Rapid Jatropha-biodiesel production assisted by a microwave system

and a sodium amide catalyst

Yuan-Chung Lin

, Shang-Cyuan Chen, Chin-En Chen, Po-Ming Yang, Syu-Ruei Jhang

Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan
h i g h l i g h t s
The non-edible Jatropha oil can become the next ideal feedstock for biodiesel.
Using NaNH
2
instead of NaOH can reduce reaction time by 33.3% indicating 33.3% increase in yield rate.
Microwave heating can increase yields, reaction rate, and purity of products.
The energy required for microwave is 10 times lower than that for conventional heating system.
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 9 September 2013
Received in revised form 7 July 2014
Accepted 9 July 2014
Available online 21 July 2014
Keywords:
Jatropha biodiesel
Microwave
Sodium amide
Yield
Transesterication
a b s t r a c t
In this study, a sodium amide (NaNH
2
) catalyst and a microwave heating system were used to increase
Jatropha methyl ester yields, and reduce both reaction time and energy consumption. The experimental
results indicate that the yield increased as the catalyst amount, reaction time, methanol-to-oil molar
ratio, and temperature increased, and then decreased when the values of these parameters increased.
The highest Jatropha methyl ester yield produced by operating a conventional heating system (CHS)
was 95.6% when using 1.0 wt.% of a NaNH
2
catalyst, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8, a reaction time
of 7 min, and a temperature of 65 C. The highest yield produced by applying microwave heating system
(MW) was 96.2% when using 1.0 wt.% of a NaNH
2
catalyst, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8, a reaction
time of 90 min, and a temperature of 65 C. The total amount of energy required for MW was 10 times
less than that required for CHS. The experimental results indicate that MW performs more favorably
and is more energy efcient compared with CHS, and offers a rapid, simple method biodiesel production.
Through a proper research focus and development, Jatropha oil can become the next ideal feedstock for
biodiesel.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The main advantages of biodiesel are renewability, low exhaust
gas emissions, and biodegradability. Previous studies have demon-
strated that, when biodiesel is used as an alternative fuel in diesel
engines, it can reduce emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon
monoxide (CO), sulfur oxide (SO
2
), particle matter (PM), polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-
dioxin and dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) [19]. The primary raw materi-
als used in biodiesel production are rapeseed oil, sunower oil,
palm oil, and soybean oil [10], but these raw materials are edible
oils. Therefore, nding non-edible oils is essential. The oil content
in the kernel of Jatropha seeds is 2540 wt.% and 4560 wt.% [11].
Jatropha trees are cultivated in China and India, and Jatropha oil
can become the next ideal feedstock for biodiesel [1217].
One of the principal methods used to reduce the cost of
biodiesel is to increase biodiesel yields. The reaction temperature,
reaction time, catalyst amount, and alcohol-to-oil ratio are crucial
parameters that are considered in biodiesel production. Various
catalytic reactions that are used in biodiesel production are
alkali-catalyzed, acid-catalyzed, and enzymatic transesterica-
tions. Among these catalytic reactions, alkali-catalyzed transesteri-
cation provides optimal results. Biodiesel can be produced at a
low temperature when using an alkali catalyst, but the use of acid
catalysts requires a higher temperature and a longer reaction time
[18,19]. Kumar et al. indicated that the highest yield of Jatropha oil
biodiesel was 98.5% when using an oil-to-methanol molar ratio of
1:9, 3 wt.% of a Na/SiO
2
catalyst, and a 15-min reaction time [20].
In the study conducted by Deng et al., the highest Jatropha biodie-
sel yield was 95.2% when using a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2014.07.023
0016-2361/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 7 5252000x4412; fax: +886 7 5254412.

E-mail address: yclin@faculty.nsysu.edu.tw (Y.-C. Lin).
