Synthesis and catalytic performance of chromium-based catalyst in esterification palm fatty acid distillate to produce palm fatty acid methyl ester / Mohd Firdaus Roslan

Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), a potential biodiesel was widely being highlighted for its role as an alternative source for fuel and diesel used in manufacturing industry and transportation. In this study, mixed oxide catalyst which is chromium-based (Cr, Cr-Mn, Cr-Ti) was synthesized by using sol-gel method and analyzed for the production of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) via esterification process. The reactions were conducted in a batch reactor with the temperature of 160°C and reaction time of 2 hours. Two parameters were studied for reaction condition which is the effects of catalyst dosage and reaction time. The chromium-based catalyst that has best performance in production of FAME was CrTiO2 catalyst with lowest density of FAME is 0.7585 g/cm3. This shows that the CrTiO2 can be a good and potential solid catalyst for enhancing FAME production.