Evaluation as a catalyst in ferrispinel NiFe₂O₄ esterification and transesterification

The advancement of nanoscience and nanotechnology, magnetic nanoparticles ferrispinels type, have found numerous applications in biochemistry, molecular biology, biomedicine, diagnosis and heterogeneous catalysis for biodiesel production. Therefore, we propose to synthesize ferrispinel NiFe₂O₄ and evaluate its performance as a catalyst for esterification and transesterification of the methyl soybean oil. The sample was obtained through combustion reaction with production of 10 g / batch and characterized by XRD, SEM and BET. The catalytic reaction was conducted in high-pressure reactor at 180 °C for 1 hour, with a molar ratio of oil:ethanol 1:12 with 2% catalyst. The results showed the formation of ferrispinel phase, morphology composed of aggregates in the form of irregular blocks formed by pre sintered particles and low interparticle porosity. As a catalyst, the conversion values presented ferrispinel 52% and 4% in the esterification and transesterification, respectively, indicating that promising material for use in biodiesel production. (author)