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Full-Text Articles in Chemical Engineering

Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst Supported On Palm Shell Activated Carbon For Transesterification Of Palm Oil, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Nov 2010

Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst Supported On Palm Shell Activated Carbon For Transesterification Of Palm Oil, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

In this study, potassium hydroxide catalyst supported on palm shell activated carbon was developed for transesterification of palm oil. The Central Composite Design (CCD) of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate the effects of reaction temperature, catalyst loading and methanol to oil molar ratio on the production of biodiesel using activated carbon supported catalyst. The highest yield was obtained at 64.1 °C reaction temperature, 30.3 wt.% catalyst loading and 24:1 methanol to oil molar ratio. The physical and chemical properties of the produced biodiesel met the standard specifications. This study proves that activated carbon supported potassium hydroxide …


Kinetics Of The Transesterification Reaction Catalyzed By Solid Base In A Fixed-Bed Reactor, Yang Xiao, Guomin Xiao Oct 2010

Kinetics Of The Transesterification Reaction Catalyzed By Solid Base In A Fixed-Bed Reactor, Yang Xiao, Guomin Xiao

Yang Xiao

Kinetics of the transesterification reaction catalyzed by solid base in a fixed-bed reactor was studied in this paper. The transesterification reaction between palm oil and methanol was catalyzed by KF/Ca−Mg−Al hydrotalcite solid base, which made it a complicated liquid−liquid−solid heterogeneous reaction. Isopropyl ether was used to obtain a homogeneous reactant system, and then liquid−liquid mass-transfer limitations were eliminated. Experimental results showed that, when the feed rate was faster than 0.3 mL/min, liquid−solid external diffusion mass-transfer limitations were negligible and, when the diameter of the catalyst particle was not larger than 0.18 mm, liquid−solid internal diffusion mass-transfer limitations could be neglected …


High Quality Biodiesel And Its Diesel Engine Application: A Review, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Sep 2010

High Quality Biodiesel And Its Diesel Engine Application: A Review, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

The continuous increasing demand for energy and the diminishing tendency of petroleum resources has led to the search for alternative renewable and sustainable fuel. Biodiesel is best substitute for petro-diesel and also most advantageous over petro-diesel for its environmental friendliness. The quality of biodiesel fuel was found to be significant for its successful use on compression ignition engines and subsequent replacement of non-renewable fossil fuels. Conventional biodiesel separation and purification technologies were noticed to yield lower quality biodiesel fuel with resultant excessive energy and water consumptions. Membrane technology showed more potential for effective and efficient separation and purification of biodiesel. …


Transesterification And Recovery Of Intracellular Lipids Using A Single Step Reactive Extraction, Daniel R. Nelson May 2010

Transesterification And Recovery Of Intracellular Lipids Using A Single Step Reactive Extraction, Daniel R. Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A single-step, extractive reaction for extraction of lipids such as biodiesel components, omega-3 fatty acids, or other triglycerides from microbial cells was examined. Conventional methods for lipid extraction use toxic solvents, and require multiple steps and long processing times. When the goal is to produce fatty acid methyl esters or FAMEs, the extracted lipids are subjected to a separate transesterification reaction with simple alcohols in the presence of an acid or base catalyst. A simplified, single-step reactive extraction method can be applied that combines the sequential extraction followed by transesterification using acidified alcohols - a process known as in situ …


High Yield And Conversion Of Biodiesel From A Nonedible Feedstock (Pongamia Pinnata), Yogesh C. Sharma, Bhaskar Singh, John Korstad Jan 2010

High Yield And Conversion Of Biodiesel From A Nonedible Feedstock (Pongamia Pinnata), Yogesh C. Sharma, Bhaskar Singh, John Korstad

College of Science and Engineering Faculty Research and Scholarship

An efficient approach has been adopted for the synthesis of biodiesel developed from karanja, a nonedible oil feedstock. A two-step reaction was followed for synthesis of biodiesel. Karanja oil possessing a high free fatty acid content was esterified with sulfuric acid, and the product obtained was further converted to fatty acid alkyl esters (biodiesel) by transesterification reactions. A moderate molar ratio of 6:1 (methanol/oil) was efficient for acid esterification with 1.5% v/v H2SO4 and 1 h of reaction time at 60 ± 0.5 °C, which resulted in reduction of FFA from 19.88 to 1.86 mg of KOH/g. …


Effects Of Preparative Parameters On The Structure And Performance Of Ca-La Metal Oxide Catalysts For Oil Transesterification, Shuli Yan, Manhoe Kim, Siddharth Mohan, Steven O. Salley, K.Y. Simon Ng Jan 2010

Effects Of Preparative Parameters On The Structure And Performance Of Ca-La Metal Oxide Catalysts For Oil Transesterification, Shuli Yan, Manhoe Kim, Siddharth Mohan, Steven O. Salley, K.Y. Simon Ng

National Biofuels Energy Laboratory

The effects of preparative parameters on the surface basicity, composition, and transesterification activities of several Ca-La metal oxide catalysts were investigated. Four different preparation methods: ammonia-ethanol-carbon dioxide precipitation, physical mixing, impregnation, and co-precipitation, were studied. It was found that the ammonia-ethanol-carbon dioxide precipitation method resulted in the highest BET specific surface area, base strength and base site concentration. Moreover, catalyst surface composition and basicity are a function of calcination temperature, precipitants, pH, and molar ratio of Ca to La in precursor solution, and storage conditions. XRD, XPS, basicity and BET tests revealed that catalyst structure and dispersion of Ca species …