| KOH/Al-pillared bentonite catalyst was prepared by the method of incipient wetness impregnation. Biodiesel was produced by transesterification of Jatropha oil catalyzed by KOH/Al-pillared bentonite. The influences of KOH loading amount and transesterification reaction conditions on the conversion rate of biodiesel and regenerability of the catalyst were studied. KOH/Al-pillared bentonite catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD). The results showed that the optimal KOH loading amount was 15% for the preparation of KOH/Al-pillared bentonite catalyst. The optimal transesterification conditions of Jatropha oil were obtained as follows: reaction temperature 75?℃, catalyst dosage 7%, reaction time 3 h, and molar ratio of methanol to oil 25∶?1. Under these conditions, the conversion rate of biodiesel was 99.2%. The regenerated catalyst was used to catalyze the transesterification of Jatropha oil, and the conversion rate of biodiesel was 98%. KOH/Al-pillared bentonite catalyst owned small particle size and compact particle arrangement, and the sheet-shape objects were loaded on the catalyst. KOH/Al-pillared bentonite catalyst had large layer spacing, and the layer spacing of d001 was 11.9 nm. |
