Simultaneous Oil Sono-Extraction And Sono-Transesterification (In Situ) Of Soybean And Sunflower Seeds For The Production Of Biodiesel

Abstract The cost of biodiesel production could be reduced by applying a simultaneous oil extraction and transesterification process (in situ). In situ sono-transesterification to allow direct production of biodiesel from soybean and sunflower seeds are presented in this study. All experiments were conducted using ultrasound (20kHz, 106W). In the sunflower case, the results showed a higher yield of extraction (94%) for a 1/5 (g/mL) ratio and one minute of sonication. In the soybean case, the extraction process is less efficient, reaching only 59% of the oil contained in the seed for a soybean/n-hexane ratio of 1/10 (g/mL) and one minute of sonication. Parameters such as the methanol/oil ratio, reaction time and catalyst concentration in the in situ sono-transesterification process of these vegetable seeds were also optimised in this study. In both cases, a percentage of conversion to biodiesel greater than 99% was achieved with just one minute of sonication.