Clearly, BMIMHSO4 shows considerable potential to reduce the FFA in the feedstock as it is exhibit excellent catalytic activity due to lower alkyl chain of BMIMHSO4 compared to HMIMHSO4.

Organocatalytic Ring-Opening Polymerization of ε-Caprolactone Using bis(N-(N′-butylimidazolium)alkane Dicationic Ionic Liquids as the Metal-Free Catalysts: Polymer Synthesis, Kinetics and DFT Mechanistic Study

“…Ionic liquids (ILs) as organocatalysts are one of the most rapidly growing topics of chemistry research on new materials investigation in the last decade. Conventionally, ILs are entirely composed of cations and anions with the melting points lower than 100 • C [38][39][40]. However, ionic liquids are better described as liquid compounds that display ionic-covalent crystalline structures [41].…”

Highly Efficient Synthesis of 1-Thioamidoalkyl-2-naphthols and 14-Aryl-14H-dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes using a Novel Ionic Liquid: Catalyst Preparation, Characterization and Performing the Reactions

“…salts) which melt at or below 100 °C. These salts have attracted rising interest in the last decade, due to their unique properties, such as: high thermal and chemical stability, non-flammability, non-volatility, wide liquid-state temperature range, large electrochemical window, favorable salvation behavior, and ability to use as solvent, reagent and catalyst in organic synthesis [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Among the different kinds of ionic liquids, Brønsted acidic ones have been designed to replace solid acids and traditional mineral liquid acids to catalyze chemical transformations [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

Preface of BCREC Volume 11 Issue 2 Year 2016

“…A preliminary study on esterification of free fatty acids (FFA) in artificially modified feedstock using ionic liquids as catalysts was studied by Roslan et al [9]. They found that BMIMHSO4 shows considerable potential to reduce the FFA in the feedstock as it is exhibit excellent catalytic activity due to lower alkyl chain of BMIMHSO4 compared to HMIMHSO4.…”