Non-catalytic preparation of biodiesel in supercritical methanol system

ABSTRACT

Biodiesel was prepared with microalgae oil under supercritical methanol condition. The calorific value, chemical composition, molecular structure, and fuel behaviors of the as-prepared biodiesel were characterized by several means. All the results show that most fuel performances of the product oil resemble those of the fossil diesel except for the low-temperature performance. The product oil has long molecular chains and many unsaturated double-bond structures. In this meaning, the biodiesel is suitable to be mixed with fossil diesel or to be added to pour point depressant for industrial application.

KEYWORDS:

• Biodiesel
• microalgae
• supercritical methanol
• transesterification
• fuel

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China with grant No. 51302320, No. 81503594, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of P. R. China with grant No. 14CX02200A and No. 14CX05094A.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China with grant No. 51302320, No. 81503594, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of P. R. China with grant No. 14CX02200A and No. 14CX05094A.