| Popis: |
A two-step transesterification process is developed to convert the high FFA oils to its mono-esters. Using 100 ml of oil, the optimum combination of parameters for pretreatment were found to be 0.45 v/v methanol-oil-ratio, 0.5% v/v H2SO4 acid catalyst, 50˚C and 45 min reaction time. After pretreatment of neem oil, transesterification reaction was carried out with 4.5:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 1% KOH as alkaline catalyst, 75 min reaction time and 50˚C reaction temperature to produce the fatty acid methyl ester. This two step process gave maximum average yield of 70±2%. |
