Abstract
Biodiesel (BD), typically consisting of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), has received much attention because it is a renewable biofuel that contributes little to global warming compared to petroleum-based diesel fuel. The most common method used for BD production is based on the alkali-catalyzed transesterification of first-use refined oils and fats with an alcohol (e.g. methanol). These technologies, however, require significant modification when applied to second use materials such as greases because of their higher free fatty acid (FFA) content. Recently, we reported a series of insoluble porous polymer grafted diphenylammonium salts that efficiently esterified the FFA in greases to FAME. In this work, the diphenylammonium salts were supported onto two robust mesoporous silicas. The resulting catalysts had high esterification activity with >99% of the FFA in greases converted to FAME, and the FFA content in the treated greases was reduced to <1 wt%. The mesoporous silica-supported catalysts displayed minimal transesterification activity.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge Mr. Kerby Jones for helpful advice on HPLC methods and Mr. Justin Miller for experimental help. W.L. thanks the National Science Foundation for financial support.
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H. L. Ngo and N. A. Zafiropoulos contributed equally to this work.
Mention of trade names or commercial products in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture.
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Ngo, H.L., Zafiropoulos, N.A., Foglia, T.A. et al. Mesoporous Silica-Supported Diarylammonium Catalysts for Esterification of Free Fatty Acids in Greases. J Am Oil Chem Soc 87, 445–452 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-009-1509-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-009-1509-x