Browsing by Author "Simone C.M. dos Reis"

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    Transesterification of Brazilian Vegetable Oils with Methanol over Ion-Exchange Resins
    (AOCS Press, 2005-09) Simone C.M. dos Reis; Elizabeth R. Lachter; Regina S.V. Nascimento; Jorge A. Rodrigues Jr.; Marcelli Garcia Reid
    The transesterification of several Brazilian vegetable oils with methanol was carried out at 60°C in the presence of several ion-exchange resins having different structures. The vegetable oils used were from Babassu coconut, corn, palm, palm kernel, and soybean. The effect of the methanol/oil mole ratio and the influences of the structure of the ion-exchange resin and the type of vegetable oil used on the catalytic activity of the ionexchange resins were investigated. The resins used were Amberlyst 15, Amberlyst 31, Amberlyst 35, and Amberlyst 36. Amberlyst 15 produced the best results for the transesterification of vegetable oils. The methyl ester yield is higher for palm kernel oil and Babassu coconut oil than for soybean oil, probably owing to their higher content of shorter-chain FA. Therefore, it was shown that the catalytic activity of the resin depends on the FA composition of the vegetable oil employed.