Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.38, No.9, 1550-1556, 2015
Kinetic Modeling of Sunflower Oil Methanolysis Catalyzed by Calcium-Based Catalysts
The kinetic model originally developed for quicklime-catalyzed methanolysis of sunflower oil was tested for another three calcium-based catalysts, namely, neat CaO, Ca(OH)(2), and CaO center dot ZnO. This model includes the changing reaction mechanism and the triacylglycerol (TAG) mass transfer. The applicability and generalization capability of this model for heterogeneous methanolysis reaction catalyzed by calcium-based catalysts was evaluated. As indicated by the high coefficient of determination and the relatively small mean relative percentage deviation, the model was a reliable predictor of the time variation of TAG conversion degree in the sunflower oil methanolysis over all four calcium-based catalysts within the ranges of the reaction conditions applied. This model is recommended in general for describing the kinetics of sunflower oil methanolysis over calcium-based catalysts.