Vegetable Oil Deacidification by Methanol Heterogeneously Catalyzed Esterification in (Monophasic Liquid)/Solid Batch and Continuous Reactors

Abstract

The removal of FFA in vegetable oils is an important pre-treatment in the production of biodiesel, in particular when the starting materials are low cost feedstocks. Heterogeneouslycatalysed esterification with methanol transforms FFA in FAME, decreasing the oil acidity and producing biodiesel simultaneously. The equilibrium of this reaction shifts towards the desired product when increasing the methanol content but, at the same time, a double liquid phase system forms when the methanol content is higher than 6-8% wt . The presence of a double liquid phase can be an important drawback in the reactor. A detailed study about the optimization of the methanol quantity is presented, both using a batch and a packed bed reactor (PBR) at different temperatures (between 60 and 105 °C) using Amberlyst 46 (ion exchange resin) as heterogeneous catalyst. The deacidification of sunflower oil in a monophasic liquid system leads to satisfactory results (final FFA lower than 0.5 % wt ) for both the reactors. The experimental results demonstrate that the excess of methanol is not convenient in terms of both slower reaction rates and mass of reactant used. The stability of Amberlyst 46 in PBR reactor was positively verified after 600 h of work.

Ultrasonic Intensification To Produce Diester Biolubricants

“…The reaction order for both the FFA and the alcohol is 1; Pirola et al and Tesser et al made the same assumption for the esterification of oleic acid with sulfonic resins as the heterogeneous catalyst. 13,44 Zou and Lei observed a linear relationship between US power density (from 0 to 600 W L −1 ) and forward kinetic constant. 45 They reacted FFA contained in Jatropa oil with methanol applying US power from 0 to 1200 W L −1 at a frequency of 40 kHz.…”

“…With regard to process (ii), lowtemperature epoxidation of oils or fatty acids esters 11,12 implies operating in a double-phase reactor, with severe mass-transfer limitations, as demonstrated by Pirola et al for a similar system (free fatty acid esterification with excess of methanol). 13 Borugadda et al alkoxylated epoxidized triglycerides over montmorillonite in >350 min. 14 With regard to process (iii), esterification is a reaction between an acid and an alcohol to yield an ester and water in the presence of an acid catalyst.…”

“…Acid Amberlysts are macroreticular resins with different Brønsted site concentrations that are active in the esterification. 13,36 Amberlyst 15 has a nominal acidity of 1.7 mequiv mL −1 . We selected it because of its superior activity, compared to gel-type resins.…”

Low pressure conversion of CO2 to methanol over Cu/Zn/Al catalysts. The effect of Mg, Ca and Sr as basic promoters

“…Converting CO 2 into chemicals or fuel is another profitable strategy that enables the reuse of carbon instead landfilling it. Methanol is a bulk chemical and a reagent for the production of various added value chemicals, like formaldehyde [14,15], olefins [16,17], biodiesel [18,19,20], aromatics [21,22]. Methanol is an energy vector as well [23].…”

Preservation of carotenes in the deacidification of crude palm oil

“…This situation is advantageous because prevents both FFA extraction and limits the diffusion phenomena. 19,20 Before the use, the resin was dried at 80 C in an oven for 14-16 h. Higher temperatures are not allowed due to the risk of losing sulphonic acid sites (desulfurization of the catalyst polystyrene matrix).…”