The preparation of biodiesel from Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil and ethanol by alkali-catalyzed transesterification was studied. First, single factor experiment was used to study the influences of catalyst type and dosage, molar ratio of ethanol to oil, reaction temperature and reaction time on the conversion rate of biodiesel.Then the preparation conditions were optimized by central composite design of response surface methodology. The results showed that the optimal preparation conditions were obtained as follows: with sodium ethoxide as catalyst and its dosage 1.7%, molar ratio of ethanol to oil 11.5∶?1, reaction time 120 min and reaction temperature 73?℃. Under these conditions, the conversion rate reached 97.95%. |