Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-swr86 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-22T11:41:47.857Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Biodiesel Production with Nanotubular Sodium Titanate Doped with Potassium as a Catalyst

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2016

Elena Martínez-Klimova
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cd.Universitaria, Coyoacán, México D.F., 04510, México
Patricia Hernández-Hipólito
Affiliation:
Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cd.Universitaria, Coyoacán, México D.F., 04510, México
Tatiana E. Klimova*
Affiliation:
Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Cd.Universitaria, Coyoacán, México D.F., 04510, México
*
*(Email: klimova@unam.mx)
Get access

Abstract

In the present work, sodium titanate nanotubes doped with potassium were synthesized by the Kasuga method and tested as catalysts for biodiesel production. Potassium was added to the nanotubes in order to increase their basicity and, consequently, improve their performance in the transesterification of soybean oil with methanol. In the synthesis, the NaOH:KOH molar ratio was changed from 9:1 to 7:3 in order to increase potassium loadings in the obtained nanotubular solids. Synthesized catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption, powder XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), FT-IR, FT-Raman and CO2 temperature-programmed desorption (CO2-TPD). Obtained results showed that sodium trititanate nanotubes containing 1.5 wt. % of potassium were obtained when 10 M alkali solution with NaOH:KOH molar ratio of 9:1 was used. In this case, the proportion of sodium and potassium in the synthesized material was similar to that used in the synthesis. An increase in the proportion of KOH to 20 and 30 molar % in the NaOH-KOH solutions used in the synthesis allowed obtaining titanate nanotubes with larger potassium loadings (3.2 and 3.3 wt. %, respectively). As it was expected, potassium addition to the sodium titanate nanotubes resulted in an increase in the amount of medium and strong basic sites. Potassium-containing nanotubes showed higher catalytic activity in the transesterification reaction than the pure sodium counterpart used as a reference. The best results were obtained with the samples containing 3.2-3.3 wt. % of potassium where a biodiesel yield of about 94-96 % was obtained at 80 °C and 1 h reaction time.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Kasuga, T., Thin Solid Films 496, 141 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasuga, T., Hiramatsu, M., Hoson, A., Sekino, T., and Niijara, K., Langmuir 14, 3160 (1998).Google Scholar
Kasuga, T., Hiramatsu, M., Hoson, A., Sekino, T., and Niijara, K., Adv. Mater. 11, 1307 (1999).Google Scholar
Lee, C.-K., Lin, K.-S., Wu, C.-F., Lyu, M.-D., and Lo, C.-C., J. Hazard. Mater. 150, 494 (2008).Google Scholar
Morgado, E., de Abreu, M. A. S., Moure, G. T., Marinkovic, B. A., Jardim, P. M., and Araujo, A. S., Chem. Mater. 19, 665 (2007).Google Scholar
Knothe, G., J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 77, 489 (2000).Google Scholar
Chen, Q., Zhou, W., Du, G., and Peng, L.-M., Adv. Mater. 14, 1208 (2002).Google Scholar
Viana, B. C., Ferreira, O. P., Souza Filho, A. G., A Hidalgo, A., Mendes Filho, J., and Alves, O. L., Vib. Spectrosc. 55, 183 (2011).Google Scholar
Morgan, D. L., Zhu, H.-Y., Frost, R. L., and Waclawik, E. R., Chem. Mater. 20, 3800 (2008).Google Scholar
American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), Standard D6551–12. Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels, ASTM, PA, West Conshohocken, 2012.Google Scholar