Conversion of Calophyllum inophyllum Oil with a High Free Fatty Acid Content to Biodiesel using a Starch-Derived Catalyst.

Biodiesel was produced from Calophyllum inophyllum oil using a starch-derived catalyst. The catalyst, obtained by the sulfonation of carbonized starch, was characterized by various techniques. The catalyst was capable of esterification and transesterification reactions under the conditions studied and it was superior to a catalyst derived from glucose. A biodiesel yield of 99.0 % was achieved under the optimized conditions. The activity of the starch-derived catalyst can be related to its SO₃H density but also to its dispersion and swelling in the reaction medium. The reaction modeled using Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) kinetics showed a reaction rate constant that was strongly dependent on temperature, which confirms that the reaction is favored thermodynamically by temperature. This study shows that the catalyst can find application in integrated biodiesel production processes in which both the catalyst and oil feedstock are derived from renewable sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]