Effect of Different Cosolvents on Transesterification of Waste Cooking Oil inaMicroreactor

Biodiesel was prepared from waste cooking oil combined with methanol. The process was performed via transesterification in a microreactor using kettle limescale as a heterogeneous catalyst and various cosolvents under different conditions. n-Hexane and tetrahydrofuran were selected as cosolvents to investigate fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). To optimize the reaction conditions, the main parameters affecting FAME% including reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, oil-to-methanol volumetric ratio, and cosolvent-to-methanol volumetric ratio were studied via response surface methodology. Under optimal reaction conditions and in the presence of the cosolvents n-hexane and tetrahydrofuran, high FAME purities were achieved. Considering the experimental results, the limescale catalyst is a unique material, and the cosolvent method can reduce significantly the reaction time and biodiesel production cost.