Regression Analysis to Investigate Contributions of Process Parameters on Transesterification of Waste Soybean Oil

Abstract

Four process parameters were investigated via regression analysis for their effects on biodiesel production in the transesterification of biodiesel from waste soybean oil (WSO). The maximum biodiesel conversion rate reached 98.56% at a methanol/oil ratio of 6:1, a reaction time of 60 min, a reaction temperature of 60 °C, and a catalyst loading of 0.5 wt.%. The functional group was dominated by an ester with the wavenumber 1743.78, the group attribution C=O, a strong absorption intensity, and a stretching vibration. The major methyl ester compounds of the biodiesel yielded from the waste soybean oil were dominated by linoleic acid (37.53%), oleic acid (24.69%), and palmitic acid (12.95%). The regression analysis result showed that the parameters influenced the biodiesel yield, and that the reaction temperature contributed to the reaction more than the others.

Keywords

• biodiesel production
• waste soybean oil
• transesterification process
• methyl ester
• regression analysis