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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