title: Glymes as benign co-solvents for CaO-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil to biodiesel.
abstract: The base (such as CaO)-catalyzed heterogeneous preparation of biodiesel encounters a number of obstacles including the need for CaO pretreatment and the reactions being incomplete (typically 90-95% yields). In this study, a number of glymes were investigated as benign solvents for the CaO-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil into biodiesel with a high substrate loading (typically soybean oil >50% v/v). The triglyceride-dissolving capability of glymes led to a much faster reaction rate (>98% conversions in 4h) than in methanol alone (typically 24h) and minimized the saponification reaction when catalyzed by anhydrous CaO or commercial lime without pre-activation. The use of glyme (e.g. P2) as co-solvent also activates commercial lime to become an effective catalyst without calcination pretreatment. The SEM images suggest a dissolution-agglomeration process of CaO surface in the presence of P2, which could remove the CaCO3 and Ca(OH)2 layer coated on the surface of lime.
authors: Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
authors: Shaokun
authors: S
authors: Tang
authors: Hua
authors: H
authors: Zhao
authors: Zhiyan
authors: Z
authors: Song
authors: Olarongbe
authors: O
authors: Olubajo
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels / Q000032:analysis*; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D004951:Esterification; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013024:Soybean Oil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D017610:Calcium Compounds; D010087:Oxides; D012997:Solvents; D013024:Soybean Oil; C016538:lime; D000432:Methanol