Fuel 135 (2014) 435442
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4:1, 1.0 wt.% of a catalyst, a reaction temperature of 45 C, an ultra-
sonic power of 210 W, and a reaction time of 1.5 h [21]. Tauq-Yap
et al. indicated that the Jatropha biodiesel yield was more than 80%
greater than that of CaMgO and CaZnO catalysts under suitable
transesterication conditions at 65 C when using 4 wt.% of a cata-
lyst, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 15, and a 6-h reaction time
[22]. A series of calcium-based mixed oxide catalysts with various
Ca to Mg atomic ratios produced a Jatropha biodiesel yield in the
range of 7590% when using a 3-h reaction time, a 25:1 metha-
nol-to-oil molar ratio, 3 wt.% of a catalyst, and a temperature of
120 C [23]. Endalew et al. tested a CaO:Fe
2
(SO
4
)
3
weight ratio of
3:1, producing a Jatropha oil biodiesel yield of 93.4%, and LieCaO
demonstrated a Jatropha oil biodiesel yield of 96% with the same
ratio [24]. Yee et al. concluded that a 4-h reaction time, a temper-
ature of 150 C, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9.88 mol/mol, and
7.61 wt.% of SO
4
2
/ZrO
2
catalyst loading produced an optimal bio-
diesel yield of 90.3% [25]. Yee et al. also used a sulfated zirconiaa-
lumina (SZA) catalyst to produce a high yield of Jatropha biodiesel,
and an optimal yield of 78.2 wt.% was obtained at a calcination
temperature of 490 C and a calcination duration of 4 h [26]. The
experimental treatments involving a 20:1 M ratio of methanol to
oil, 5 wt.% of a catalyst, a 6-h reaction time, and a 70 C reaction
temperature using low-quality crude Jatropha oil resulted in an
optimal yield of 96.5% [27].
However, the conventional heating of a sample has a few criti-
cal drawbacks compared with microwave irradiation, such as the
heterogenic heating of the surface and limitations dependent on
the thermal conductivity, specic heat, and density of the materials
used [28,29]. Therefore, numerous research groups have recently
focused on the microwave irradiation method. Previous studies
have indicated that using microwave-assisted chemical reactions
is more efcient than using other synthetic techniques, and that
microwave heating systems can increase the reaction rate, product
yields, and purity of products [3035]. Liao and Chung found Jatro-
pha oil biodiesel conversion was 97.1% at methanol to oil ratio of
8.42, catalyst amount of 3.17%, and reaction time of 67.9 min
[33]. Tippayawong and Sittisun demonstrated that Jatropha oil
can be converted to biodiesel, producing a yield of 96.5% within
30 s when the oil-to-methanol molar ratio was 1:6 and 1.0 wt.%
of a CH
3
ONa catalyst was used [35]. The microwave heating
method used for the transesterication reaction was revealed to
be more energy efcient than using a conventional heating
approach. NaOH was used as a base catalyst for the transesterica-
tion reaction but the biodiesel yield with NaOH catalyst was lower
than that with strong base catalysts. Although the cost of NaNH
2
is
higher than that of NaOH, the main merit of NaNH
2
is its excellent
base and it rarely serves as a nucleophile. NaNH
2
can be used to
increase biodiesel yields and to reduce both reaction time and
by-products. NaNH
2
is widely used in industries and it can be recy-
cled easily. Numerous studies have focused on the microwave
heating system and Jatropha biodiesel. However, no study has
focused on using a sodium amide (NaNH
2
) catalyst in conjunction
with a microwave heating system to improve the yield of Jatropha
biodiesel. In addition, the effects of a catalyst, amount of the cata-
lyst, reaction time, molar ratio of methanol to oil, and reaction
temperature were assessed.
2. Experimental section
2.1. Transesterication procedures
The acid value of Jatropha oil supplied from Chinese Petroleum
Corporation in Taiwan was 2.8 mg of KOH g
1
. The methanol,
NaOH, and NaNH
2
were high-performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC) grade. The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1. A
conventional heating system (HTS-1003, Laboratory & Medical
Supplies Co., Ltd., Japan) equipped with a mechanical stirrer and
a condenser (LC-10, Hi-point Co., Ltd, Taiwan) was used
(Fig. 1(a)). In order to clearly conrm the merit of NaNH
2
catalyst
compared with NaOH, the CHS was operated using NaNH
2
and
NaOH, respectively. The CHS was operated using a 1 wt.% NaOH
catalyst, a reaction temperature of 65 C, a methanol-to-oil molar
ratio of 8, and reaction times of 90165 min. The yields produced
using the CHS were 83.7%, 88.3%, 90.2%, 93.1%, 87.6%, and 85.5%
for reaction times of 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, and 165 min, respec-
tively, for NaOH catalyst (Table 1). The CHS was also operated
using a 1 wt.% NaNH
2
catalyst, a reaction temperature of 65 C, a
methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8, and reaction times of 30
105 min. The yields were 87.7%, 89.7%, 91.8%, 93.5%, 95.6%, and
85.5% for reaction times of 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 min, respec-
tively, for NaNH
2
catalyst (Table 1). The above results indicate that
using NaNH
2
instead of NaOH can reduce reaction time from
135 min to 90 min and increase yield from 93.1% to 95.6%. In other
words, using NaNH
2
instead of NaOH can reduce reaction time by
33.3% which also means 33.3% increase in yield rate.
