Transesterification of soybean oil catalyzed by Sr-Ti mixed oxides nanocomposite

Sr-Ti mixed oxides as nanocomposite was prepared by sol-gel method and used as a basic heterogeneous catalyst for transesterification of soybean oil with methanol to methyl esters (biodiesel). The catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA) and CO2-TPD techniques. It was found that reaction of methanol and soybean oil with the molar ratio of 15 in the presence of 1% Sr-Ti (based on the soybean oil weight) with the molar ratio of 0.8 and calcined at 965 °C as catalyst affords biodiesel in excess of 98% at 60 °C within 15 min. Effect of catalyst calcination temperature, Sr to Ti molar ratio, reaction temperature, catalyst amount, methanol to oil molar ratio and reaction time along with the key role of Sr2TiO4 phase in nanocomposite as an important factor on transesterification efficiency will be discussed in this presentation.