Biodiesel production from soybean and Jatropha oils by magnetic CaFe sub(2)O sub(4)-Ca sub( 2)Fe sub(2)O sub(5)-bas ed catalyst

Heterogeneous CaFe sub(2)O sub(4)-Ca sub( 2)Fe2O sub(5)-based catalyst with weak magnetism was prepared by co-precipitation and calcination. It was characterized by various techniques including X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption method. Its acti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy (Oxford) 2014-04, Vol.68, p.584-591
Main Authors: Xue, Bao-jin, Luo, Jia, Zhang, Fan, Fang, Zhen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiesel
Catalysts
Coprecipitation
Magnetism
Methyl alcohol
Soybeans
Transesterification
X-rays
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Heterogeneous CaFe sub(2)O sub(4)-Ca sub( 2)Fe2O sub(5)-based catalyst with weak magnetism was prepared by co-precipitation and calcination. It was characterized by various techniques including X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption method. Its active components were identified as mainly Ca-Fe composite oxides such as CaFe sub(2)O sub(4) for transesterification. The magnetism was further strengthened by reducing its component of Fe sub(2)O sub(3) to Fe sub(3)O sub(4)-Fe under H sub(2) atmosphere for better magnetic separation. Both catalysts were used for the catalytic transesterification of soybean and Jatropha oils to biodiesel. The highest biodiesel yields for soybean oil of 85.4% and 83.5% were obtained over the weak and strong magnetic catalysts, respectively under the optimized conditions (373 K, 30 min, 15/1 methanol/oil molar ratio and 4 wt% catalyst). The catalysts could be recycled three times. Biodiesel production from pretreated Jatropha oil was tested with the magnetic CaFe sub(2)O sub(4)-Ca sub( 2)Fe sub(2)O sub(5)-Fe3 O sub(4)-Fe catalyst, and 78.2% biodiesel yield was obtained. The magnetic CaFe sub(2)O sub(4)-Ca sub( 2)Fe sub(2)O sub(5)-bas ed catalyst shows a potential application for the green production of biodiesel.
ISSN:0360-5442
DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.082