ABSTRACT
This work was aimed at formulation of biodegradable diesel from waste fried palm oil (FPO) via trans-esterification with optimization and chemical kinetics of the process. The waste fried palm oil was pre-treated and characterized using American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) D4067 (1986) methods to determine its physio-chemical properties. The oil was trans-esterified to biodiesel, and the process parameters for trans-esterification, was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The physical and chemical properties of biodegradable diesel were determined using (ASTM) 6751 (1973) methods. The chemical kinetics of this trans-esterification to methyl ester using mechanisms of triglyceride to di-glyceride, di-glyceride to mono-glyceride and mono-glyceride to methyl ester. The results showed that the pre-treatment of waste fried palm oil reduced, its free fatty acid (FFA) less than 1%. The optimum value of the parameters for pre-treated waste fried palm oil (PFPO) trans-esterification using RSM were a catalyst concentration of 0.5 & 1.5 wt.%, methanol/oil molar ratio 4:1 & 8:1, reaction temperature of 45oC, a reaction time of 60 minutes at constant stirring speed of 350 rpm, and under these conditions, the amount of methyl ester yield was 91.2 %. The properties of biodiesel produced under optimized protocol met the ASTM standard and was within the acceptable limits. The rate parameters showed that the trans-esterification of PFPO has conversion of triglyceride to di-glyceride as rate determining step (RDS). Also, the rate constant for RDS increased as temperature increased from 52 to 64oC. This indicates that the rate-determining step of the trans-esterification of the oil was favoured at mild temperatures, and heat is required for the reaction. The activation energies determined for PFPO (Tg =18.34, Dg = 9.83 and Mg = 4.9.KJ/mol.) trans-esterification indicate that PFPO mono-glyceride trans-esterification requires less energy than di- and tri-glycerides.
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