TITLE:
Influence of Fatty Acid Profiles during Supercritical Transesterification of Conventional and Non-Conventional Feedstocks: A Review
AUTHORS:
Gerald Kafuku, Makame Mbarawa
KEYWORDS:
Fatty Acid Profile; Biodiesel; Transesterification; Supercritical Methanol
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Analytical Chemistry,
Vol.4 No.9,
September
13,
2013
ABSTRACT:
In this study, the influence of fatty acids of both conventional
and non-conventional oils in supercritical transesterification method has been
reviewed. Literature on oils such as moringa oleifera, manketti, croton
megalocarpus, palm and soybean has been reviewed to establish an understanding
of the supercritical transesterification that employed methanol as alcohol.
This study reveals that lower yield of methyl esters is observed when
higher temperatures are employed in oils that are highly dominated with polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as manketti and croton
megalocarpus. And the reason is that poly-unsaturated fatty acids that are
present in the oils decompose easily at higher temperatures and thus reduce the
methyl esters yield.