title: Accelerated esterification of free fatty acid using pulsed microwaves.
abstract: It was demonstrated that pulsed microwave irradiation is a more effective method to accelerate the esterification of free fatty acid with a heterogeneous catalyst than continuous microwave irradiation. A square-pulsed microwave with a 400 Hz repetition rate and a 10-20% duty cycle with the same energy as the continuous microwave were used in this study. The pulsed microwaves improved the esterification conversion from 39.9% to 66.1% after 15 min in comparison with the continuous microwave under the same reaction conditions. These results indicated that pulsed microwaves with repetitive strong power could enhance the efficiency of biodiesel production relative to the use of continuous microwave with mild power.
authors.affiliation: Convergence Technology Division, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, 1271-19, Sa-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan 426-170, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Daeho
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jinju
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Geun-Ju
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung Kwon
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Seol
authors.forename: Sunshin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D004951:Esterification; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000737:chemistry*; D008872:Microwaves; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified