Outstanding performance of rehydrated Mg-Al hydrotalcites as heterogeneous methanolysis catalysts for the synthesis of biodiesel

Date

2018

Director

Publisher

Elsevier
Acceso abierto / Sarbide irekia
Artículo / Artikulua
Versión aceptada / Onetsi den bertsioa

Project identifier

  • MICINN//TRA2009_0265_02/ES/ recolecta
  • MINECO//ENE2015-66975-C3-1-R/ES/ recolecta
  • MINECO//BES-2013-062799/ES/ recolecta
  • MINECO//ENE2015-66975-C3-3-R/ES/ recolecta
  • MINECO//CTQ2015-73901-JIN/ES/ recolecta
Impacto
No disponible en Scopus

Abstract

There is still a need for active, selective and stable heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of biodiesel. In this work, magnesium-aluminium hydrotalcites with Mg/Al molar ratios within the 1.5–5 range were synthesized by coprecipitation and used as transesterification catalysts for the synthesis of biodiesel. The mixed oxides obtained after calcination recovered the hydrotalcite structure in the form of meixnerite after rehydration in boiling water. The solids were characterized by XRD, TGA, N2 adsorption-desorption, and SEM. Basic properties were assessed by means of Hammett indicators and CO2-TPD. Rehydrated materials with the highest Mg/Al ratios showed some distinctive features: low surface area, well defined flake-like crystals, high basicity and strong basic sites with H_ values above 11. They were also the most active catalysts allowing to achieve 51–75% sunflower oil methanolysis conversion after 8 h of reaction under mild conditions (60 °C, 1 atm), methanol/oil molar ratio of 12 using between 2 and 6 wt% of catalyst. The conversion increased up to 96% (92% fatty acid methyl esters yield) using 2 wt% catalyst and methanol/oil molar ratio of 48. Catalyst leaching was not a serious problem with these solids that could be reutilized maintaining very good activities. A general accordance between solids basic properties and their catalytic performance has been observed. These results are among the best reported in the literature for heterogeneous methanolysis catalysts and have been attributed to the high basicity of the rehydrated solids and the presence of strong and accessible basic sites probably consisting in interlayer hydroxide anions at the edges of the crystals.

Description

Keywords

Biodiesel, Hydrotalcites, Methanolysis, Rehydration, Transesterification

Department

Química Aplicada / Kimika Aplikatua / Institute for Advanced Materials and Mathematics - INAMAT2

Faculty/School

Degree

Doctorate program

item.page.cita

Navajas-León, A., Campo-Aranguren, I., Moral-Larrasoaña, A., Echave, J., Sanz, O., Montes, M., Odriozola, J.A., Arzamendi-Manterola, G., Gandía-Pascual, L.M. (2018) Outstanding performance of rehydrated Mg-Al hydrotalcites as heterogeneous methanolysis catalysts for the synthesis of biodiesel. Fuel, 211, 173-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2017.09.061.

item.page.rights

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Licencia

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