A flow-through tubular catalytic membrane reactor using zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate-impregnated carbon membranes for acidified oil esterification. Issue 6 (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ma, Lingling; Lv, Enmin; Du, Lixiong; Han, Ying; Lu, Jie; Ding, Jincheng
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Energy Institute. Volume 90:Issue 6(2017)
• Page Start: 875
• Page End: 883
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: Acidified oil -- Biodiesel -- Tubular carbon membrane -- Esterification -- Zirconium sulfate; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; Fuel -- Periodicals; 621.04205
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joei.2016.08.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1743-9671

Abstract

Abstract: The water-resistant zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate [Zr(SO4 )2 ·4H2 O]/tubular carbon membranes (ZS/TCM) were prepared by the wet impregnation of TCM with different ZS loadings, and used as the heterogeneous solid acid catalyst for the esterification of acidified oil with methanol. The composition and structure of the catalysts were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Because of the high specific area of TCM, the catalytic activity of 11.4% ZS/TCM was improved by 1.8 times compared with bulk ZS. ZS was highly dispersed on the 11.4% ZS/TCM without ZS phase. Affected by diffusion, the content of the ZS on the membrane surface was higher than that of inside. The catalytic performance of ZS/TCM was further confirmed by the tubular catalytic membrane reactor (TCMR). Most of the fuel properties of acidified oil biodiesel were in accordance with ASTM and GB standards. Graphical abstract: Highlights: Zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate/tubular carbon membranes (ZS/TCM) were developed to catalyze the acidified oil esterification. The 11.4% ZS/TCM exhibited better catalytic performance than ZS and 17.2% ZS/TCM. The 11.4% ZS/TCM showed better reusability than the pure ZS after five runs. The conversion of 99.9% was achieved by using a flow-through tubular catalytic membrane reactor (TCMR).