Optimization of polyol ester production by transesterification of Jatropha-based methyl ester with trimethylolpropane using Taguchi design of experiment

Polyol ester production from transesterification of Jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) and trimethylolpropane (TMP) was investigated. The effects of temperature, pressure, ratio of JOME:TMP and catalyst amount were studied in optimization experiment, using Taguchi L9 experimental layout. The parameters explored were found to have a significant impact on the reaction. The order of importance of the variables was found to be pressure, temperature, JOME:TMP molar ratio and catalyst. The optimum reaction conditions were identified to be 483 K, 25 kPa; 1.0% w/w catalyst and JOME:TMP molar ratio of 4:1. At this optimum condition the JOME conversion obtained was 91.5%. Confirmation experiments were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach after the optimum levels of process parameters were determined.