Abstract
The use of a mesoporous catalyst, (3)SO3H/AlSiM, synthesized from Amazon flint kaolin (FK), a by-product disposed of in commercial kaolin extraction mining, in the esterification of distillate from the deodorization of palm oil (DDPO), a by-product with a high free fatty acid (FFA) content (84%), from the palm oil refining industry is disclosed herein. This active catalytic system provided a maximum conversion of 95% to fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs), using a 1:30 DDPO: EtOH molar ratio, at 130°C for 2 h, with 4% catalyst. The effects of temperature, DDPO: EtOH molar ratio, catalyst amount, and time were investigated. In addition, the catalyst was reused four times, maintaining good conversion (>73%) than the autocatalysis reaction (20%). The results prove the good performance of (3)SO3H/AlSiM, which is very active, can be easily isolated from the reaction medium and reused in subsequent reactions in the conversion of DDPO in a sustainable manner. In addition, the catalytic performance resulted in a good conversion in the esterification reaction of DDPO, in relation to other heterogeneous catalysts. The results show that these residual by-products can be used as low-cost and widely available raw materials, with notable economic advantages, and which represent a green strategy for the synthesis of value-added products, thus reducing environmental and other concerns for industry.
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