Calcium Ethoxide as a Solid Base Catalyst for the Transesterification of Soybean Oil to Biodiesel

Abstract

In this work, calcium ethoxide is proposed as a catalyst for the transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel with methanol and ethanol. First, calcium ethoxide was synthesized through a calcium reaction with ethanol. Then, its physical and chemical characteristics were determined using instrumental methods such as Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements, scanning electron micrographs, and particle size distribution measurements. The effects of the mass ratio of catalyst to oil, the molar ratio of methanol to oil, and the reaction temperature were studied to optimize the reaction conditions. The experimental results showed that the optimum conditions are a 12:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, the addition of 3% Ca(OCH 2 CH 3 ) 2 catalyst, and a 65 °C reaction temperature. A 95.0% biodiesel yield was obtained within 1.5 h in these conditions, and the activation energy was 54 149 J/mol. It also indicated that the catalysis performance of calcium ethoxide is better than that of CaO. Besides, a 91.8% biodiesel yield was obtained when it catalyzed soybean oil to biodiesel with ethanol.

Solid oxide derived from waste shells of Turbonilla striatula as a renewable catalyst for biodiesel production

“…Some of the heterogeneous catalysts reported include calcium ethoxide [12], CaTiO 3 , CaMnO 3 , Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 , CaZrO 3 , and CaO-CeO 2 [13], Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 2061-2067 KF/hydrotalcite [14], sulfated zirconia [15], MgO, CaO, PbO, PbO 2 , Pb 3 O 4 , T l2 O 3 , and ZnO [16], heteropoly acids [17], MgO loaded with KOH [18], etc. Though all the catalysts mentioned above showed a comparative biodiesel yield,sulfated zirconia was found to be the best one.…”

Preparation and Characterization of Anadara Granosa Shells and CaCO3 as Heterogeneous Catalyst for Biodiesel Production

“…Dissolution of CaO to alcoholic phase also caused the deactivation of active sites; it made concentration of CaO decrease. The decrease in yield could be attributed to catalyst deterioration due to poisoning by glycerol and soap present in reaction mixture [9]. The presence of calcium glyceroxide in spent catalyst could possibly be a factor in its reduced reusability.…”

Biodiesel production by methanolysis of waste lard from piglet roasting over quicklime

“…However, the catalyst activity dropped significantly in the third cycle when the FAME concentration of 94.0% was observed. The loss of catalytic activity could be attributed to catalyst deterioration due to poisoning by glycerol [46]. Also, calcium glyceroxide, formed through the reaction of CaO and glycerol, could possibly be a factor reducing reusability [47].…”