Transesterification of rice bran oil to biodiesel using mesoporous NaBeta zeolite-supported molybdenum catalyst: Experimental and kinetic studies

Abstract Mesoporous NaBeta zeolite was synthesized successfully in the presence of a mesoscale copolymer (RCC) template, and a series of mesoporous NaBeta-supported molybdenum with varying Mo loadings (xMo/NaBeta) catalysts were prepared carefully for biodiesel production via the transesterification of rice bran oil. The resultant catalyst exhibits high activity and excellent stability in this transesterification reaction, attributing to the formation of highly dispersed Mo active species and the well interaction between the Mo oxide species and support. The physical properties of the as-produced biodiesel accorded with the current international biodiesel standards. Furthermore, the intrinsic kinetics of the transesterification of rice bran oil with methanol over 7Mo/NaBeta catalyst was also studied in the absence of mass transfer. The corresponding kinetic equation was established by correlating the data of initial rate and reactant concentration, and the apparent activation energy was calculated to be 59.05 kJ mol-1.