2023 AIChE Annual Meeting

Optimization of the Transesterification Process & Analyses of Resulting Cold Flow Properties of Neat and Blended Biodiesels

Transesterification reactions produce biodiesel, an important alternative to petrodiesel; however, poor cold flow properties (CFPs) are a major drawback of biodiesel. The present work varied the transesterification process in order to optimize the procedure for laboratory analysis. Smaller-scale reactions were beneficial, as saponification was mitigated. The work also performed cold flow analyses on blended biodiesels, finding that interaction and dilution effects are present, altering CFPs.