Transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel over kalsilite catalyst

doi:10.1007/s11705-010-0574-x

Front Chem Sci Eng

2011, Vol. 5

Issue (3) : 325-329 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-010-0574-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel over kalsilite catalyst

Guang WEN, Zifeng YAN(

)

School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266555, China

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Abstract

The transesterification reaction of soybean oil with methanol over kalsilite-based heterogeneous catalysts was investigated. The kalsilite was synthesized from potassium silicate, potassium hydroxide, and aluminum nitrate aqueous solutions by controlling the pH value at 13. After calcination in air at 1200°C, a very porous kalsilite (KAlSiO₄) was obtained with surface pores ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 μm. However, this kalsilite had relatively low catalytic activity for the transesterification reaction. A biodiesel yield of 54.4% and a kinematic viscosity of 7.06 cSt were obtained at a high reaction temperature of 180°C in a batch reactor. The catalytic activity of kalsilite was significantly enhanced by introducing a small amount of lithium nitrate in the impregnation method. A biodiesel yield of 100% and a kinematic viscosity of 3.84 cSt were achieved at a temperature of only 120°C over this lithium modified catalyst (2.3 wt-% Li). The test of this lithium modified catalyst in pellet form in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor showed that it maintained a stable catalytic performance with a biodiesel yield of 100% over the first 90 min.

Keywords kalsilite heterogeneous catalyst transesterification biodiesel

Corresponding Author(s): YAN Zifeng,Email:zfyancat@upc.edu.cn

Issue Date: 05 September 2011

Cite this article:

Guang WEN,Zifeng YAN. Transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel over kalsilite catalyst[J]. Front Chem Sci Eng, 2011, 5(3): 325-329.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-010-0574-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2011/V5/I3/325

Fig.1 The overall transesterification

Fig.2 XRD patterns of the catalyst materials prepared

Fig.3 SEM images and EDS of kalsilite KS-1200 powder catalyst

Fig.4 The effects of reaction temperature and time over kalsilite KS-1200
soybean oil: methanol: catalyst powder (weight ratio) = 100 ∶ 50 ∶ 5; stirring rate: 1100 rpm

Fig.5 Catalytic activity of Li modified kalsilite
soybean oil: methanol: catalyst (weight ratio) = 100 ∶ 50 ∶ 5; stirring rate: 1100 rpm; time: 2 min

Fig.6 Biodiesel yield in fixed-bed reactor filled with kalsilite KSLI-P pellets
soybean oil: methanol: catalyst powder (weight ratio) = 100 ∶ 50 ∶ 5; stirring rate: 1100 rpm

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