Manganese carbonate-zinc glycerolate, synthesis, characterization and application as catalyst for transesterification of soybean oil

In this study, mixed system containing manganese carbonate (MnCO3) and zinc glycerolate (ZnGly) was synthesized, and tested as solid catalyst for transesterification of soybean oil and biodiesel production. The samples of MnCO3/ZnGly before and after usage for transesterification process were characterized using different techniques: determination of basic strength, determination of specific surface area according to Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), measuring the mass change using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), investigating the solid phase content and presence of different specific elements and groups by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The effects of different working parameters of transesterification were also investigated: temperature (438-458K), duration of transesterification (0-3.5h), methanol to oil molar ratio (12:1-36:1) and used amounts of catalyst (1-5 mass%). The reusability and stability of MnCO3/ZnGly were analyzed and obtained results showed that MnCO3/ZnGly exhibited a good activity with 100% TG conversion and 81.5% FAME yield with fresh catalyst, and can give 95-100% TG conversion and 62-78% FAME yield after 13 repeated use of same amount of catalyst without regeneration processes. Content of Mn and Zn in biodiesel and glycerol was analyzed by ICP-AAS after each reuse of catalyst.