Production of biodiesel fuel from canola oil with dimethyl carbonate using an active sodium methoxide catalyst prepared by crystallization

• A novel method for the production of biodiesel using dimethyl carbonate is proposed.
• The catalytic activity was increased by the preparation of fine NaOCH3 powders.
• The amount of dimethyl carbonate and catalyst required was dramatically decreased.
• A conversion greater than 95% was obtained at 65 °C under atmospheric pressure.

In this study, a novel method for the production of biodiesel under mild conditions using fine particles of sodium methoxide formed in dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is proposed. Biodiesel is generally produced from vegetable oils by the transesterification of triglycerides with methanol. However, this reaction produces glycerol as a byproduct, and raw materials are not effectively utilized. Transesterification with DMC has recently been studied because glycerol is not formed in the process. Although solid-state sodium methoxide has been reported to be inactive for this reaction, the catalytic activity dramatically increased with the preparation of fine catalyst powders by crystallization. The transesterification of canola oil with DMC was studied using this catalyst for the preparation of biodiesel. A conversion greater than 96% was obtained at 65 °C for 2 h with a 3:1 M ratio of DMC and oil and 2.0 wt% catalyst.