skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: ZnO/La2O2CO3 layered composite: A new heterogeneous catalyst for the efficient ultra-fast microwave biofuel production

Abstract

The search for solid state materials with high catalytic activities and with no leaching into the reaction medium is one of the key steps toward reducing the cost of producing biodiesel. We report a high biodiesel yield (>95%) in less than 5 min under mild reaction conditions (<100°C) on a ZnO/La₂O₂CO₃ heterogeneous catalyst, showing no catalyst leaching into the reaction medium. The ZnO/La₂O₂CO₃ catalyst is prepared by a co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yields as function of different amounts of catalyst was also investigated. Less than 1.0 wt.% catalyst can be used in the reaction to get higher than a 95% FAME yield under mild reaction conditions. The catalytic performance is maintained after storing the catalyst in Ar for a month and no catalyst leaching into the products was found based on XRF analysis. The catalyst has a higher reaction rate than the homogeneous KOH catalyst with the assistance of microwave irradiation. All of these results promote the industrial application of the synthesized ZnO/La₂O₂CO₃ as an ideal catalyst for fast biodiesel production, avoiding many of the issues found inmore » both commercial and independently published catalysts.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1087340
Report Number(s):
Final Report
Journal ID: ISSN 0926-3373
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0003116
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 103; Journal Issue: 1-2; Journal ID: ISSN 0926-3373
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
09 BIOMASS FUELS; Biomass Conversion

Citation Formats

Jin, Lei, Zhang, Yashan, Dombrowski, James, Chen, Chunhu, Provatas, Anthony, Xu, Linping, Perkins, Christopher, and Suib, Steven. ZnO/La2O2CO3 layered composite: A new heterogeneous catalyst for the efficient ultra-fast microwave biofuel production. United States: N. p., 2011. Web. doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.01.027.
Jin, Lei, Zhang, Yashan, Dombrowski, James, Chen, Chunhu, Provatas, Anthony, Xu, Linping, Perkins, Christopher, & Suib, Steven. ZnO/La2O2CO3 layered composite: A new heterogeneous catalyst for the efficient ultra-fast microwave biofuel production. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.01.027
Jin, Lei, Zhang, Yashan, Dombrowski, James, Chen, Chunhu, Provatas, Anthony, Xu, Linping, Perkins, Christopher, and Suib, Steven. 2011. "ZnO/La2O2CO3 layered composite: A new heterogeneous catalyst for the efficient ultra-fast microwave biofuel production". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.01.027. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1087340.
@article{osti_1087340,
title = {ZnO/La2O2CO3 layered composite: A new heterogeneous catalyst for the efficient ultra-fast microwave biofuel production},
author = {Jin, Lei and Zhang, Yashan and Dombrowski, James and Chen, Chunhu and Provatas, Anthony and Xu, Linping and Perkins, Christopher and Suib, Steven},
abstractNote = {The search for solid state materials with high catalytic activities and with no leaching into the reaction medium is one of the key steps toward reducing the cost of producing biodiesel. We report a high biodiesel yield (>95%) in less than 5 min under mild reaction conditions (<100°C) on a ZnO/La₂O₂CO₃ heterogeneous catalyst, showing no catalyst leaching into the reaction medium. The ZnO/La₂O₂CO₃ catalyst is prepared by a co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yields as function of different amounts of catalyst was also investigated. Less than 1.0 wt.% catalyst can be used in the reaction to get higher than a 95% FAME yield under mild reaction conditions. The catalytic performance is maintained after storing the catalyst in Ar for a month and no catalyst leaching into the products was found based on XRF analysis. The catalyst has a higher reaction rate than the homogeneous KOH catalyst with the assistance of microwave irradiation. All of these results promote the industrial application of the synthesized ZnO/La₂O₂CO₃ as an ideal catalyst for fast biodiesel production, avoiding many of the issues found in both commercial and independently published catalysts.},
doi = {10.1016/j.apcatb.2011.01.027},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1087340}, journal = {Applied Catalysis B: Environmental},
issn = {0926-3373},
number = 1-2,
volume = 103,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 21 00:00:00 EST 2011},
month = {Fri Jan 21 00:00:00 EST 2011}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 37 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Monofunctional Hydrocarbons and Targeted Liquid-Fuel Classes
journal, October 2008


Synthesis of Biodiesel via Acid Catalysis
journal, July 2005


Solid acid catalyzed biodiesel production by simultaneous esterification and transesterification
journal, January 2006


Heterogeneous catalysis of calcium oxide used for transesterification of soybean oil with refluxing methanol
journal, February 2009


Oil transesterification over calcium oxides modified with lanthanum
journal, June 2009


Transesterification of Soybean Oil to Biodiesel by Using Heterogeneous Basic Catalysts
journal, April 2006


Transesterification of Vegetable Oil to Biodiesel using a Heteropolyacid Solid Catalyst
journal, May 2007


Structure–activity relations in Cs-doped heteropolyacid catalysts for biodiesel production
journal, June 2007


Transesterification of rapeseed oil with ethanolI. Catalysis with homogeneous Keggin heteropolyacids
journal, October 2007


A continuous catalytic system for biodiesel production
journal, July 2008


Simultaneous transesterification and esterification of unrefined or waste oils over ZnO-La2O3 catalysts
journal, February 2009


A comparative study of KOH/Al2O3 and KOH/NaY catalysts for biodiesel production via transesterification from palm oil
journal, April 2009


Acceleration of catalytic activity of calcium oxide for biodiesel production
journal, January 2009


Room-Temperature Transesterification of Edible and Nonedible Oils Using a Heterogeneous Strong Basic Mg/La Catalyst
journal, May 2008


Rare earth dioxymonocarbonates and their decomposition
journal, February 1969


Preparation, thermal stability and luminescence properties of selected rare earth oxycarbonates
journal, November 1991


Lanthanum catalysts for methane oxidative coupling: a comparison of the reactivity of phases
journal, May 1991


On the Crystal Structure of Ln2O2CO3 II (Ln=La and Nd)
journal, April 2001


Effects of rhodium and platinum on the reactivity of lanthanum phases
journal, August 2004


Synthesis of new red emitting phosphors based on rare earth oxycarbonates
journal, July 2006


Synthesis of Biodiesel Using Microwave Absorption Catalysts
journal, December 2008


Applications of microwave dielectric heating in environment-related heterogeneous gas-phase catalytic systems
journal, August 2006


Works referencing / citing this record:

Advancement in heterogeneous base catalyzed technology: An efficient production of biodiesel fuels
journal, May 2015


Stability evaluation of ethanol dry reforming on Lanthania‐doped cobalt‐based catalysts for hydrogen‐rich syngas generation
journal, October 2018


A Review of Microwave-Assisted Reactions for Biodiesel Production
journal, June 2017