Title: In situ transesterification of non-edible oil in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

Authors: Sintayehu Mekuria Hailegiorgis; Shuhaimi Mahadzir; Duvvuri Subbarao

Addresses: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bander Seri Iskandar 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bander Seri Iskandar 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Bander Seri Iskandar 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia

Abstract: In situ transesterification of Jatropha curcas l. seed with base catalysed alcohol in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) as phase transfer catalyst (PTC) was investigated. The yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) increased from 49.7 w% to 89.2 w% in the presence of CTMAB as PTC at 240 minutes of reaction time. Similarly, the yield of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) increased from 84.7 w% to 99.5 w% in the presence of CTMAB as PTC at 150 minutes of reaction time. The quality of biodiesel fuel conforms to the standards of ASTM D6751 and EN-14214.

Keywords: in situ transesterfication; biodiesel; phase transfer catalysis; cetyltrimethylammonium bromide; CTMAB; Jatropha curcas l; biofuels; non-edible oils; fatty acids; fuel quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2012.049379

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2012 Vol.12 No.2/3/4, pp.161 - 170

Received: 29 Dec 2010
Accepted: 26 Mar 2011
Published online: 28 Aug 2014 *

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