Synthesis of Biodiesel from Tall Oil Fatty Acids by Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis by Gideon Lawer-Yolar Benjamin Dawson-Andoh & Emmanuel Atta-Obeng

Author:Gideon Lawer-Yolar, Benjamin Dawson-Andoh & Emmanuel Atta-Obeng
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Tags: This study compared the yield of biodiesel produced from tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) via (i) homogeneous catalyst (sulfuric acid) and (ii) a heterogeneous catalyst (Amberlyst® BD20, together with Ambersep BD 19 (Midcontinental Chemical Co., Olathe, KS, USA)® using a batch reactor. The effect of operation conditions including temperature, catalyst concentration, methanol: oil ratio and reaction time on esterification yield were investigated. Gas chromatographic data showed that the major fatty acids present in the TOFA are oleic acid (C18:1n9) and linoleic acid (C18:2n6). Homogenous catalysis yielded 96.76% biodiesel compared to 90.24% for heterogeneous catalysis. Optimized conditions for homogenous catalysis were at a catalyst concentration of 0.5 w/w%, 15:1 methanol: oil mass ratio at 55 C for 60 min. FTIR results also showed that the homogeneous catalyst yielded a more complete reaction toward biodiesel production in a shorter time (60 min) compared to the heterogeneous catalyst (4.7 h). For heterogeneous catalysis, the highest yield and the lowest acid value were achieved after a second recycling because the reactants were not fully in contact with the catalyst during the first recycling. The catalyst did not show a reduction in catalytic activity even after the fourth recycling. However, the acid value was higher than that for ASTM standards for biodiesel., tall oil fatty acid; homogeneous/heterogeneous catalysis; esterification


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