Traditional methods of production of biodiesel from natural oil involve either an acid or an alkali based catalyzed process. Both acid-catalyzed and base-catalyzed processes have limitations. An acid neutralization step is required in this acid-catalyzed process and alkali-catalyzed processes have high sensitivity to the presence of water. However, recent research has revealed a new catalyst-free process for making biodiesel - the reaction of oil with methanol at high temperature to improve the miscibility of the two liquids. New research has further indicated that the process of converting triglycerides (TGs) to free fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) might benefit from the presence of water. This study documents the effect of changing the methanol to oil molar ratio and residence time on the production of different FAMEs from free fatty acids (FFAs) present in tall oil. In addition, the fatty acids present in soybean oil were also successfully converted into FAMEs in the presence of water.
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