Intensified production of biodiesel using a spinning disk reactor

This work achieves continuous transesterification of soybean oil and methanol in a spinning disk reactor. The effects of the methanol-to-oil molar ratio, catalyst type, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, flow rate, and rotational speed were investigated. Optimal yield of 96.9% was obtained with a residence time of 2-3. s at a molar ratio of 6, potassium hydroxide concentration of 1.5. wt%, temperature of 60. °C, flow rate of 773. mL/min, and rotational speed of 2400. rpm. The production rate of 1.86. mol/min was high compared to that of other reactors for continuous transesterification process, indicating that a spinning disk reactor is a promising alternative method for continuous biodiesel production.