Optimization of polyol ester production by transesterification of Jatropha-based methyl ester with trimethylolpropane using Taguchi design of experiment

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Polyol ester production from transesterification of Jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) and trimethylolpropane
(TMP) was investigated. The effects of temperature, pressure, ratio of JOME:TMP and catalyst amount were studied in optimization experiment, using Taguchi L9 experimental layout. The parameters explored were found to have a significant impact on the reaction. The order of importance of the variables was found to be pressure, temperature, JOME:TMP molar ratio and catalyst. The optimum reaction conditions were identified to be 483 K, 25 kPa; 1.0% w/w catalyst and JOME:TMP molar ratio of 4:1. At this optimum condition the JOME conversion obtained was 91.5%. Confirmation experiments were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach after the optimum levels of process parameters were determined.