Biodiesel Production by Ethanolysis of Various Vegetable Oils Using Calcium Ethoxide as a Solid Base Catalyst

In this study, fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) were produced from four different vegetable oils (sunflower, cotton seed, olive oil, and used frying oil) using calcium ethoxide as a heterogeneous solid base catalyst. The ester preparation involved a two-step transesterification reaction, followed by p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of green energy 2013-05, Vol.10 (5), p.468-481
Main Authors: Anastopoulos, G, Dodos, G. S, Kalligeros, S, Zannikos, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative fuels. Production and utilization
Applied sciences
Biodiesel
Biomass
calcium
Calcium ethoxide
catalysts
cold
cottonseed
diesel fuel
Energy
esters
ethanol
ethanolysis
Exact sciences and technology
FAEE properties
Fatty acid ethyl esters
fatty acids
frying oil
Fuels
Helianthus
Helianthus annuus
Miscellaneous
Natural energy
Olea
olive oil
sunflower oil
temperature
Transesterification
vegetable oil
viscosity
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Summary:In this study, fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) were produced from four different vegetable oils (sunflower, cotton seed, olive oil, and used frying oil) using calcium ethoxide as a heterogeneous solid base catalyst. The ester preparation involved a two-step transesterification reaction, followed by purification. The effects of the mass ratio of catalyst to oil, the molar ratio of ethanol to oil, and the reaction temperature were studied on conversion of sunflower oil to optimize the reaction conditions in both stages. The rest of the vegetable oils were converted to ethyl esters under optimum reaction parameters. The optimal conditions for first stage transterification were an ethanol/oil molar ratio of 12:1, catalyst amount (3.5%), and 80°C temperature, whereas the maximum yield of ethyl esters reached 80.5%. In the second stage, the yield of ethyl esters showed signs of improvement of 16% in relation with the one-stage transesterification, which was obtained under the following optimal conditions: catalyst concentration 0.75% and ethanol/oil molar ratio 6:1. Property analysis of prepared ethyl ester samples was done, in order to examine their quality parameters. The results obtained showed that the density, viscosity, and calorific value of the produced ethyl esters had values close to those of a no. 2 diesel. On the contrary, the cold filter plugging points were higher than the conventional diesel fuel.
ISSN:1543-5083
1543-5075
1543-5083
DOI:10.1080/15435075.2012.674081