title: A comparative study of biodiesel production using methanol, ethanol, and tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE) under supercritical conditions.
abstract: In this study, biodiesel production under supercritical conditions among methanol, ethanol, and tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE) was compared in order to elucidate the differences in their reaction behavior. A continuous reactor was employed, and experiments were conducted at various reaction temperatures (270-400 °C) and reaction times (3-30 min) and at a fixed pressure of 20 MPa and an oil-to-reactant molar ratio of 1:40. The results showed that under the same reaction conditions, the supercritical methanol method provided the highest yield of biodiesel. At 350 °C and 20 MPa, canola oil was completely converted to biodiesel after 10, 30, and 30 min in the case of - supercritical methanol, ethanol, and MTBE, respectively. The reaction kinetics of biodiesel production was also compared for supercritical methanol, ethanol, and MTBE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan.
authors.forename: Obie
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Farobie
authors.affiliation: Division of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan. Electronic address: mat@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yukihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsumura
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D007700:Kinetics; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D008738:Methyl Ethers; C043243:methyl tert-butyl ether; D000431:Ethanol; D000432:Methanol
keywords: Biodiesel; Biomass; MTBE; Spiral reactor; Supercritical fluids