Reação de transesterificação do óleo de soja utilizando o catalisador CTA+-MCM-41 para a produção do biodiesel.

Abstract

The production of biofuels in Brazil aims to increase the productivity and development of renewable energy, including biofuels in the country's energy matrix. This work aims to evaluate the molecular sieve CTA+-MCM-41 in the transesterification reaction of soybean oil through the methyl route by using heterogeneous catalysis to produce biodiesel and also to evaluate the dispersion of magnesium oxide on the surface of this catalyst. The molecular sieve CTA+-MCM-41 is obtained by a thermal process at 60 °C for 24 hours, using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetramethylammonium hydroxide, ethanol and deionized water. For synthesize the gel which results in the molecular sieve, the following molar composition was used: 1TEOS:0.3CTABr:11NH3:144H2O:40ETOH. Biodiesel has been obtained by the transesterification reaction of soybean oil through the methyl route, whose operating conditions followed a 22 experimental design with three replicates in the center point, where the investigated factors were the effects of temperature and reaction time variables. For characterization of the obtained materials, a combination of X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy techniques was used. Through the XRD, it is possible to observe the presence of the characteristic peaks of the molecular sieve before and after the processes of impregnation of the metal and its respective calcination, which prove the non-ordering of the material at long distances in the axis of the analyzed mesophores channels. At the absence of the catalyst, the conversions were up to 84.1%, with a performance increasing at the presence of the CTA+-MCM-41, reaching values close 100%. Based on the results obtained it was concluded that the synthesized catalysts have a great potential for use in the production of biodiesel.