Catalysis Letters, Vol.128, No.3-4, 392-400, 2009
Preparation and Study of Bimetallic Compounds Efficiency in the Synthesis of Biodiesel Fuel
In this work, biodiesel was obtained by the transesterification of babassu oil into methanol, employing as catalysts heterogeneous CuO/Al2O3, CoO/Al2O3, and MnO/Al2O3. The catalysts were prepared by the method of co-precipitation, which is a mixture prepared using a solution of nitrate of Al3+ and nitrate of Cu2+, Co2+ and Mn2+. The catalysts were calcined into two temperatures: 400 degrees C and 650 degrees C. The best catalytic activity was obtained with the catalysts calcined at 400 degrees C because at 650 degrees C, there was a reduction in the amount of nitrates and carbonates in the structures of catalysts. The conditions for the transesterification reaction's oil babassu using the heterogeneous catalysts were evaluated and the best parameters were: 6: 1 (molar ratio oil and methanol time of 24 h. The optimum condition was applied to all biodiesel obtained using the catalysts CuO(0.25)/Al2O3 (CuO400), CoO(0.4)/Al2O3 (CoO400), and MnO(0.4)/Al2O3 (MnO400) with yields of 66.70, 98.23, and 68.10, and for biodiesels transesterified twice obtained with the catalysts CuO(0.25)/Al2O3 (CuO650), CoO(0.4)/Al2O3 (CoO650), and MnO(0.5)/Al2O3 (MnO650) with yields of 83.67, 97.86, and 94.13%,. The use of heterogeneous catalysts was very satisfactory with respect to conversion of methyl esters (biodiesel).