Transesterification of beef tallow and methanol is affected by many factors. Catalyst, free fatty acids,and water in beef tallow, and reaction time were investigated. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was a moreeffective catalyst than sodium methoxide (NaMeO). NaOH and NaMeO reached their maximumactivities at 0.3 and 0.5, w/w of beef tallow, respectively. The presence of water had morenegative effect on transesterification than did the presence of free fatty acids (FFA). For best results,the water content of beef tallow should be kept not beyond 0.06, w/w. FFA content of beef tallowshould be kept below 0.5, w/w. The transesterification of beef tallow was very slow in the firstminute. The production of beef tallow methyl esters (BTME) was complete after about 15 min. Therewere still some mono- and diglycerides in the BTME phase after the reaction was finished.
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