Esterification of oleic acid in soybean oil on zeolite catalysts with different acidity

The catalytic activity of zeolites was studied in the esterification of oleic acid with methanol in soybean oil. The influences of acidity and pore structure of the zeolites were investigated in relation to conversion of the oleic acid on the zeolite catalysts. H+ ion exchanged ZSM-5 (HMFI) and mordenite (HMOR) zeolites conducted with different Si/Al ratio were employed to examine an influence of acidity in the reaction. Conversion of oleic acid was about 80% on HMOR zeolites and HMFI(25) zeolite. The conversion of oleic acid was improved as the amount of acid site increased. The amount of acid site of the zeolites affected significantly the catalytic activity in the esterification of oleic acid.