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HERO ID
4729669
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Biolubricant Production of 2-Ethylhexyl Palmitate by Transesterification Over Unsupported Potassium Carbonate
Author(s)
Zheng, T; Wu, Z; Xie, Q; Lu, M; Xia, Fan; Wang, G; Nie, Y; Ji, J
Year
2018
Is Peer Reviewed?
Yes
Journal
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
ISSN:
0003-021X
EISSN:
1558-9331
Volume
95
Issue
1
Page Numbers
79-88
DOI
10.1002/aocs.12023
Web of Science Id
WOS:000426514300010
Abstract
Owing to the decrease of global oil price, development of downstream value-added products is important to biodiesel industry. In this study, we used palmitic acid methyl ester (PAME) as a starting material to produce 2-ethylhexyl palmitate (2-EHP), an environmentally friendly biolubricant product, which was derived from the transesterification of fatty acid methyl esters and long chain fatty alcohols. Conventional synthetic routes of 2-EHP have disadvantages, including high catalyst price, low conversion efficiency, and pollution issues. To solve these problems, in situ transesterification of PAME with 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) was conducted over unsupported potassium carbonate as heterogeneous catalyst. The optimal reaction temperature, 2-EH to PAME molar ratio, and catalyst to PAME mass ratio were 180 degrees C, 3:1, and 3.0 wt%, respectively. The PAME conversion reached up to 100% within 1 hour under the optimal conditions. In addition, a kinetic model describing the experimental data over a temperature range of 160-180 degrees C was developed. The dependence of kinetic rate constant (k) on temperature was evaluated, and the activation energy (E-a) for the transesterification of PAME with 2-EH was calculated to be 57.04kJmol(-1).
Keywords
Biodiesel; 2-Ethylhexyl palmitate; Potassium carbonate; Transesterification; Kinetics
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