Introduction:
The utilization of biodiesel as an alternative fuel is turning out to be progressively
famous these days because of worldwide energy deficiency. The enthusiasm for utilizing
Jatropha as a non-edible oil feedstock is quickly developing. The performance of the base catalyzed
methanolysis reaction could be improved by a continuous process through a microreactor in
view of the high mass transfer coefficient of this technique.
Materials & Methods:
Nanozirconium tungstovanadate, which was synthetized using sol-gel
preparation method, was utilized in a complementary step for biodiesel production process. The
prepared material has an average diameter of 0.066 &µm.
Results:
First, the NaOH catalyzed methanolysis of Jatropha oil was investigated in a continuous
microreactor, and the efficient mixing over different mixers and its impact on the biodiesel yield
were studied under varied conditions. Second, the effect of adding the nanocatalyst as a second
stage was investigated.
Conclusion:
The maximum percentage of produced methyl esters from Jatropha oil was 98.1% using
a methanol/Jatropha oil molar ratio of 11 within 94 s using 1% NaOH at 60 &°C. The same maximum
conversion ratio was recorded with the nanocatalyst via only 0.3% NaOH.
