Preparation of a sugar catalyst and its use for highly efficient production of biodiesel

Novel solid acid catalysts for esterification have recently been described that are made by incomplete carbonization of carbohydrates followed by sulfonation. Herein, such a 'sugar catalyst' is prepared from D-glucose and its catalytic properties and structure are investigated in detail. This type of sugar catalyst is, for the first time, applied for the effective production of biodiesel from waste oils. Our results indicate that sugar catalysts are highly effective, minimally polluting and re-usable catalysts that are highly suited to the production of biodiesel from waste oils with a high acid value.