Kinetic study of the esterification of free fatty acids in non-edible Pongamia pinnata oil using acid catalyst

Abstract

Pre treatment of high free fatty acid containing Pongamia pinnata oil using sulfuric acid catalyst has been optimized. The kinetics of the pre treatment esterification process was studied. The experimental results were found to fit a Pseudo first-order kinetics. The influence of temperature on the rate constants was determined by fitting the results to the Arrhenius equation. The activation energy and frequency factor were favorable for the forward reaction. Based on the experimental results, a methanol to oil ratio of 9:1, one percentage catalyst by weight, and a temperature of 600C, were selected as the optimum settings for the esterification process.