A microwave synthesis reactor (PreeKem APEX, PreeKem Scien-
tic Instruments Co., Ltd, China), equipped with a mechanical stir-
rer and a condenser (LC-10, Hi-point Co., Ltd, Taiwan) was used for
microwave reactions (Fig. 1(b)). The stirrer was operated at
600 rpm with a magnetic nucleus. The temperature detector of
microwave heating system is resistance temperature detector
(RTD) used to measure temperature by correlating the resistance
of the RTD element, platinum (Pt), with temperature. The Pt has
a predictable change in resistance as the temperature changes. It
is this predictable change used to determine temperature.
The conventional heating of a sample has a few signicant
drawbacks, such as heterogenic heating of the surface, limitations
dependent on the thermal conductivity of materials, specic heat,
and density when compared to microwave irradiation. In the
microwave heating system, the OH group is directly excited by
the microwave radiation, causing the local temperature around
the OH group to be much higher than that of its environment.
Jatropha oil and methanol were mixed in the vessel and then
catalyst was added to the vessel. The vessel was put on conven-
tional heating system or microwave heating system. Then the sam-
ple was operated at various reaction times and reaction
temperature. Various catalyst amount (0.751.75 wt.% NaNH
2
),
reaction times (510 min), methanol to oil molar ratios (711),
and reaction temperature (45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 C) were tested.
2.2. Separation and purication
If the methyl ester content is higher than 90%, transestrication
has occurred. After the end of the transesterication process, the
mixture was separated using a centrifuge (CN-1040; Hsiangtai, Tai-
wan) operated at 2000 rpm for 10 min resulting in the formation of
an upper phase consisting of methyl esters and a lower phase con-
taining glycerin. Excess methanol in the methyl ester phase was
evaporated by heating at 80 C. The catalyst was then removed
by adding silica gel and the impurities such as soap were washed
and removed by deionized water. Then biodiesel was obtained.
2.3. Product analysis
The analytic method of methyl ester content in this study fol-
lowed Taiwan CNS15051 (Chinese National Standards). A GC (gas
chromatography; GC-6890, Agilent, USA) system equipped with a
FID (ame ionization detector) was used to determine methyl ester
content. The temperature of the injection port and detector were
set at 250 and 260 C, respectively. The oven temperature was pro-
grammed to initiate at 50 C for 2 min, and then the temperature
436 Y.-C. Lin et al. / Fuel 135 (2014) 435442
was raised to 150 C at a rate of 10 C min
1
, and held for 2 min.
The temperature was then raised to 200 C at a rate of 4 C min
1
,
held for 4 min, and nally increased to 230 C at a rate of
1 C min
1
and held for 5 min. The injection volume was 1 lL in
the split-less injection mode. The capillary column was a HP-INNO-
WAX 19091 N-133, 30 m 0.25 mm I.D, and the lm thickness
was 0.25 lm. The spilt rate was 1:60. The velocity of carrier gas
(He) was set at 19 cm s
1
. The GC/FID was calibrated with a diluted
standard solution of C
14
C
24
compounds (37 Component FAME
Mix-CRM47885; Supelco, USA). The methyl ester content is dened
as follows:
Methyl ester content C

P
A A
EI
A
EI

C
EI
V
EI
m
100%
where
P
A: sum of the peak area of fatty acid methyl ester from C
14
to C
24:1
; A
EI
: the peak area of the internal standard, methyl heptade-
canoate (C
18
H
36
O
2
); C
EI
: concentration of methyl heptadecanoate
(mg mL
1
); V
EI
: volume of methyl heptadecanoate (mL
1
); m: mass
of input biodiesel (g).
The methyl ester yield is dened as follows:
Methyl ester yield methyl ester content biodiesel yield
C
W
B
W
oil
100%
where C: methyl ester content (%); W
B
: weight of biodiesel produc-
tion (g); W
oil
: weight of initial amount of palm oil (g)
(a) conventional heating system
(b) microwave heating system
Fig. 1. The experimental setup (a) conventional heating system and (b) microwave heating system.
