Estudo das Variáveis da Produção de Biodiesel

Abstract

The consumption of biodiesel increases every day in Brazil, but the conditions for obtaining this biofuel are not well defined, and can result in problems in engines cars. Thus, the aim of this work is to study the variables: temperature, catalyst and mixing in the process of obtaining biodiesel from soybean oil. To perform the experiments an experimental design was performed using the software Designate Expert ® and the answer was in ester content. The characterization of Biodiesel was performed by gas chromatography (GC), infrared (IR) and physicochemical tests. The characterization of the solid catalyst was performed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive System (EDS). The results indicated that for homogeneous catalysis with magnetic stirring the best response was obtained for the sample at 70ºC, using sodium methoxide as catalyst and methanol as solvent, and ultrasonic agitation was obtained for the sample at 80ºC, KOH as a catalyst and methanol as solvent. The tests conducted with the heterogeneous catalyst showed that Nb2O5 is not feasible to obtain biodiesel, but in cracking of vegetable oil and the obtaining of hydrocarbons that can be used as alternative fuels.