Soybean Oil-based Biodiesel Production Catalyzed with Na2O/Al2O3

Solid alkali catalyst was prepared with CH₃COONa immobilized on alumina by impregnation method. Represented with SEM, IR and BET techniques, the catalysts indicated relatively uniform particle size distribution with perfect particle surface area, pore volume and pore size. Soybean oil was catalyzed to investigate the catalysis characteristics. The results showed that the maximum conversion rate of 85.4% was obtained under the optimal reaction conditions: alcohol/oil molar ratio of 9:1, 65°C, 3 hours, 2 wt% catalyst. The catalyst could be reused with half-life of 7 times. The major components of biodiesel are mixture of C17 and C19 unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters.