In the present work, a new heterogeneous catalyst for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) synthesis consisting of an active sodium phosphate (Na3PO4) component impregnated on an Al2O3 support was developed. Al2O3-supported Na3PO4 was prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation. The catalyst was characterized using XRD, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, and BET. The influences of reaction variables, such as the agitation intensity, the molar ratio of methanol/oil, the reaction temperature, and the catalyst amount, on the conversion of palm olein were investigated. The presence of free fatty acids and water are also studied in this research. The results showed that high FAME contents (>96%) can be achieved within 30 min at 210 degrees C with a methanol/oil molar ratio of 18:1 and 1.0 wt.% catalyst. The prepared Na3PO4/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited high stability and recyclability. In our tests, FAME production was slightly but not significantly reduced after 5 recycles. Elemental analysis by ICP-OES found a small amount of Na in the products following the reaction. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.