Development of Mathematical Correlation for the Transesterification Reaction

The demand for petroleum is increasing with each passing day. This may be attributed to the limited resources of petroleum crude. In that case it becomes utmost necessity to search for alternative fuels which are renewable and in that biodiesel emerges as a real solution. Chemically biodiesel is monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable feedstock like vegetable oils and animal fats. It is produced by transesterification in which, oil or fat is reacted with alcohol in presence of a catalyst. The process of transesterification is affected by the mode of reaction condition, molar ratio of alcohol to oil, type and amount of catalysts, reaction time and temperature. In present study biodiesel is prepared in the laboratory scale processor following base catalyzed transesterification. The reaction was carried out by varying different parameters to find the best combination of influencing parameter to obtain maximum ester yield from the oil. The aim of the study is to establish the kinetics of the reaction during transesterification and to develop mathematical correlation between the ester yield and different influencing parameters for the reaction. It has been estimated that the simulation equations developed predicts the values of ester yield with R² values of 0.96 and 0.95 respectively, when compared with experimentally determined values thus can be used for vegetable oil with FFA less than 2.5.