A Novel La2O3-ZnO/ZrO2 Solid Superbase and its Catalytic Performance for Transesterification of Soybean Oil to Biodiesel

Abstract

A novel solid superbase catalyst of La2O3-ZnO/ZrO2 was prepared, and its H– value (Hammett function) of surface basic strength reaches 26.5. The catalytic activity of La2O3-ZnO/ZrO2 was evaluated for the transesterification of soybean oil (SBO) with methanol to biodiesel in a fixed bed reactor under atmospheric pressure. The results show that the chemical composition of the La2O3-ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst influences both its H– value and catalytic performance, the appropriate content of ZrO2 is 60 wt.% and the La2O3/ZnO molar ratio is 4~5/1. La2O3-ZnO/ZrO2 is an effective catalyst for the transesterification of SBO, and the SBO conversion reaches 71.3% at 70°C for 12h.