Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
682494 | Bioresource Technology | 2010 | 6 Pages |
Abstract
In this study free fatty acids present in Azadirachta indica (Neem) oil were esterified with our synthesized phosphoric acid modified catalyst. During the esterification, the acid value was reduced from 24.4 to 1.8 mg KOH/g oil. Synthesized catalyst was characterized by NH3 TPD, XRD, SEM, FTIR and TGA analysis. During phosphoric acid modification hydrophobic character and weak acid sites of the mordenite were increased, which lead to better esterification when compared to H-mordenite. A kinetic study demonstrates that the esterification reaction followed pseudo-first order kinetics. Thermodynamic studies were also done based on the Arrhenius model.
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Authors
Vasanthakumar SathyaSelvabala, Thiruvengadaravi Kadathur Varathachary, Dinesh Kirupha Selvaraj, Vijayalakshmi Ponnusamy, Sivanesan Subramanian,