Modificação química da argila bentonítica para uso como suporte catalítico para a síntese do biodiesel.

Abstract

The application of a heterogeneous catalyst to the synthesis of biodiesel has been studied because it is of great importance due to the possibility of reuse, besides allowing the use of several lipid sources. The clays have a high efficiency as catalytic support due to their ability to exchange cations fixed on the surface as well as between the lamellae without modifying the crystalline structure with the insertion of metallic oxides of several species in this type of material ; Then the new gauge catalysts arise; The objective of this work was to study and evaluate the catalytic potential of the sodium bentonite clay in its natural and chemically treated form, with a view to its use in the production of biodiesel. The catalytic supports were obtained using sodium bentonite clay as a support, through chemical treatments (pillarization, acid activation, impregnation with molybdenum oxide). All the catalytic samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Dispersive Energy Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Dispersive Energy Spectroscopy (EDX) and Spectroscopy in the Infrared Region Fourier (FTIR). The diffraction curves indicated the formation of characteristic peaks of the support structure and a characteristic peak displacement, a fact attributed to the chemical treatment to which it was submitted. The scanning electron icroscopes of the catalytic supports presented an irregular morphology with deposition of particles and agglomerates on the surface of the material. By EDX the percentages of the elements constituting the major part of the chemical composition of the substrates were verified, which are typical of montmorillonite clay and the highest percentages are of silicon oxide and aluminum, a fact also observed by EDS. The spectra of the samples obtained by FTIR indicated the vibrational bands that make up the same, such as the groups Al-O, Si-O-Si, H2O and also the molybdenum oxide resulting from the process of impregnation by physical dispersion. The synthesis of biodiesel was due to the reaction of transesterification between soybean oil and ethanol in the presence of the catalysts obtained. The catalytic supports were evaluated by percentage conversion of the oil into the ester using two reactive systems denominated; (S1 - Batch reactor with autogenous pressure and S2 - Parr reactor). The products obtained in the syntheses were characterized by gas chromatography; The highest percentage of conversion to esters of the sample acidified with hydrochloric acid (BSA2) was identified using the S2 system with a reaction time of 1h. Such behavior potentiates them as promising materials because in addition to being active, they presented a relatively lower cost of production in reference to other materials already known and widely used.