Experimental study on preparation of biodiesel through transesterification with ultrasonic assistant

Using the KOH as catalyst and Jatropha curcass oil as raw material, experimental study was conducted to produce biodiesel by transesterification with ultrasonic assistant in this paper, and the amount of catalysts, methanol to oil ratio, reaction temperature, ultrasonic power and reaction time were investigated. The optimum conditions were determined with the single factor and orthogonal tests. The experimental results showed that the conversion rate of rapeseed oil was 98.02% in following conditions: 60 °C of reaction temperature, 5.5:1 of molar ratio of methanol to oil, 1.0% (W/W) of KOH and 150min of reaction time were adopted. Therefore, ultrasound has agitation of assistance for biodiesel production through transesterification, at the same time, could effectively improve the conversion rate of Jatropha curcass oil.