Synthesis of methyl esters and triacetin from macaw oil (Acrocomia aculeata) and methyl acetate over γ-alumina

• Published in: Industrial crops and products 2018-11, Vol.124, p.84-90
• Main Authors: Ribeiro, Jéssica S., Celante, Dian, Brondani, Leoni N., Trojahn, Débora O., da Silva, Camila, de Castilhos, Fernanda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Esterification; Glycerol-free; Interesterification; Triacetylglycerol
• ISSN: 0926-6690; 1872-633X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.07.062

[Display omitted] •Methyl esters production from macaw oil and methyl acetate was assessed.•Catalyst was active in both interesterification and esterification reactions.•Low cost of macaw oil awarded financial attractive to this process.•Catalyst could be reused at least for four cycles without significant activity loss.•This new chemical route showed to be promising for industrial applications. Glycerol excess in the market and high cost of common feedstock have encouraged the investigations of new technologies for biodiesel production. In this context, the use of macaw oil (Acrocomia aculeata) for biodiesel production through interesterification and esterification reactions with methyl acetate as acyl acceptor was evaluated, using heterogeneous catalyst γ-alumina (γ-Al2O3). Experiments were performed at different reaction temperatures (225–300 °C), catalyst contents (0–10% relation to oil mass), oil to methyl acetate molar ratios (1:10–1:40) and reaction times in a batch reactor to determine the effect of these variables in FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) and triacetin production. Catalyst γ-Al2O3 improved FAME and triacetin contents in comparison with no catalyzed reaction. Reaction at 300 °C, with 2% of catalyst in relation to oil mass and molar ratio of 1:20, in 60 min provided the best results. The catalyst could be recovered and reused for at least 6 cycles without significant activity loss. The results allowed to point out that the process showed to be promising for industrial biodiesel production with no glycerol and was financial attractive, since it used a low cost feedstock.