Biodiesel Production from Vegetable Oils and Animal Fat over Solid Acid Double-Metal Cyanide Catalysts

摘要

Biodiesel comprises of fatty acid alkyl esters prepared from vegetable oils or animal fat by esterification/ transesterification with short-chain alcohols (methanol or ethanol, for example). It is a biodegradable renewable fuel. Its production is growing exponentially due to greater concerns about environmental protection and depletion of fossil fuel resources. Further, its production from nonedible oils and animal fat is more desirable than from edible oils due to lower cost of non-edible feedstocks and elimination of food verses fuel issues. Solid acid catalysts are ideal for conversion of such low-grade oils to biodiesel. Biodiesel from non-edible oils can be produced by two methods: (1) simultaneous esterification of fatty acids and transesterification of fatty acid glycerides and (2) hydrolysis of glycerides followed by esterification. This account reports the catalytic performance of solid, Fe-Zn doublemetal cyanide (DMC) complexes and other acid catalysts in these transformations for biodiesel production. The factors influencing the catalytic performance of the solid acid catalysts in biodiesel production are discussed.