Kinetics Study of Free Fatty Acids Esterification for Biodiesel Production from Palm Fatty Acid Distillate Catalysed by Sulfated Zirconia

Kinetic study of free fatty acids (FFAs) esterification for biodiesel production from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) using sulfated zirconia (S-ZrO2) prepared by solvent-free method calcined at low temperature as the heterogeneous catalyst was studied. The reaction was performed in a batch-stirred reactor at the different temperature to obtain the kinetic data. The effect of reaction condition such as methanol to PFAD molar ratio, stirring rate and catalyst concentration on FFA conversion were also investigated. The experimental data was interpreted with the second-order heterogeneous kinetic model involving the rate of mass transfer and the rate of reaction. The proposed kinetic model and the experimental data are in good agreement.