Energy-saving and rapid transesterification of jatropha oil using a microwave heating system with ionic liquid catalyst

The use of inedible oils to produce biodiesel, which lowers engine emissions, has been studied extensively. Jatropha oil is an ideal feedstock for biodiesel production because of its high oil content. This study focuses on applications to improve jatropha oil biodiesel yields with a microwave heating system with the ionic liquid catalyst. Although there were multiple research projects that have focused on the use of microwave heating systems to improve methyl ester yields, the topic to raise yields from microwave heating systems and IL catalyst have yet to be thoroughly studied. Current experimental results indicate that the best methyl ester yield is 98.5% with an I1N0.75 catalyst (1 wt% IL + 0.75 wt% NaOH), at a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9, microwave temperature of 70 degrees C, and 6 min of reaction time. A microwave heating system offers a rapid route to biodiesel production that is also more energy-efficient and cost-effective. (C) 2014 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.