Silveira Junior, Euripedes GarciaPerez, Victor HaberReyero Zaragoza, InésSerrano Lotina, AnaJusto, Oselys Rodriguez2019-07-292020-12-19201910.1016/j.fuel.2018.12.074https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/33742Catalytic biodiesel production from sunflower oil and ethanol using K2CO3/γ-Al2O3 in different configurations has been studied. To prepare the catalysts, boehmite was extruded with the aid of a binder and different percentages of K2CO3 active phase (15–45%) impregnated on the supports for comparative purposes. The transesterification reactions were carried out during 4 h using 5 wt% of the catalyst and the effects of oil: alcohol molar ratio and temperature were investigated to improve biodiesel formation. The best result (99.3% conversion) was obtained when 35% K2CO3/65% γ-Al2O3 hollow cylinder catalyst was used at 80 °C and 1:12 oil: ethanol molar ratio, showing their potential as promising alternative to conventional homogeneous catalytic systems used for biodiesel production at industrial scale.application/pdfeng© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.BiodieselEthanolic routeExtruded catalystsSunflower oilinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess