The Performance of Monolithic Structured Calcium Oxide for Biodiesel

Abstract

A novel catalytic packing in biodiesel production using a monolithic structured support catalyst is studied. Calcium oxide (CaO) is chosen as the wash coat due to its well established property as a good catalyst. The experiment for the monolithic CaO (4 cm dia, 6 cm height and 400 cell inch^-2) was performed in a 1000 mL monolithic reactor while the CaO powder experiment was carried out in a 100 mL three-necked glass reactor. Under optimum conditions, the monolithic catalyst produced 73.17% of biodiesel and for uncoated CaO on monolith still exhibited some catalytic activity (26.7% conversion). Although a high conversion of 98% was attained in powder form, the monolithic catalyst has sufficient capacity and capability to be a viable alternative that provides a structured arrangement for biodiesel production. The active property in the monolithic material, designed to achieve high cell density for a larger geometrical surface area, leads to a more efficient catalyst utilization and allows for a cleaner process overall compared to the conventional technology.