Application of Li2SiO3 as a heterogeneous catalyst in the production of biodiesel from soybean oil

Biodiesel was synthesized from soybean oil by transesterification over Li2SiO3 catalyst. The Li2SiO3 can be used for biodiesel production directly without further drying or thermal pretreatment, no obvious difference in the FAME conversion (92.4-96.7%) between the air-exposed catalyst (24-72 h) and the fresh one (94.2%). This leads to important benefits when considering industrial applications of Li2SiO3 as a solid catalyst for storing and handling catalyst without taking special actions. (C) 2011 Chiing Chang Chen. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.