A Single-step Process to Convert Karanja Oil to Fatty Acid Methyl Esters Using Amberlyst15 as a Catalyst

Abstract

Karanja oil was successfully converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) in a single-step process using Amberlyst15 as a catalyst. A methanol to oil ratio of 6 was required to retain the physical structure of the Amberlyst15 catalyst. At higher methanol to oil ratios, the Amberlyst15 catalyst disintegrated. Disintegration of Amberlyst15 caused an irreversible loss in catalytic activity. This loss in activity was due to a decrease in surface area of Amberlyst15, which was caused by a decrease in its mesoporous volume. It appeared that the chemical nature of Amberlyst15 was unaffected. Reuse of Am-berlyst15 with a methanol to oil ratio of 6:1 also revealed a loss in FAME yield. However, this loss in activity was recovered by heating the used Amberlyst15 catalyst to 393 K. The kinetic parameters of a power law model were successfully determined for a methanol to oil ratio of 6:1. An activation energy of 54.9 kJ mol-1 was obtained.