Abstract
Methyl esters were produced by transesterification of palm oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst (KOH). The rate of transesterification in a batch reactor increased with temperature up to 60°C. Higher temperatures did not reduce the time to reach maximal conversion. The conversion of triglycerides (TG), diglycerides (DG), and monoglycerides (MG) appeared to be second order up to 30 min of reaction time. Reaction rate constants for TG, DG, and MG hydrolysis reactions were 0.018–0.191 (wt%·min)−1, and were higher at higher temperatures and higher for the MG reaction than for TG hydrolysis. Activation energies were 14.7, 14.2, and 6.4 kcal/mol for the TG, DG, and MG hydrolysis reactions, respectively. The optimal catalyst concentration was 1% KOH.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Muniyappa, P.R., S.C. Brammer, and H. Noureddini, Improved Conversion of Plant Oils and Animal Fats into Biodiesel and Co-product, Bioresour. Technol. 56:19–24 (1996).
Sridharan, R., and I.M. Mathai, Transesterification Reactions, J. Sci. Ind. Res. 33:178–187 (1974).
Freedman, B., R.O. Butterfield, and E.H. Pryde, Transesterification Kinetics of Soybean Oil, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 63:1375–1380 (1986).
Noureddini, H., and D. Zhu, Kinetics of Transesterification of Soybean Oil, 74:1457–1463 (1997).
Freedman, B., E.H. Pryde, and T.L. Mounts, Variables Affecting the Yield of Fatty Esters from Transesterified Vegetable Oil, 61:1638–1643 (1984).
Isigigur, A., F. Karaosmanoglu, and H.A. Aksoy, Methyl Ester from Safflower Seed Oil of Turkish Origin as a Biofuel for Diesel Engines, Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 45/46:103–112 (1994).
Ahn, E., M. Koncar, M. Mittelbach, and R. Marr, A Low-waste Process for the Production of Biodiesel, Sep. Sci. Technol. 30: 2021–2033 (1995).
Darnoko, D., M. Cheryan, and E.G. Perkins, Simultaneous Analysis of Vegetable Oil Transesterification Products by Gel Permeation Chromatography, J. Liq. Chrom. 23:2327–2335 (2000).
Official and Tentative Methods, 3rd edn., American Oil Chemists’ Society, Champaign, 1985, Method Ce 1-62.
Freedman, B., W.F. Kwolek, and E.H. Pryde, Quantitation in the Analysis of Transesterified Soybean Oil by Capillary Gas Chromatography, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 63:1370–1375 (1986).
Darnoko, D., Continuous Production of Methyl Esters from Palm Oil and Recovery of Beta-Carotene by Membrane Technology, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1999.
Dandik, L., and H.A. Aksoy, The Kinetics of Hydrolysis of Nigella sativa (black cumin) Seed Oil Catalyzed by Native Lipase in Ground Seed, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 69:1239–1241 (1992).
Smith, J.M., Chemical Engineering Kinetics, 3rd edn., McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., New York, 1981.
Boocock, G.B., S.K. Konar, V. Mao, C. Lee, and S. Buligan, Fast Formation of High-Purity Methyl Esters from Vegetable Oils. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 75:1167–1172 (1998).
Fillieres, R., B. Benjelloun-Mlayah, and M. Delmas, Ethanolysis of Rapeseed Oil: Quantitation of Ethyl Esters, Mono-, Di-, and Triglycerides and Glycerol by High-Performance Size-Exclusion Chromatography, 72:427–432 (1995).
Vicente, G., A. Coteron, M. Martinez, and J. Aracil, Application of the Factorial Design of Experiments and Response Surface Methodology to Optimize Biodiesel Production, Ind. Crops Prod. 8:29–35 (1998).
Maycock, J.H., Extraction of Crude Palm Oil, in Palm Oil, edited by F.D. Gunstone, Crit. Rep. Appl. Chem., John Wiley & Sons, New York, Vol. 15, 1987, pp. 29–38.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Darnoko, D., Cheryan, M. Kinetics of palm oil transesterification in a batch reactor. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 77, 1263–1267 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-000-0198-y
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-000-0198-y