Y.-C. Lin et al. / Fuel 135 (2014) 435442 437
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effects of catalyst amounts on the yield
Experiments were performed using various catalyst amounts to
investigate the inuence of these catalyst amounts on the yield.
The conventional heating system (CHS) was operated using a
reaction time of 90 min, a reaction temperature of 65 C, and a
methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8. The microwave heating system
(MW) was operated using a reaction time of 7 min, a reaction tem-
perature of 65 C, and a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9. NaNH
2
was used as the catalyst. The fractions of the catalyst were 0.75,
1.00, 1.25, 1.50, and 1.75 wt.%. As displayed in Fig. 2a, the yields
produced using the CHS were 84.7%, 95.6%, 93.8%, 89.1%, and
85.8% for 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, and 1.75 wt.% of the NaNH
2
catalyst,
respectively. As illustrated in Fig. 2b, the yields produced using
MW were 82.7%, 96.2%, 95.7%, 90.4%, and 85.7% for 0.75, 1.00,
1.25, 1.50, and 1.75 wt.% of the NaNH
2
catalyst, respectively. The
yield increased as the catalyst amount increased from 0.75 wt.%
to 1.0 wt.%, and then decreased as the catalyst amount decreased
from 1.0 wt.% to 1.75 wt.%. The optimal yield was produced when
1.0 wt.% of NaNH
2
was used for the CHS and MW. Similar results
have been presented in previous studies [11,27,36]. Deng et al.
demonstrated that, when the sodium hydroxide concentration
increased from 0.8 to 1.4 wt.%, the biodiesel yield rose from
62.8% to the maximal value of 96.4%. As the sodium hydroxide con-
centration increased, the biodiesel yield decreased to 87.4%, possi-
bly because the hydrolysis reaction inhibited biodiesel formation
[11]. Kay and Yasir indicated that the Jatropha biodiesel yield
increased when the amount of modied zeolite catalyst increased,
and the maximal biodiesel yield was obtained by adding 5.0 wt.%
of a modied zeolite catalyst. The maximal biodiesel yield was
97.8% when the reaction time was 6 h, the methanol-to-oil molar
ratio was 20, and the temperature was 65 C [27]. Deng also dem-
onstrated that the Jatropha biodiesel yield increased from 53.8% to
the maximal yield of 93.9% when the catalyst concentration
increased from 0.5 wt.% to 1.0 wt.%. This occurred because the
increase in the catalyst concentration increased the contact
between the reactants and catalyst [21]. Kasim and Harvey indi-
cated that adding a small quantity of NaOH (0.1 N) substantially
affected the conversion of Jatropha oil to Jatropha biodiesel.
Increasing the NaOH concentration to 0.15 N caused the Jatropha
biodiesel yield to increase from 76.2% to 87.8%. However, further
increasing the concentration (0.2 N) caused the yield to decrease
to 80.8% [36]. These results indicate that, although an excess con-
centration of the catalyst might increase the yield, the amount of
glycerin also increased because of saponication, thereby causing
a reduction in biodiesel yields. A further increase in catalyst con-
centration also produced extra costs because it was necessary to
remove the catalyst from the reaction medium after completing
the process [37,38]. Furthermore, Dorado et al. concluded that add-
ing an excessive amount of alkaline catalyst causes the formation
of an emulsion, which increases viscosity and causes gels to form
[37]. An excess concentration of the catalyst also caused a mixing
problem involving reactants, products, and a solid catalyst, and
the transesterication process was easily emulsied, causing the
separation of products to be difcult [21]. In this study, the optimal
yield, 96.2%, was achieved when using 1.0 wt.% of NaNH
2
for Jatro-
pha oil. Although the results of using CHS were not considerably
dissimilar to those produced by using MW, using MW can reduce
reaction time substantially from 90 to 7 min. Through a proper
research focus and development, Jatropha oil can become the next
ideal feedstock for biodiesel [1217].
3.2. Effects of reaction time on the yield
Experiments were performed using various reaction times to
investigate the inuence of these reaction times on the yield. The
CHS was operated using a NaNH
2
catalyst concentration of
1 wt.%, a reaction temperature of 65 C, a methanol-to-oil molar
ratio of 8, and reaction times of 30105 min. The MW was operated
using a NaNH
2
catalyst concentration of 1 wt.%, a reaction temper-
ature of 65 C, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9, and reaction
times of 510 min. As displayed in Fig. 3a, the yields produced
using the CHS were 87.7%, 89.7%, 91.8%, 93.5%, 95.6%, and 95.5%
for reaction times of 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 min, respectively.
