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99 % yield biodiesel production from rapeseed oil using benzyl bromide–CaO catalyst

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Abstract

Biofuels are sustainable fuels produced from modern biomass such as plants and algae. Biodiesel has high lubricity and ultra-low sulfur content. Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oil by transesterification. Actually, practical biodiesel production is limited by the low reaction rate of transesterification of vegetable oil with methanol catalyzed by CaO. Here we designed an efficient catalyst: benzyl bromide-modified CaO. Using benzyl bromide-modified CaO, we obtained a 99.2 % yield of fatty acid methyl esters in 3 h, compared with 35.3 % yield using commercial CaO under the same reaction conditions. The improved catalytic activity is explained by better fat diffusion to the surface of the benzyl bromide-modified CaO. The novelty of our findings is the much higher yield of our method compared to literature data on heterogeneous catalysis. In addition, the lifetime of our catalyst is excellent.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by grants from Natural Science Research Plan Projects of Shaanxi Science and Technology Department (2011JQ2014) and PetroChina Innovation Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Second Dianzi Road No. 18, Xi’an, 710065, Shannxi, China

    Ying Tang, Xuefan Gu & Gang Chen

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  1. Ying Tang
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  2. Xuefan Gu
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  3. Gang Chen
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Correspondence to Ying Tang.

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Tang, Y., Gu, X. & Chen, G. 99 % yield biodiesel production from rapeseed oil using benzyl bromide–CaO catalyst. Environ Chem Lett 11, 203–208 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-013-0403-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-013-0403-9

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