Biodiesel made from waste cooking oil is a popular substitute for petroleum diesel. However, due to its high content of free fatty acids (FFA), waste oil must undergo an initial acid catalyzed esterification. This process typically employs concentrated H2SO4 but we chose a milder Lewis acid, tin (II) bromide, as our catalyst. This project focuses on investigating the different cosolvents that can be used with methanol for this esterification reaction. The purpose of using a cosolvent is to be able to control the kinetics of this reaction by regulating the concentrations of methanol and tin (II) bromide (in a 1:1 ratio). Previous kinetic studies have been based on just methanol being the main solvent resulting in the inability to regulate its amount with that of the catalyst. Preliminary data suggests that dichloromethane (DCM) can be used as a cosolvent for the production of methyl ester, allowing us to regulate the amounts of methanol and catalyst for the kinetics of the reaction with respective to time and temperature. Also, DCM was found to dampen the reaction and decrease the rate of the reaction, helping us to analyze the first-order kinetics for this reaction. Current studies that are taking place are focusing on the kinetics of this esterification reaction using DCM as cosolvent with tin (II) bromide as catalyst, at various temperatures and simultaneously we are also exploring other potential candidates as cosolvents for this reaction like tetrahydrofuran. This poster will present our interpretation of the data collected using a cosolvent species like DCM with methanol and how it affects the kinetics of this reaction.

1H NMR Analysis of the Methylation of Oleic Acid Catalyzed by Tin (II) Bromide in the Presence of a Cosolvent

249th National Meeting (2015)

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