Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst

Palm biodiesel (methyl ester) was successfully synthesized from refined bleached deodorized palm oil (RBDPO) by transesterification reaction. The alkali catalyst was selected for this reaction, and the effects of operating variables such as molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time, and quant...

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Main Author: Azhari
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2006
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Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/637/1/1600441.pdf
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spelling my-upm-ir.6372015-08-06T04:14:04Z Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst 2006-09 Azhari, Palm biodiesel (methyl ester) was successfully synthesized from refined bleached deodorized palm oil (RBDPO) by transesterification reaction. The alkali catalyst was selected for this reaction, and the effects of operating variables such as molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time, and quantity of catalyst were investigated. The reaction was carried out under atmospheric pressure. The reaction temperatures were varied among 55, 60, 65 and 70°C, while the reaction times were between 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 min respectively. The effects of two alkali catalysts namely sodium methoxide (NaOCH3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at catalyst amounts of 1.0% w/w and molar ratios of methanol to RBDPO at 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, and 6:1 were investigated on reaction yield. The optimum conditions for NaOCH3 catalyst are as follows: reaction temperature is 65°C, reaction time is 60 minutes, molar ratio is 6:1, and catalyst amount, 1.0% w/w. The reaction conversion was almost 99%. While using NaOH catalyst, the conversion was 94%. The low pour point palm biodiesel was produced through winterization and vacuum distillation process. The vacuum distillation operated under pressure and temperature were between 5.2-6.0 mbar and 156-158°C. Basically, the lower the content of saturated components in a biodiesel, a better pour point biodiesel would be produced. However, in this experiment, the lowest of saturated component achievable was 16% w/w, and the lowest pour point attainable for palm biodiesel was at 3°C. Besides that, the kinetics study on transesterification of RBDPO with methanol established that the reaction occurred via two stepwise and irreversible elementary reactions. The rate constants for the formation of intermediate diglycerides and the final product palm oil methyl esters were determined at various temperatures. The conversion of triglycerides (TG) and diglycerides (DG) appeared to be following the second order reaction. The values of kTG were between 0.005 – 0.013 and the values of kDG were between 0.019 – 0.027. The activation energies for stepwise reaction in transesterification of palm based oils with methanol ranged from 6.87 to 11.45 kcal/mol. Palm oil - Malaysia 2006-09 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/637/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/637/1/1600441.pdf application/pdf en public masters Universiti Putra Malaysia Palm oil - Malaysia Faculty of Engineering
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection PSAS Institutional Repository
language English
topic Palm oil - Malaysia


spellingShingle Palm oil - Malaysia


Azhari,
Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst
description Palm biodiesel (methyl ester) was successfully synthesized from refined bleached deodorized palm oil (RBDPO) by transesterification reaction. The alkali catalyst was selected for this reaction, and the effects of operating variables such as molar ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time, and quantity of catalyst were investigated. The reaction was carried out under atmospheric pressure. The reaction temperatures were varied among 55, 60, 65 and 70°C, while the reaction times were between 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 min respectively. The effects of two alkali catalysts namely sodium methoxide (NaOCH3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at catalyst amounts of 1.0% w/w and molar ratios of methanol to RBDPO at 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, and 6:1 were investigated on reaction yield. The optimum conditions for NaOCH3 catalyst are as follows: reaction temperature is 65°C, reaction time is 60 minutes, molar ratio is 6:1, and catalyst amount, 1.0% w/w. The reaction conversion was almost 99%. While using NaOH catalyst, the conversion was 94%. The low pour point palm biodiesel was produced through winterization and vacuum distillation process. The vacuum distillation operated under pressure and temperature were between 5.2-6.0 mbar and 156-158°C. Basically, the lower the content of saturated components in a biodiesel, a better pour point biodiesel would be produced. However, in this experiment, the lowest of saturated component achievable was 16% w/w, and the lowest pour point attainable for palm biodiesel was at 3°C. Besides that, the kinetics study on transesterification of RBDPO with methanol established that the reaction occurred via two stepwise and irreversible elementary reactions. The rate constants for the formation of intermediate diglycerides and the final product palm oil methyl esters were determined at various temperatures. The conversion of triglycerides (TG) and diglycerides (DG) appeared to be following the second order reaction. The values of kTG were between 0.005 – 0.013 and the values of kDG were between 0.019 – 0.027. The activation energies for stepwise reaction in transesterification of palm based oils with methanol ranged from 6.87 to 11.45 kcal/mol.
format Thesis
qualification_level Master's degree
author Azhari,
author_facet Azhari,
author_sort Azhari,
title Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst
title_short Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst
title_full Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst
title_fullStr Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst
title_full_unstemmed Synthesis of Palm Biodiesel Using Direct Application of Pure Sodium Methoxide as the Catalyst
title_sort synthesis of palm biodiesel using direct application of pure sodium methoxide as the catalyst
granting_institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
granting_department Faculty of Engineering
publishDate 2006
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/637/1/1600441.pdf
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