Efficient simultaneous esterification/transesterification of non-edible Jatropha oil for biodiesel fuel production by template-free synthesized nanoporous titanosilicates

• Published in: Catalysis today 2020-10, Vol.356, p.56-63
• Main Authors: Chang, Albert, Pan, Jyun-Hong, Lai, Nien-Chu, Tsai, Ming-Chieh, Mochizuki, Takehisa, Toba, Makoto, Chen, Shih-Yuan, Yang, Chia-Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiesel fuel; Nanoporous titanosilicate; Non-edible oil; Solid acid catalyst; Template-free synthesis
• ISSN: 0920-5861; 1873-4308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2019.10.006

[Display omitted] •A template-free synthesis of nanoporous titanosilicates is developed.•The materials contain loosely packed nanoparticles and show high nanoporosity.•They exhibit suitable Lewis acidity for BDF production from Jatropha oil.•They can be reused without significant activity loss and Si leaching.•The resulting high-quality BDFs meet specifications of international standards. The biodiesel fuel (BDF) derived from non-edible oils is regarded as the most promising alternative fuel to diesel fuel. In this study, a template-free synthesis was developed to prepare nanoporous titanosilicate materials as cost-effective, highly active and reusable solid acid catalysts to convert non-edible Jatropha oil into high-quality BDF. The synthesis involved the cocondensation of sodium silicate and triethanolamine-stabilized titanium species induced by a rapid drop of solution pH. The prepared materials exhibited high nanoporosity and adequate Lewis acidity and could effectively catalyze the simultaneous esterification/transesterification of Jatropha oil while showing extremely low leaching of silicon. The catalytic activity remained high after repeated use. The high-quality Jatropha BDF prepared under optimum conditions met the specifications of international standards, suggesting that the materials are promising for practical BDF production.