Optimization and kinetics of sunflower oil methanolysis catalyzed by calcium oxide-based catalyst derived from palm kernel shell biochar

Milan D. Kostić, Alireza Bazargan, Olivera S. Stamenković, Vlada B. Veljković, Gordon McKay*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

128 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sunflower oil methanolysis over CaO-based palm kernel shell biochar (PKSB) catalyst was assessed by coupling full factorial design with modeling, optimization and kinetic studies. According to the analysis of variance, the effect of reaction temperature and methanol-to-oil molar ratio on the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) synthesis is significant, while the effect of catalyst loading is statistically negligible. The optimum reaction conditions are found to be catalyst loading of 3 wt%, temperature of 65 °C and methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9:1, ensuring the best FAME content of 99%. The kinetic model of the methanolysis of sunflower oil, catalyzed by PKSB-based catalyst, combines the changing- and first-order reaction rate laws with respect to triacylglycerols and FAMEs, respectively. The high activation energy (108.8 kJ/mol) indicates the temperature sensitivity of the reaction. The CaO-based PKSB catalyst can be reused without any treatment in three consecutive cycles with no significant drop in activity. Since the calcium content in the biodiesel product is higher than the standard limit, the overall process should include a purification stage.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)304-313
Number of pages10
JournalFuel
Volume163
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • Biodiesel catalyst
  • Calcium oxide
  • Kinetics
  • Methanolysis
  • Optimization
  • Palm kernel shell biochar

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Optimization and kinetics of sunflower oil methanolysis catalyzed by calcium oxide-based catalyst derived from palm kernel shell biochar'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this