Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026
04:40
Author Spotlight: Employing Green-Chemistry Principles for Safe and Sustainable Synthesis of Biodiesels
Published on: April 19, 2024
1.6K
Upgrading Biodiesel from Vegetable Oils by Hydrogen Transfer to its Fatty Esters
Zhiyao Lu1, Valeriy Cherepakhin1, Talya Kapenstein1
1Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, 837 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California, 90089-1661, United States.
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
|October 16, 2018
Summary
This study presents an iridium-catalyzed method to convert vegetable oils into high-performance biodiesel. The process upgrades fuel quality by reducing unsaturation and valorizes glycerol into lactate, minimizing waste.
Area of Science:
- Catalysis
- Green Chemistry
- Renewable Energy
Background:
- Biodiesel production from vegetable triglycerides yields waste glycerol.
- High levels of unsaturation in natural triglycerides lead to poor fuel performance and engine issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a catalytic method for upgrading vegetable oil triglycerides into superior biodiesel.
- To address waste generation and improve fuel properties in biodiesel production.
Main Methods:
- Selective reduction of polyunsaturated triglycerides using an iridium catalyst.
- Utilizing hydrogen from methanol or the triglyceride backbone.
- Employing an iron-based co-catalyst for complete olefin saturation.
Main Results:
- Conversion of corn and soybean oils to over 80% oleate using methanol or glycerol as hydrogen sources.
- Generation of lactate as a value-added C3 product.
- Successful recovery of the iridium catalyst via aqueous extraction.
Conclusions:
- The iridium-catalyzed process effectively upgrades vegetable oils for enhanced biofuel performance.
- This method offers a sustainable approach to biodiesel production by minimizing waste and creating valuable byproducts.
Related Concept Videos
00:26Hydrogen Bonds
133.3K
Hydrogen bonds are weak attractions between atoms that have formed other chemical bonds. One of these atoms is electronegative, like oxygen, and has a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that has bonded with another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge.
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
133.3K
01:04Hydrogen Bonds
14.4K
A hydrogen bond is formed when a weakly positive hydrogen atom already bonded to one electronegative atom (for example, the oxygen in the water molecule) is attracted to another electronegative atom from another polar molecule, such as water (H2O), hydrogen fluoride (HF), or ammonia (NH3). The huge electronegativity difference between the H atom (2.1) and the atom to which it is bonded (4.0 for an F atom, 3.5 for an O atom, or 3.0 for an N atom), combined with the very small size of an H atom...
14.4K
01:12Acid Halides to Esters: Alcoholysis
4.0K
Alcoholysis is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction in which an alcohol functions as a nucleophile. Acid halides react with alcohol to produce esters. The mechanism proceeds in three steps:
4.0K
01:17Esters to Alcohols: Hydride Reductions
4.8K
Esters are reduced to primary alcohols when treated with a strong reducing agent like lithium aluminum hydride. The reaction requires two equivalents of the reducing agent and proceeds via an aldehyde intermediate.
Lithium aluminum hydride is a source of hydride ions and functions as a nucleophile. The mechanism proceeds in three steps. Firstly, the nucleophilic hydride ion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the ester to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Subsequently, the carbonyl group re-forms,...
Lithium aluminum hydride is a source of hydride ions and functions as a nucleophile. The mechanism proceeds in three steps. Firstly, the nucleophilic hydride ion attacks the carbonyl carbon of the ester to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Subsequently, the carbonyl group re-forms,...
4.8K
01:08Esters to Alcohols: Grignard Reaction
6.1K
The reaction of an ester with a Grignard reagent, followed by hydrolysis of the magnesium alkoxide salt in aqueous acid, yields a tertiary alcohol. In the case of formate esters, secondary alcohols are formed.
The reaction requires two equivalents of the Grignard reagent and introduces two identical alkyl groups, derived from the Grignard reagent, bonded to the hydroxyl-bearing carbon of the alcohol.
The reaction follows the typical nucleophilic acyl substitution mechanism. The Grignard...
The reaction requires two equivalents of the Grignard reagent and introduces two identical alkyl groups, derived from the Grignard reagent, bonded to the hydroxyl-bearing carbon of the alcohol.
The reaction follows the typical nucleophilic acyl substitution mechanism. The Grignard...
6.1K
01:25Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Saponification
6.5K
Esters can be hydrolyzed to carboxylic acids under acidic or basic conditions. Base-promoted hydrolysis of esters is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction in which esters react with an aqueous base, followed by an acid to give carboxylic acids. This reaction is also known as saponification because it forms the basis for making soaps from fats.
The reaction requires a base in stoichiometric amounts, which participates in the reaction and is not regenerated later. So, the base acts as a...
The reaction requires a base in stoichiometric amounts, which participates in the reaction and is not regenerated later. So, the base acts as a...
6.5K