Pihaya In-Na

• BEng Hons Chemical Engineering
• Investigation of Heterogeneous Solid-Catalysed Transesterification from vegetable oil for biodiesel production in an Oscillatory Baffled Reactor (OBR)

Although biodiesel has been industrially produced via a homogeneous alkaline catalyst route, there are a number of issues associated with this method such as low quality of by-product glycerol, side reaction effects. These can be overcome if a solid catalyst is used. Commercial calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst is a promising catalyst as it is environmentally friendly, cheap and simple to prepare. A number of studies have focused on optimising operating conditions for biodiesel production from waste oil, edible and non-edible vegetable oil. However, most the studies were carried out in a stirred tank reactor or a fixed bed reactor. In this study, an Oscillatory Baffled Reactor (OBR) will be used to investigate the heterogeneous solid-catalysed transesterification mechanisms in order to enhance biodiesel production.

Project Supervisor: Dr Anh Phan, School of Chemical Engineering & Advanced Materials

Funding Source: Newcastle University