Experimental investigation on biodiesel production through transesterification promoted by the La-dolomite catalyst

In this study, biodiesel production through transesterification of palm oil using the lanthanum complex dolomite (La-dolomite catalyst) as the heterogeneous base catalyst is investigated. The La-dolomite catalyst preparation is optimized with the La to dolomite molar ratio of 1 and activation temperature of 800 °C. With the catalyst added mass percentage of 7 wt%, molar ratio of methanol to oil of 18, transesterification temperature of 65 °C and transesterification duration of 180 min, the biodiesel yield of 98.7% is achieved and the activation energy of the La-dolomite catalyzed transesterification is calculated to be 57.68 kJ mol−1. The La-dolomite presents satisfying reusability and the biodiesel yield is 95.9% for the fifth reused cycle, where it is 89.1% for the pure calcined dolomite catalyst. Finally, the main physicochemical properties of the transesterification product are measured and compared with GB/T 20828–2015. This study validates the application of the La-dolomite catalyst in catalyzing transesterification for the biodiesel production.