An increase in reaction time from30 to 90 min caused a substantial
increase in the yield, and a stable yield was produced from 90 to
105 min. As illustrated in Fig. 3b, the yields produced using the
MW were 88.3%, 92.7%, 96.2%, 93.5%, 90.4%, and 89.1% for reaction
times of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 min, respectively. An increase in reac-
tion time from 5 to 7 min caused a substantial increase in yield,
and then a decrease in yield from 7 to 10 min. These results may
be attributed to the incomplete transesterication reaction
Table 1
Comparison of reaction time and yield under NaOH and NaNH
2
catalyst.
Catalyst Reaction time (min) Yield (%)
NaOH 90 83.7
105 88.3
120 90.2
135 93.1
150 87.6
165 85.5
NaNH
2
30 87.7
45 89.7
60 91.8
75 93.5
90 95.6
105 95.5
Fig. 2. Effects of NaNH
2
amounts on the yield of Jatropha-biodiesel (a) conventional
heating system and (b) microwave heating system.
438 Y.-C. Lin et al. / Fuel 135 (2014) 435442
between methanol and oil that occurred because of the shorter
reaction time, and the longer reaction time caused a higher reac-
tion temperature, resulting in the increased solubility of glycerine.
Kasim and Harvey similarly indicated that the yield demonstrated
minimal change after 30 min. Therefore, the reactive extraction
was most likely completed between 20 and 30 min when using
an alcohol-to-oil ratio of 400:1, an NaOH concentration of 0.1 N,
a mixing speed of 400 rpm, a reaction temperature of 60 C, and
seeds that were less than or equal to 0.71 mm in size. Reactions
that occurred in less than 20 min did not produce high yields
[36]. Badday et al. synthesized several gamma alumina (Al)-
supported tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) catalysts. TPA loadings
on the support between 15% and 35% were investigated. The yield
increased as the reaction time increased, reaching the maximal
yield in approximately 60 min when either catalyst was used with
a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 20:1, a catalyst amount of 4 wt.%,
and an ultrasonic power of 75%. The highest yields were 64.3% and
56.6% when TPA25-Al and TPA30-Al were used, respectively [39].
Ko et al. indicated that high empirical rst-order rate constants
and favorable energetics for the rst 6 h demonstrated the advan-
tages of using gradient addition instead of stepwise addition. The
rate of reaction varied linearly with the yield during the rst 6 h
[40]. Kay and Yasir also found that the Jatropha biodiesel yield
increased when the reaction time rose from 1 to 8 h, and the opti-
mal reaction time for the transesterication reaction was 6 h when
the methanol-to-oil molar ratio was 20, the temperature was 65 C,
and the catalyst amount was 5 wt.% [27]. The yield of Jatropha bio-
diesel when the molar ratio was 300 was 74.7%, and the yields for
molar ratios of 400, 500, and 600 were 81.9%, 85.7%, and 86.9%,
respectively, when the NaOH concentration was 0.1 N, the reaction
time was 1 h, the mixing speed was 400 rpm, and the reaction tem-
perature was 60 C. Further addition of methanol did not substan-
tially increase the yield [36].
As displayed in Fig. 3, the reaction time reduced substantially
when microwave heating was used. The highly effective
transesterication process in the microwave heating system was
attributed to the direct adsorption of radiation by the OH group
of the reactant. The OH group was directly excited by the micro-
wave radiation, causing the local temperature surrounding the
OH group to be much higher than that of the environment, which
caused the activation energy to considerably exceed the amount
required for transesterication [41]. Methanol is an excellent
microwave radiation absorption material because the dipole of
methanol reorients, which can destroy the two-tier structure of
the interface between methanol and oil [42], thereby improving
the solubility of methanol and oil under microwave radiation and
enhancing the transesterication reaction. Therefore, the favorable
results achieved by using microwave heating can be attributed to
the increase in localized temperature and pressure, and the ability
of the microwaves to penetrate materials and produce a volumet-
rically distributed heat source [41,4345].
3.3. Effects of molar ratio of methanol/oil on the yield
Experiments were performed using various methanol-to-oil
molar ratios to investigate the inuence of these ratios on the yield.
