We report the production of a biodiesel fuel by acid-catalyzed esterification of high free fatty acid (FFA) karanja oil (KO). Pretreated KO was converted to biodiesel by a process of alkaline catalyzed transesterification. Optimum acid-catalyzed esterification was achieved using 1% Sulfated Zirconia (SZ) as a solid acid catalyst with a methanol-to-oil ratio of 9:1, temperature at 60°C and reaction time of 2 h. During this process, FFA were converted into fatty acid methyl esters. The acid value of karanja oil was reduced to 1.3 mg KOH/g from 12.27 mg KOH/g, which confirmed the conversion. Consequently, this pretreatment reduces the overall complexity of the process and reduces the cost of producing biodiesel fuel. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
CITATION STYLE
Thiruvengadaravi, K. V., Nandagopal, J., Baskaralingam, P., Sathya Selva Bala, V., & Sivanesan, S. (2012). Acid-catalyzed esterification of karanja (Pongamia pinnata) oil with high free fatty acids for biodiesel production. Fuel, 98, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2012.02.047
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