Reactor Comparison for the Esterification of Fatty Acids from Waste Cooking Oil

Esterification of the fatty acids contained in waste cooking oil with glycerol, a reaction involving immiscible and viscous reactants, was achieved in two pilot-scale continuous pulsed reactors: the oscillatory baffled reactor and the helix reactor. In both reactors, with or without baffles, the reaction reaches its thermodynamic equilibrium at lower temperatures, shorter residence times and with higher selectivities than those reported in the literature. This equilibrium is then shifted by an increase in the excess of glycerol, or by removing water from the reactive media by an intermediary decantation or by the use of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid, a surfactant catalyst. Further investigations would be required to increase the conversions without decreasing the selectivities, by increasing the initial amount of free fatty acids.