Abstract
Solid acid catalyst was produced from olive pomace (OP), characterized and used for the esterification ofOP oil. OP was pyrolyzed, physical activated by steam and sulfonated using sulfuric acid. Commercial,coconut husk-based, activated carbon (CHAC) was also sulfonated for comparison. The activation hasshown a significant increase in olive pomace activated carbon (OPAC) surface area by developingsimultaneously its micro and meso-porosity. The sulfonation has further increased OPAC BET surface areato reach 618.18 m2/g and has changed its structure to become microporous. Sulfonation also removed tarresidues and aliphatic hydrocarbons from OPAC’s surface. Tendencies observed with carbon CHAC, usedfor comparison, are slightly different with a mesoporosity development. Although its higher surface area(1227.01 m2/g), CHAC has fixed three times less sulfur than OPAC, which can be attributed to its higherhydrophobicity or pore distribution. Sulfur was mainly fixed in the form of sulfonic acid (SO3H). Esterification with methanol using produced solid catalysts decreased OPO acidity below the 2 mgKOH/gthreshold after 5 h of reaction and reduced mono, di and triglycerides to levels close to the ones requiredby European norm EN14214.