Evaluating the optimum operating parameters of biodiesel production process from soybean oil using the Li2TiO3 catalyst

- Li2TiO3 was firstly used as a catalyst for transesterification reaction.
- The transesterification efficiency by Li2TiO3 could approach 98.5% by optimal conditions.
- The catalytic results revealed that Li2TiO3 maintained its activity after five catalytic runs.

This study focuses on the transesterification of soybean oil into biodiesel using Li2TiO3. Li2TiO3 is prepared through a solid-state reaction that involves mixing and grinding TiO2 and Li2CO3 followed by the calcination at 800 °C for 2 h. The prepared Li2TiO3 is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), and BET, and the Hammett indicator is applied to obtain their physical and chemical properties. Li2TiO3 has never been studied as a solid catalyst for transesterification reaction. Under optimal reaction conditions, namely a methanol:oil molar ratio of 24:1, a catalyst amount of 6 wt%, and a reaction temperature of 65 °C for 2 h, a biodiesel conversion rate of 98.5% is obtained. Moreover, different vegetable oil and used cooking oil are used as the raw materials for the biodiesel production. Li2TiO3 can be easily recovered and reused for ten cycles without significant deactivation.

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