Kinetic Modeling of the Esterification of Oleic Acid and Methanol in Conventional and Adsorptive Reaction Systems

Abstract

Biodiesel is derived from renewable vegetable or animal sources and is either used as a standalone fuel or blended with oil-based diesel. The kinetic mechanism of the esterification of oleic acid was investigated in a conventional batch reactor and a batch reactor coupled to a water adsorption system. The esterification was performed with oleic acid and methanol at different temperatures (70 to 110 °C) and alcohol-to-oleic acid molar ratios (3:1 to 9:1), using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. A kinetic model was constructed and validated. The model was statistically significant at a 95% confidence level, thus proving its effectiveness in predicting oleic acid esterification with methanol using sulfuric acid as a catalyst.