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Simplification of separation of the reaction mixture after transesterification of vegetable oil
Author(s) -
Hájek Martin,
Skopal František,
Machek Jaroslav
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
european journal of lipid science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.614
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1438-9312
pISSN - 1438-7697
DOI - 10.1002/ejlt.200700228
Subject(s) - transesterification , glycerol , vegetable oil , chemistry , sedimentation , organic chemistry , biodiesel , composition (language) , chemical engineering , chromatography , catalysis , paleontology , linguistics , philosophy , sediment , engineering , biology
A heterogeneous reaction mixture is formed by transesterification of vegetable oils. The reaction mixture contains mainly methyl esters of higher fatty acids and glycerol. From this mixture, biodiesel is gained by spontaneous sedimentation in the gravitational field. The sedimentation can be considerably accelerated by controlled addition of water. It was found that addition of small amounts of water to the crude reaction mixture significantly affected the mixture, and substantial changes in the speed of the separation took place. Considerable differences in the composition and quality of the ester and glycerol phases occurred. The optical properties (transmittance and refractive indices) of the heterogeneous reaction mixture are changed after addition of water; this change can be observed spectrophotometrically. This method is applicable to all types of vegetable oils including waste frying oils.