Transesterification of triacetin by aminated fibrous polymer catalyst in a batch process

Abstract

A solid polymer catalyst in a form of fibrous ion exchange resin containing basic functional groups was prepared by amination of (chemical treatment with triethylamine) with a copolymer of glycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) and polyethylene (PE) (PE-g-PGMA) having 600 % degree of grafting. The PE-g-PGMA (catalyst precursor) was obtained by radiation-induced grafting of (GMA) onto polyethylene (PE) nonwoven fabric. The incorporation of amine groups to the fibrous graft copolymer resin was detected by FTIR spectroscopic analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The amine group density was determined and found to be 2 mmol/g and the ion exchange capacity was about 2.5 mmol/g. The transesterification of triacetin with methanol using a batch process was carried out to test the performance of the obtained fibrous polymer catalyst as an alternative catalyst for biodiesel production under various operating conditions namely methanol/oil ratio, temperature, catalyst dosage and reaction time. Three independent variables and their ranges included reaction time (8-16h), reaction temperature (50-70 ), molar ratio of alcohol/oil (3:1-15:1), and catalyst dosage (1%-9 wt%) were investigated in correlation of the conversion. The conversion was found to be strongly dependent on the investigated parameters. The reaction order of n=1 and the activation energy (Ea) of 46.27 kJ/mol were obtained. The highest conversion of 79 % was achieved at 60 °C, molar ratio of 1:12, reaction time of 14h and catalyst dosage of 9%. The results of this research reveal that the obtained solid polymer catalyst can promote high conversion in biodiesel production