The CHS was operated using a NaNH
2
catalyst concentration of
1 wt.%, a reaction temperature of 65 C, a reaction time of
90 min, and methanol-to-oil molar ratios from 7 to 11. The MW
was operated using a NaNH
2
catalyst concentration of 1 wt.%, a
reaction temperature of 65 C, a reaction time of 7 min, and various
methanol-to-oil molar ratios from 7 to 11). As displayed in Fig. 4a,
an increase in the molar ratio from 7 to 8 caused a substantial
increase in yield from 93.2% to 95.6% when the CHS was used,
and then the yield decreased from 95.6% to 89.7% when the molar
ratio increased from 8 to 11. As illustrated in Fig. 4b, an increase in
molar ratio from 7 to 9 caused a substantial increase in yield from
87.9% to 96.2% when the MW was used, and then the yield
decreased from 96.2% to 90.5% when the molar ratio increased
from 9 to 11. The molar ratios of 8 and 9 were the most suitable
Fig. 3. Effects of reaction time on the yield of Jatropha-biodiesel (a) conventional
heating system and (b) microwave heating system.
Fig. 4. Effects of molar ratio of methanol to oil on the yield of Jatropha-biodiesel (a)
conventional heating system and (b) microwave heating system.
Y.-C. Lin et al. / Fuel 135 (2014) 435442 439
for synthesizing Jatropha biodiesel using the CHS and MW, respec-
tively. Similar results have been presented in previous studies. The
yield of Jatropha biodiesel when the molar ratio was 300 was
74.7%, and the yields produced when the molar ratio was 400,
500, and 600 were 81.9%, 85.7%, and 86.9%, respectively, with an
NaOH concentration of 0.1 N, a reaction time of 1 h, a mixing speed
of 400 rpm, and a reaction temperature of 60 C. Further methanol
addition (e.g. when the molar ratio was 600) did not substantially
increase the yield [36]. Kay and Yasir discovered that the Jatropha
biodiesel yield gradually increased as the molar ratio increased,
and the yield was higher than 96.5% when the molar ratio of meth-
anol to oil was 20:1, the reaction time was 6 h, the temperature
was 65 C, and the catalyst amount was 5 wt.% [27]. Theoretically,
each mole of biodiesel is composed of one mole of methanol and
one-third mole of triglyceride in the transesterication reaction.
However, in practice, a higher molar ratio is required for the
transesterication reaction to occur because it is reversible. Fur-
thermore, biodiesel and glycerol become miscible when methanol
is used excessively [46]. In addition, methanol is a strong medium
for absorbing microwaves; therefore, the excess methanol may
absorb microwave energy and reduce microwave power.
3.4. Effects of reaction temperature on the yield
Experiments were performed using various reaction tempera-
tures to investigate the inuence of these temperatures on the
yield. The CHS was operated using a NaNH
2
catalyst concentration
of 1 wt.%, a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8, a reaction time of
90 min, and reaction temperatures of 4585 C. The MW was
operated using a NaNH
2
catalyst concentration of 1 wt.%, a
methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9, a reaction time of 7 min, and reac-
tion temperatures of 4585 C. As displayed in Fig. 5a, the yields
produced when using the CHS were 89.6%, 93.3%, 95.6%, 94.7%,
and 92.8% for reaction temperatures of 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 C,
respectively. An increase in the temperature from 45 to 65 C
caused a substantial increase in yield from 89.6% to 95.6%; when
the temperature was further increased to 85 C, the yield
decreased from 95.6% to 92.8%. As illustrated in Fig. 5b, the yields
produced when using the MW were 83.8%, 90.1%, 96.2%, 93.5%, and
89.5% for reaction temperatures of 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 C, respec-
tively. The results indicate that an increase in the temperature
from 45 to 65 C caused a substantial increase in yield from
83.8% to 96.2%; when the temperature was further increased to
85 C, the yield decreased from 96.2% to 89.5%. It was found that
the yields decreased in both CHS and MW after 65 C because
the reaction became reversible. Similar results have been reported
in previous studies [21,27]. Kay and Yasir indicated that the reac-
tion rate was relatively higher at a high temperature than that at
a low temperature. However, the Jatropha biodiesel yield was
69.9 wt.% at 30 C (room temperature) after 6 h of reaction, and it
reached 97.8% at 70 C, the optimal reaction temperature, after
6 h with a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 20 and a catalyst amount
of 5 wt.% [27]. Deng et al. indicated that the Jatropha biodiesel
yield was low at low temperatures, with only a 52.4% yield at
30 C for a 1.5-h reaction time. The biodiesel yield increased shar-
ply as the temperature rose, and reached a maximal yield of 94.2%
at 45 C [21]. Although high temperatures can cause a drastic
decrease in the viscosity of oil, this is favorable to an increase in
the solubility of the oil in methanol. High temperatures also
increase the contact between oil and methanol molecules, thereby
producing a high rate of triglyceride conversion. High tempera-
tures can also accelerate the saponication of triglycerides, and
subsequently produce a negative effect on the product yield [38].
