Effects of Molar Ratio, Alkali Catalyst Concentration and Temperature on Transesterification of Jatropha Oil with Methanol under Ultrasonic Irradiation

Abstract

For transesterification of Jatropha oil into biodiesel, ultrasound assisted transesterification seems to be promising in terms of reduction in process time and stages of operation. Effects of process variables such as the catalyst loading, the molar ratio of methanol to oil, reaction temperature and the reaction time were investigated on the conversion of Jatropha oil to biodiesel. The conversion was above 93% under the conditions of 50°C, methanol to oil molar ratio of 9:1, reaction time 30 min and catalyst amount (catalyst/oil) of 1% wt%. A kinetic study of transesterification of Jatropha oil based on ultrasound assisted synthesis is presented in this paper. Rate equation obtained is also presented.