What catalysts are used in biodiesel production?

Strong alkali catalysts such as NaOH, KOH, CH3ONa and CH3OK (potassium methoxide) are used for biodiesel production.

Which catalyst is used in vegetable oil?

In this process, the unsaturated double bonds (see Chapter 2) in the fatty acids of the oil molecules react with hydrogen atoms in the presence of a catalyst. Nickel catalyst is used in commercial hydrogenation of edible oils.

Why is a catalyst used in transesterification?

Transesterification is one of the reversible reactions and proceeds essentially by mixing the reactants. However, the presence of a catalyst (a strong acid or base) accelerates the conversion and a little excess of alcohol is used to shift the equilibrium toward the formation of fatty acid alkyl esters and glycerol.

What is the process of biodiesel production from vegetable oil?

Biodiesel production is the process of producing the biofuel, biodiesel, through the chemical reactions of transesterification and esterification. This involves vegetable or animal fats and oils being reacted with short-chain alcohols (typically methanol or ethanol). The alcohols used should be of low molecular weight.

What is the most preferred catalyst is used to make biodiesel?

Homogeneous catalysis involves a sequence of reactions that is catalyzed by a chemical that is in the same phase as the reaction system. The most preferred catalyst used for the production of biodiesel is the homogeneous catalyst, as they are simple to use and require less time to achieve a complete reaction.

Why Methanol is used in biodiesel production?

Methanol. As earlier mentioned, for biodiesel production via transesterification reaction, methanol is the most common alcohol used. This is because the presence of water during transesterification reaction causes hydrolysis of triglycerides to free fatty acids which leads to soap formation, and poor yield.

Why is hydrogenation of vegetable oil done?

In the food industry, hydrogen is added to oils (in a process called hydrogenation) to make them more solid, or ‘spreadable’. The use of hydrogenated helps to prolong the shelf-life of the food and maintain flavour stability.

What happens when hydrogen is reacted with vegetable oil?

Unsaturated vegetable oils can be ‘hardened’ by reacting them with hydrogen, a reaction called hydrogenation. The double bonds are converted to single bonds in the reaction. In this way, unsaturated fats can be made into saturated fats – they are hardened.

Who invented transesterification?

G. Chavanne
The process the Initiative uses to produce biodiesel was discovered in 1937 by G. Chavanne of the University of Brussels in Belgium who was granted a patent for a paper entitled “Procedure for the transformation of vegetable oils for their uses as fuels”, a process now called transesterification.

How much is catalyst for biodiesel?

A higher amount of catalyst (0.5 to 1.5 percent of the weight of the oil) is required when NaOH or KOH is used. NaOH and KOH also lead to water formation, which slows the reaction rate and causes soap formation. Methanol is the most common alcohol used for conversion of fats and oils to biodiesel.

How are vegetable oils used to make biodiesel?

Dilution, micro-emulsification, pyrolysis and transesterification are the four techniques applied to solve the problems encountered with the high fuel viscosity. Dilution of oils with solvents and microemulsions of vegetable oils lowers the viscosity, some engine performance problems still exist.

How does transesterification affect viscosity of vegetable oil?

An increase in density from 860 to 885 kg/m 3 for vegetable oil methyl esters or biodiesels increases the viscosity from 3.59 to 4.63 mm 2 /s and the increases are highly regular. The purpose of the transesterification process is to lower the viscosity of the oil.

What is the viscosity of vegetable oil methyl esters?

The viscosity values of vegetable oils vary between 27.2 and 53.6 mm 2 /s whereas those of vegetable oil methyl esters between 3.59 and 4.63 mm 2 /s. The viscosity values of vegetable oil methyl esters highly decreases after transesterification process.