(2013) Applied Energy_Mechanistic investigation into water tolerance of non-catalytic biodiesel conversion

Kwon E.E., Yi H., Jeon Y.J.

(Elsevier Ltd) Applied Energy ISSN: 3062619 Vol.112 Issue. Article No. DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.06.038

This study provides a systematic approach to understand the water tolerance of a newly developed non-catalytic biodiesel conversion process. The influence of water on the non-catalytic biodiesel conversion process was compared directly with the conventional transesterification reaction, which uses homogenous catalysts, such as KOH and H₂SO₄. This study demonstrated that water had no significant impact on non-catalytic biodiesel conversion and the conversion efficiency reached approximately ~98±0.5% at a water content of 5wt.% in the biodiesel lipid feedstock (i.e., corn oil). However, this work showed that the non-catalytic biodiesel conversion using porous hydrophobic materials (i.e., charcoal) exhibited better biodiesel conversion performance compared to non-catalytic biodiesel conversion in the presence of activated alumina. This can be explained by the mechanism of the reaction between gas-phase MeOH and liquid-phase triglycerides. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.