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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Ultrasonic-Assisted Preparation of Biodiesel Products from Vegetable Oils
Published on: April 19, 2024
Aspects of ultrasonically assisted transesterification of various vegetable oils with methanol
Carmen Stavarache1, M Vinatoru, Y Maeda
1Costin D Nenitzescu, Institute of Organic Chemistry, 060023 Bucharest, Romania. stavarachec@yahoo.com
Abstract:
The batch transesterification of vegetable oil with methanol, in the presence of potassium hydroxide as catalyst, by means of low frequency ultrasound (40 kHz) was studied with the aim of gaining more knowledge on intimate reaction mechanism. The concentration of fatty acid methyl esters, of mono-, di- and triglycerides of the actual reaction mixture were determined at short reaction time by HPLC. The effect of ultrasounds on the lipids transesterification correlated with triglyceride structures is discussed. It was found that under ultrasonic activation the rate-determining reaction switches from DG-->MG (classical mechanic agitation) to MG+ROH-->Gly+ME (ultrasonically driven transesterification).
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