Ultrasound assisted interesterification of waste cooking oil and methyl acetate for biodiesel and triacetin production

Intensification of the interesterification reaction of waste cooking oil with methyl acetate using potassium methoxide as a catalyst has been carried out using ultrasonic horn (frequency of irradiation of 22 kHz and rated power of 750 W). Experiments have been performed at different operating parameters viz. reaction temperature (30, 40 and 50 °C), oil to methyl acetate molar ratio (over the range of 1:4 to 1:14), catalyst concentration (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% by weight of oil) and amplitude of ultrasound (40, 50, 60 and 70%) with an objective of understanding the effect of important operating parameters on the extent of conversion of waste cooking oil to the ester. It has been observed that maximum yield (90%) of biodiesel from waste cooking oil using sonochemical reactors was observed at a molar ratio of 1:12, catalyst concentration of 1.0% and temperature of 40 °C. It is also observed that higher conversion was obtained in the presence of ultrasound as compared to the conventional method. Kinetic studies have been carried out to determine the rate constant by fitting the obtained experimental data to a second-order rate equation. It has been observed that rate constant increases with an increase in temperature and the activation energy is found to be 56.97 kJ/mol.