Test Temperature Dependence of Transesterification of Triolein under Low-Frequency Ultrasonic Irradiation Condition

Abstract

The test temperature dependence of the transesterification of triolein with methanol and a base catalyst (NaOH and KOH) was investigated using a molar ratio of methanol to triolein of 6:1, a catalyst concentration of 1% and a temperature range of 3–50 °C under a low-frequency ultrasonic irradiation condition (40 kHz). It was found that the methyl ester concentration at an irradiation time of 5 min increased with increasing temperature, where it tended to level off at temperatures higher than 20 °C. Furthermore, apparent activation energy was estimated from the relationship between the rate and the reciprocal of temperature.