Kinetics of Transesterification of Safflower Oil to Obtain Biodiesel Using Heterogeneous Catalysis

Abstract

The kinetics of the transesterification of safflower oil and methanol catalyzed by K2O/NaX was studied and modeled. The influence of the oil-methanol initial molar ratio and amount of catalyst were investigated to achieve a maximum triglycerides conversion (99%) and a final methyl esters content of 94% ± 1. A kineticmodel based on an Eley– Rideal mechanism was found to best fit the experimental data when assuming methanol adsorption as determining step. Other models derived from Langmuir – Hinshelwood – Hougen –Watson (LHHW) mechanisms were rejected based on statistical analysis, mechanistic considerations and physicochemical interpretation of the estimated parameters.