Transesterification of croton megalocarpus oil to biodiesel over WO3 supported on silica mesoporous-macroparticles catalyst

M. A.A. Aziz, K. Puad, S. Triwahyono*, A. A. Jalil, M. S. Khayoon, A. E. Atabani, Z. Ramli, Z. A. Majid, D. Prasetyoko, D. Hartanto

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The transesterification of croton megalocarpus oil with methanol to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was carried out using WO3supported on silica mesoporous-macroparticles (WO3/SMP) as a heterogeneous acid catalyst. The silica mesoporous-macroparticles (SMP) and WO3/SMP were synthesized by sol-gel and impregnation method, respectively. The catalysts were characterized with XRD, FTIR, N2adsorption-desorption, SEM and TEM. The presence of WO3gave a negative effect on the crystallinity and surface area of the SMP as evidenced by XRD and N2adsorption-desorption studies, respectively. Pyridine adsorbed FTIR spectroscopy showed that the concentration of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites was dependent on the WO3loading on SMP. 2 wt% of WO3loading on SMP (2WO3/SMP) exhibited the highest intensity of Lewis acid sites which is vital in transesterification reaction. Under the optimum reaction condition determined through response surface methodology (RSM), 2 wt% WO3loading, 4.5 wt% catalyst amount, 9:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 45 min reaction time and 343 K reaction temperature yielded a 96% of biodiesel product. The highest catalytic activity of 2WO3/SMP may be attributed to the high Lewis acid sites content and the presence of both intra- and interparticle pores of the catalyst that facilitated and enhanced the transport of reactants and products during the reaction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)882-892
Number of pages11
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume316
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • Croton megalocarpus oil
  • Lewis acid sites
  • Response surface methodology
  • Silica mesoporous-macroparticles (SMP)
  • Transesterification
  • WOcatalyst

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