Nano La2O3 as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel synthesis by transesterification of Jatropha curcas L. oil

• Catalytic performances of La2O3 prepared by different methods were compared.
• High FAME content (97.6%) could be obtained with Nano La2O3-S as catalyst.
• Nano La2O3-S exhibits good tolerance to FFA up to acid value 16.66 mg KOH/g.

A comparative study on the activity of La2O3 and two kinds of nano La2O3 catalysts prepared using sonochemical (nano La2O3-S) and hydrothermal methods in the transesterification to produce biodiesel was conducted. The relatively high activity of nano La2O3 catalysts may be ascribed to their high base strength, large base amount, small particle size and large BET surface areas. Nano La2O3-S was selected for further optimisation due to its simple preparation procedure and short preparation time. The FAME content and yield obtained were successively 97.6% and 90.3% under optimal conditions. Moreover, nano La2O3-S showed a remarkable tolerance to FFA.

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