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A two-step process was developed to produce biodiesel from Calophyllum inophyllum oil with high free fatty acids (FFAs), which is abundant in coastal areas of India. In the first step, esterification was carried out using modified zirconia catalyst, and in the second step; transesterification was carried out using conventional alkali catalyst, KOH. Modified zirconia was a synthesized catalyst and was characterized by NH3 TPD, XRD, SEM, and FTIR analyses. Catalytic activity was checked with FFA esterification reaction. In the first step, the acid value was reduced from 44 to 2 mg KOH/g of oil. The esterification process parameters were optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM). A kinetic study demonstrated that the esterification reaction followed pseudo first-order kinetics. Thermodynamic studies on the esterification reaction were carried out based on the Arrhenius model. In this study, we showed that sulfated zirconia is an efficient alternate to the homogenous acid catalyst for esterification of FFA in pinnai oil. The impregnated sulfate ion increases the acidity and hydrophobic character of zirconia, which in turn increases the esterification of FFAs. Copyright © 2010 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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