Production of biodiesel from palm fatty acid distillate using sulfonated-glucose solid acid catalyst: Characterization and optimization

A palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) has been used for biodiesel production. An efficient sulfonated-glucose acid catalyst (SGAC) was prepared by sulfonation to catalyze the esterification reaction. The effect of three variables i.e. methanol-to-PFAD molar ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time, on the yield of PFAD esters was studied by the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum reaction conditions were: 12.2:1 methanol-to-PFAD molar ratio, 2.9% catalyst concentration and 134 min of time as predicted by the RSM. The reaction under the optimum conditions resulted in 94.5% of the free fatty acid (FFA) conversion with 92.4% of the FAME yield. The properties of the PFAD esters were determined according to biodiesel standards.

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