Kinetic Study on the Esterification of Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) Using Heterogeneous Catalyst

Esterification with heterogeneous catalysts is believed to have advantages compared to homogeneous catalysts. Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) was esterified by ZrO₂ -SO₄ ^2-/natural zeolite at temperature variation of 55°C, 60°C, and 65°C to produce biodiesel. Determination of reaction kinetics was done by experiment and modeling. Kinetic study was approached using pseudo-homogeneous model of first order. For experiment, reaction kinetics were 0.0031 s^-1, 0.0054 s^-1, and 0.00937 s^-1 for a temperature of 55 °C, 60 °C and 65 °C, respectively. For modelling, reaction kinetics were 0.0030 s^-1, 0.0055 s^-1, and 0.0090 s^-1 for a temperature of 55°C, 60°C and 65°C, respectively. Rate and conversion of reaction are getting increased by increasing temperature. (paper)