3.5. Comparing the energy consumption
Conventional heating was performed at 65 C, using a metha-
nol-to-oil molar ratio of 8 and 1 wt.% of NaNH
2
. Microwave heating
was performed at 65 C, using a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9
and 1 wt.% of NaNH
2
. Total energy consumption is dened as
follows:
Total energy consumption E
h
E
co
E
ce
R
h
t
h
R
co
t
co
R
ce
t
ce

where E
h
is the energy consumption of heating (kJ); E
co
is the energy
consumption of the condenser (kJ); E
ce
is the energy consumption of
the centrifuge (kJ); R
h
is the energy consumption rate of heating
(kJ min
1
); t
h
is the operation time of heating (min); R
co
is the
energy consumption rate of the condenser (kJ min
1
); t
h
is the oper-
ation time of the condenser (min); R
ce
is the energy consumption
rate of the centrifuge (kJ min
1
); and t
h
is the operation time of
the centrifuge (min). As displayed in Table 2, the total energy con-
sumption of the CHS using various reaction times was much higher
than that of the MW. The total energy consumption values of the
CHS and MW under optimal conditions were 11,000 and 1040 kJ,
respectively. The total energy required for using the MW was 10
times less than that required for using the CHS. Similar results have
been presented in previous studies. Patil et al. [47] concluded that
the amount of energy required for using the MW method is 23
times less than that required for using the conventional method.
Patil et al. [48] indicated that the energy required for using the con-
ventional method to achieve the same biodiesel yield with waste
cooking oil is approximately 11 times greater than that required
for using the microwave method. The above experimental results
may be attributed to microwave localized temperature and pres-
sure, and the microwave absorbing character to penetrate materials
and to produce a volumetrically distributed heat source
[41,44,45,49]. Therefore, microwave heating offers a more favorable
performance and is more energy efcient than is conventional
Fig. 5. Effects of microwave temperature on the yield of Jatropha-biodiesel (a)
conventional heating system and (b) microwave heating system.
440 Y.-C. Lin et al. / Fuel 135 (2014) 435442
heating, and is a rapid, simple method that can be used in biodiesel
production.
4. Conclusion
Numerous studies have focused on the microwave heating sys-
tem and Jatropha biodiesel. However, no study has focused on
using NaNH
2
as a catalyst in conjunction with a microwave heating
system to improve the Jatropha biodiesel yield. Using NaNH
2
instead of NaOH can reduce reaction time by 33.3% indicating
33.3% increase in yield rate. The optimal yield produced by operat-
ing the CHS was 95.6% when using 1.0 wt.% of a NaNH
2
catalyst, a
methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8, a reaction time of 7 min, and a
temperature of 65 C. The optimal yield produced by operating
the MW was 96.2% when using 1.0 wt.% of a NaNH
2
catalyst, a
methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 8, a reaction time of 90 min, and a
temperature of 65 C. The total energy consumption values of the
CHS and MW under optimal conditions were 11,000 and 1040 kJ,
respectively. The total energy required for using the MW was 10
times less than that required for using the CHS. The experimental
results indicate that using microwave heating can substantially
reduce the reaction time. Microwave heating provides a more
favorable performance compared with that of the conventional
heating system.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science Council of
Taiwan under grant NSC 100-2221-E-110-015-MY2. The authors
gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Professor Houng-Yung
Chen, Institute of Marine Biology, National Sun Yat-sen University,
for helping with the purity analysis.
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Method Energy consumption of heating (kJ) Energy consumption of condenser (kJ) Energy consumption of centrifuge (kJ) Total energy
consumption
(kJ)
Yield
(%)
Energy consumption
rate of heating
(kJ min
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Operation
time of
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Energy consumption
rate of condenser
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Operation time
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Energy consumption
rate of centrifuge
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Operation time
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Microwave
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78.0 8 60.0 8 36.0 2 1180 93.5
78.0 9 60.0 9 36.0 2 1310 90.4
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