Use of heterogeneous acid catalyst combined with pressurized conditions for esters production from macauba pulp oil and methyl acetate

The objective of this work was to evaluate the production of fatty acid methyl esters using macauba oil and methyl acetate under pressurized conditions, using heterogeneous gamma-alumina catalyst in a continuous system. The catalytic reaction kinetics were evaluated at temperatures between 225 and 300 degrees C, as well as the effect of catalyst particle size on the reaction. The temperature increase promoted an esters and triacetin (TA) production rise. It was found that the catalyst utilization, in granulometry from 0.85 to 1.00 mm, allowed better product yields at shorter residence time. The best result for catalytic reaction was obtained using the smallest catalyst particle size (0.85-1 mm), 275 degrees C, 20 MPa, methyl acetate (MA):oil mass ratio of 2.5:1, 20 min, obtaining 60.24 +/- 0.68% esters content and 2.76 +/- 0.06% TA content. The heterogeneous catalyst usage increased the TA production by 736% and the esters production by 33%. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.