Transesterification of vegetable oils: characterization by thin-layer cromatography and density

[摘要] We studied the transesterification of two vegetable oils: soybean and waste frying oil. The main problem of transesterification is related to the measurement of the ethyl ester content. In this work we used a quick analytical method for assessing the ethyl ester fraction of the purified fuel-grade transesterification products by applying a simple correlation with density. If the ester content is higher than 85% by weight the correlation allows the determination by a single density measurement. This method is suitable for control and determines the ethyl ester quickly and simply.

[学科分类] 化学（综合）

[关键词] ethyl esters; vegetable oils;biodiesel.